Obama's desire to raise the tax on the upper 5% and to not on the lower 95% comes from a weird perspective on wealth. From some inner part of human beings, there is this assumption that the rich should not be so rich. We say, "What can they really do with $40 million a year? Some of that should go to people who are far less fortunate. We need to close the gap between the rich and poor." To borrow from Bastiat's illustration of what is seen and what is unseen fits well with this mistaken philosophy.
What is seen: government getting more funds to expand or better fund programs like welfare, Medicaid and Medicare, public education, etc. Right on!
What is unseen: where would that money have gone instead of to the government? Probably more investments, business ventures, or spent on some good. Jobs are required to supply a greater demand. Wealth is spread apart from government coercion in a much more efficient manner.
How efficient is our welfare program? LBJ tried that Great Society thing in the 60s, lowered poverty a little, but every since, despite the increased funding, the poverty level has remained the same. Education is no different. Twice as much is spent now per pupil compared to the 1970s and performance has barely risen in the last 30 years. If government were a non-profit organization, we'd stop giving to it because of its poor stewardship.
I am not saying the rich should not be taxed. They should and so should everyone else. But it must be kept within reason. There is a point of taxation, that when passed, revenue ceases. Check out the Laffer Curve. The t variable is movable, but usually below the 50% mark.
(I remember when I first encountered the Laffer Curve in Dr. Victor Claar's book on economics. It was a beautitful moment. Love at first sight).
When taxation is unreasonable, people and businesses leave. California is an example. There has been a migration out of the state the last few years, due in part to the 10.3% personal income tax, a 8.9% corporate tax rate, and a rising minimum wage. There's a gnarly deficit going on in CA now. I do not know where the disconnect between the fact that tax rate increases are directly corrolated to the outward migration of the very people who pay them. If no one is left to pay, you can raise the rate all you want but your revenue will continually decrease. It's been shown to happen and is happening.
Had to get that out there.
Think before voting for more programs which would raise taxes. Think before voting for politicians who under the guise of goodness, may end up doing more harm than good and in the course of it all, infringing upon liberty and property.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Weekend Summation and a Thought
The parents came out for the weekend. Good times had by all.
Friday night I went to the Americans for Prosperity dinner where George Will and D'Souza spoke. Will was my favorite. He pandered to my latest hobby of looking for wasteful government departments to get rid of. Two on my list are Depts of Education and Agriculture. Downscale man, that's what efficient government should be.
My parents met me after the dinner and we went to a cool pub in Chinatown.
Saturday we met up with some of my parents' friends and had pancakes at Eastern Market. They were friends of theirs from the Lost Valley Ranch days. It was good getting input from them about LVR because I've been thinking about applying there after graduation.
The rest of the day was showing them where I work, Georgetown, the Native American Indian museum and Old Ebbitt Grill (very good restaurant).
On Sunday, their short visit ended. It was great having them. My family is kind of like a dock in the midst of any type of storm. Definitely a beautiful gift. Don't let me take them for granted!
Now for a thought I had today:
Lately I have been thinking about the intensity of political discussions here, especially about social issues. I realized part of the reason discussions with people in DC are so militant is because most everyone is here investing their lives in a cause or worldview they believe to be true. It's difficult to have a peaceful conversation between the government worker in some department and the libertarian policy worker who is advocating its abolition. Ideas have legs and to admit someone with an opposing view is correct here often would mean a job/friend circle change. It seems you don't come here to seek truth, you come here because you already know what's true.
Friday night I went to the Americans for Prosperity dinner where George Will and D'Souza spoke. Will was my favorite. He pandered to my latest hobby of looking for wasteful government departments to get rid of. Two on my list are Depts of Education and Agriculture. Downscale man, that's what efficient government should be.
My parents met me after the dinner and we went to a cool pub in Chinatown.
Saturday we met up with some of my parents' friends and had pancakes at Eastern Market. They were friends of theirs from the Lost Valley Ranch days. It was good getting input from them about LVR because I've been thinking about applying there after graduation.
The rest of the day was showing them where I work, Georgetown, the Native American Indian museum and Old Ebbitt Grill (very good restaurant).
On Sunday, their short visit ended. It was great having them. My family is kind of like a dock in the midst of any type of storm. Definitely a beautiful gift. Don't let me take them for granted!
Now for a thought I had today:
Lately I have been thinking about the intensity of political discussions here, especially about social issues. I realized part of the reason discussions with people in DC are so militant is because most everyone is here investing their lives in a cause or worldview they believe to be true. It's difficult to have a peaceful conversation between the government worker in some department and the libertarian policy worker who is advocating its abolition. Ideas have legs and to admit someone with an opposing view is correct here often would mean a job/friend circle change. It seems you don't come here to seek truth, you come here because you already know what's true.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Week
It's been awhile since my last post. What have I been up to? (If you're interested, read on. If not, you know what to do).
Tuesday was the usual Koch Foundation class all day. Always good stuff there.
Wednesday was time at ALEC making phone calls and compiling data. Then class in the afternoon where we talked about things like, would Jesus talk to Ahmadinejad if he were president of the US.
We also had the "family dinner" and I was able to talk with my table about markets and whether Christians can be libertarians.
Thursday was ALEC all day with more phone calls, lunch with some new friends from the ONE campaign. Conversation topics there ranged from VP picks to stereotyping Christians to US foreign policy, etc. Then back to work talking with state legislators all around the nation, asking them if they had received our mailing and would like to update their email address. My dad also came last night since he was done with his meetings in Baltimore earlier than he expected. So we chilled on the roof and talked about self-interest vs selfishness and all its implications, who is Jesus? and dabbled in the roll of violence. It was great to process things with him, he's a pretty good guy, to put it very, very mildly.
Today I am supposed to be writing a paper, then to a White House briefing-which is only vaguely as cool as it sounds. There will be some official from the White House coming to speak to us on something. No doubt it will be good, it just wont be the President. Then I aim to campaign for McCain because we have to get in at least 30 hrs of volunteering with a campaign before Nov 5. Then I am going to a dinner to hear some speakers like George Will, D'Souza, and David Koch. Then my parents pick me up and we hang out over the weekend.
Of course, all those plans could change.
Shout out to 2nd East Wengatz for first place in Airband! Really wish I could have been there for that.
Tuesday was the usual Koch Foundation class all day. Always good stuff there.
Wednesday was time at ALEC making phone calls and compiling data. Then class in the afternoon where we talked about things like, would Jesus talk to Ahmadinejad if he were president of the US.
We also had the "family dinner" and I was able to talk with my table about markets and whether Christians can be libertarians.
Thursday was ALEC all day with more phone calls, lunch with some new friends from the ONE campaign. Conversation topics there ranged from VP picks to stereotyping Christians to US foreign policy, etc. Then back to work talking with state legislators all around the nation, asking them if they had received our mailing and would like to update their email address. My dad also came last night since he was done with his meetings in Baltimore earlier than he expected. So we chilled on the roof and talked about self-interest vs selfishness and all its implications, who is Jesus? and dabbled in the roll of violence. It was great to process things with him, he's a pretty good guy, to put it very, very mildly.
Today I am supposed to be writing a paper, then to a White House briefing-which is only vaguely as cool as it sounds. There will be some official from the White House coming to speak to us on something. No doubt it will be good, it just wont be the President. Then I aim to campaign for McCain because we have to get in at least 30 hrs of volunteering with a campaign before Nov 5. Then I am going to a dinner to hear some speakers like George Will, D'Souza, and David Koch. Then my parents pick me up and we hang out over the weekend.
Of course, all those plans could change.
Shout out to 2nd East Wengatz for first place in Airband! Really wish I could have been there for that.
Monday, October 6, 2008
More Camping
This weekend I went camping for the second time in Maryland. It was way good. Randomly saw my internship coordinator at the Shady Grove stop, caught a baby bass in an old canal, absorbed the smokey smell, ate random food and slept really well that night, which I did not expect. Walking to and through Union station with a pile of blankets and a full bag which has a quote from Thomas Jefferson I got for free from my internship, is a great experience. Coming back from camping is even better because I feel more a part of the dirty parts of the city, smelling like smoke and a little dirtier than I was before. People look at me differently when I'm carrying a bunch of blankets than when I'm dressed for internship. I fit into a different niche. I also feel like it's a sampling of two different types of people who live in the city: the guy who just slept inside and guy who just slept outside.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Failure #2
That last post of mine sounds horrendously heartless. I realized that last night when I was watching a documentary on hypocrisy (I'll mention it later). What's the Christian's role in all the evolution of the market?
Protecting people's life, liberty and property is the realm of government, I believe. In a market system there will be people who lose their jobs and those who are left out of it from the get go. Compassion and character are so important in order for good to be done to its greatest potential. Christ also calls us to be generous with our resources in helping the poor and disenfranchised. An integral part of that, I think, is affirming people's dignity as God's special creation. So much of Christian ministry and philanthropy as a whole, necessitates a relationship in order to best help people from where they are at. I envision this whole scene of Christian relationship with the world not as a "We're up here, let us reach down and pull you up" but as reaching across, at the same level, and saying "He will lift you up."
Just my evolving thoughts
Protecting people's life, liberty and property is the realm of government, I believe. In a market system there will be people who lose their jobs and those who are left out of it from the get go. Compassion and character are so important in order for good to be done to its greatest potential. Christ also calls us to be generous with our resources in helping the poor and disenfranchised. An integral part of that, I think, is affirming people's dignity as God's special creation. So much of Christian ministry and philanthropy as a whole, necessitates a relationship in order to best help people from where they are at. I envision this whole scene of Christian relationship with the world not as a "We're up here, let us reach down and pull you up" but as reaching across, at the same level, and saying "He will lift you up."
Just my evolving thoughts
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Failure
Failure is a part of a free market. It's known as creative destruction. It's also the nasty part which no one wants to see happen, especially when it is your own invest which has been "creatively destroyed."
What would happen if we didn't allow this process to take place? I wouldn't be typing this on Blogspot or even a computer, the quality of everything would be down. Products and services sell when they provide higher quality than previous products or services.
In this way, when everyone has the ability to enter the market with a new idea, the good of the greater society is served. It is this right to enter the market which government must protect. The entrepreneur should also be able to have his property, both physical and intellectual, protected from the encroachment of others. These are the rights government should protect.
Everything gets messed up when we confuse those creative rights with the right to a job. For instance, many people lost their jobs when typewriter sales went down due to personal computer sales. Imagine now if those typewriter special interest groups had gotten government to protect their industy by heavily taxing PC companies. The jobs of thousands have been saved, their children can still go to school, ensuring a better life for potential more thousands, right?
Look at the benefits PCs have brought to the world, especially with the advent and proliferation of the internet. Imagine if the "rights" of typewriter manufacturers had been protected.
(This example didn't come from my own head, I read it somewhere and it stuck in my brain because it's a good one).
Also, I am not saying PCs are the embodiment of everything good on this earth. They've allowed also for the proliferation of evil ideas and bad ideas at a more rapid pace than the typewriter allowed. Still, the overall quality of life around the world has improved because the idea of the typewriter was creatively destroyed.
What would happen if we didn't allow this process to take place? I wouldn't be typing this on Blogspot or even a computer, the quality of everything would be down. Products and services sell when they provide higher quality than previous products or services.
In this way, when everyone has the ability to enter the market with a new idea, the good of the greater society is served. It is this right to enter the market which government must protect. The entrepreneur should also be able to have his property, both physical and intellectual, protected from the encroachment of others. These are the rights government should protect.
Everything gets messed up when we confuse those creative rights with the right to a job. For instance, many people lost their jobs when typewriter sales went down due to personal computer sales. Imagine now if those typewriter special interest groups had gotten government to protect their industy by heavily taxing PC companies. The jobs of thousands have been saved, their children can still go to school, ensuring a better life for potential more thousands, right?
Look at the benefits PCs have brought to the world, especially with the advent and proliferation of the internet. Imagine if the "rights" of typewriter manufacturers had been protected.
(This example didn't come from my own head, I read it somewhere and it stuck in my brain because it's a good one).
Also, I am not saying PCs are the embodiment of everything good on this earth. They've allowed also for the proliferation of evil ideas and bad ideas at a more rapid pace than the typewriter allowed. Still, the overall quality of life around the world has improved because the idea of the typewriter was creatively destroyed.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
I have become a bus evangelist lately. They are so convenient. They're cheap, they usually drop you off way closer to where you want to be than the Metro does and you actually get to see where you're going. Granted, they take a little getting used to the city in order to use them effectively. Getting used to DC has been a little like getting used to a campus, after a while my travel becomes more refined and it seems less an expanse of unknowns.
Last night, McCain's faith based initiatives rep came to talk with us since she was unable to make it last week. It was a sweet time listening to her perspective as well. When it comes to this issue, Obama and McCain both agree that the faith based initiative program should be kept alive. However they disagree over whether the equal opportunity employment law should be applied to these faith organizations if they are to receive federal funding. Obama's position is that people of different faiths, other than the one the organization promotes or follows, should be protected under law in order to have opportunity to work. McCain's position allows organizations to choose who to hire or not and still be able to receive federal funds.
Discuss
Last night, McCain's faith based initiatives rep came to talk with us since she was unable to make it last week. It was a sweet time listening to her perspective as well. When it comes to this issue, Obama and McCain both agree that the faith based initiative program should be kept alive. However they disagree over whether the equal opportunity employment law should be applied to these faith organizations if they are to receive federal funding. Obama's position is that people of different faiths, other than the one the organization promotes or follows, should be protected under law in order to have opportunity to work. McCain's position allows organizations to choose who to hire or not and still be able to receive federal funds.
Discuss
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