Tax Incentives Work, So Why Not More of Them?

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported on the lack of tracking by the city of Cincinnati for return on the investment of tax incentives designed to attract businesses to the area.  They found there is no such tracking of ROI.  City doesn't track return on incentives

The state of New York has been advertising their program of reduced taxes, abatement and other incentives to attract businesses and expansions in their state. The federal government has been giving grants, low interest loans, and tax incentives to many businesses to expand and build, especially in the area of green energy technology.

Does this work to attract new and expanding businesses?  It does, but how much so is the question.  Cincinnati cannot tell you that answer.  Maybe others can. My point here is that if tax incentives work, even in mostly liberal New York, why are liberals opposed to reducing taxes for all business, and even for all people?

The tax incentive business is a negotiating ploy to get business owners to choose one city or state over another for the location of new business or expansions.  If I was the governor of any state, or mayor of any city, I would fight to lower all taxes, then tell all business owners to move here.  In fact I would tell all citizens that our doors are open for business and all taxes are lower than you'll find in the next state over.

We know there is an optimal tax rate where tax receipts are the highest possible and the rate is the lowest possible.  Lowering tax rates has lead to higher tax receipts under Kennedy, Reagan and G.W. Bush.

Liberals typically claim corporations are not paying their fair share.  The 1% are not paying their fair share.  But then they create these tax incentive zones to attract business.  Well, which is it?  If it works in some places, why not all places?

If we really want the economy to take off and wealth to be created, then why don't we actually practice what we know to be true?

Operation Choke Point - Killing Legal Business

Operation Choke Point - Washington Post

The Obama administration, through use of the FDIC, is choking off legal business' access to financial services such as checking accounts, payment processing and loans.  They are doing this not because there is any particular illegal activity by those businesses, but because they don't like them.

Imagine if a government official told your bank manager to close your checking account because he did not approve of your lifestyle.  Below is the telling quote form this article, along with links to supporting reports.

"... just because there are some bad apples within a legal industry doesn’t justify effectively destroying a legal industry through secret executive fiat."

Mind you, there is not a piece of legislation supporting this government action to force legal business out of business, or at least impose serious roadblocks to continued operations.

This policy was introduced by the Department of Justice under Attorney General Eric Holder, and obviously endorsed by President Obama.  Fundamentally Changing America!

To Shoot or Not To Shoot

Civil Rights Leader Goes Though Scenarios
If you have any opinion about whether or not police shootings are justified, please watch this video.  The first man to experience the scenarios is a community civil rights leader who has protested against cops involved in shootings.  His opinion has since changed.  Interesting when you consider the "hands up, don't shoot" protests of the past several months.

Social Science and Social Policy

Two Parent Advantage

"The role of social science," he would write, "lies not in the formulation of social policy, but in the measurement of its results." Not in postulating what will work but in demonstrating what does work. And, increasingly, what does not work. 

 

The above paragraph is taken rom George Will's column, including the Daniel Patrick Moynihan quote.  Will explains that policy has results, and social scientists should explain the results (what works), not promote any particular policy (what will work). 

I consider myself a libertarian with some conservative leanings.  I am often told that conservatives do have compassion for the less privileged.  While liberals go on and on telling us everything we should be doing to help those same people.  If I express an opinion about school choice, I am told I do not want poor kids to be educated.  Likewise if I express my disdain for Obama-care, I am told I want granny to die.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Meanwhile their programs intended to raise the poor and uneducated out of the poverty they find themselves in have not succeeded in the least.

Ever since the 1960's and President Johnson's war on poverty, the percentage of citizens living in poverty has not changed very much if at all. (USNews & World Report)

The bottom line is this: If you wait until after you graduate high school to get married, and wait until after marriage to have children, your likelihood of living in poverty is about 10% of what it would be if you change the order of those three events in any way.

Liberals have great intentions.  Despite all the policies they have implemented in 50 years, they just cannot demonstrate the results we all desire.  Maybe it is time to listen to conservatives and libertarians.

Mandatory Voting Violates First Amendment

Obama Praises Idea of Mandatory Voting

Isn't the president supposed to be a constitutional scholar?  I know I've heard that said.  So now he supports the idea of mandatory voting for all.  Let's analyze this shall we?

Voting is political speech, and we have the right to vote if you meet all criteria such as citizenship, age and residency.  Having the right to vote also provides for the right not to vote, just as the right of free speech is partnered with the right to remain silent.  So Mr. Obama, the constitutional scholar, wants to revoke your right to free political speech by taking away your right to remain silent, or not vote.

The value of your one vote is in the ability to express your political will by placing a ballot in the box.  Presumably, your vote carries the same weight as all other votes.  But if people vote who do not have the right to do so, what then happens to your one vote?  It becomes less meaningful of course. 

The point of this is that identifying yourself at the polling place proves you have the right to vote, or not.  It prevents fraudulent voters from voting.  It does not prevent rightful voters from voting.

Once we determined this to be that case, then all we need to do is figure out how all voters can best identify themselves as such.  This is not the hurdle some would have you believe.

The Real Impact of Minimum Wage, Part 2

Ruinous 'Compassion", by Dr. Thomas Sowell

"The following year, the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 was passed, requiring minimum wages in the construction industry. This was in response to complaints that construction companies with non-union black construction workers were able to underbid construction companies with unionized white workers (whose unions would not admit blacks)."

The real reason for minimum wage laws was to prevent blacks from taking work away from whites, and it was effective.  Minimum wage laws do help masses of people improve their standard of living, as is implied by the term 'living wage'.  In fact, minimum wages prevent many people with little skill and experience from ever getting the skills and experience they need to improve their earning potential.

The Real Impact of Minimum Wage

Seattle's $15 Minimum Wage

"Substitution Effect" is what this is called.  When the price of anything goes up, people substitute lower cost for higher cost items and services.  The same thing holds true for labor as for gasoline, food, clothing, etc.

Businesses are not immune to the substitution effect either.  In fact, they must earn more than they cost, so finding lower cost alternatives is a requirement for staying in business.

More Settled Science

Global Warming - Walter E. Williams

I too am quite tired of hearing about how the global warming/climate change is settled science.  The summary of Dr. Williams column is quite appropriate.

"The most disgusting aspect of the climate change debate is the statements by many that it's settled science. There is nothing more anti-scientific than the idea that any science is settled. Very often we find that the half-life of many scientific ideas is about 50 years. For academics to not criticize their colleagues and politicians for suggesting that scientific ideas are not subject to challenge is the height of academic dishonesty."

Government Workers

I don't know if this will be true or not, but we'll find out in 61 years.  I do know that the government is involved in far too many aspects of our daily lives. 

 Ronald Reagan famously said the 9 most terrifying words in the English language are:
"I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

I’m from the government and I’m here to help'

He also said this about government:

"No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!"

 

Most government workers are not elected, and most of them are protected by employee unions which make it difficult at best to downsize the government.  Laws passed are seldom if ever repealed, and agencies created never get decommissioned.  

 

In order to justify their positions the agency management in almost all agencies must created regulations that give them authority to act.  That authority also gives the nation reason to fear government.  

All new regulations require compliance.  Complexity of regulation requires experts to navigate the maze of regulations.  Hiring experts to help you through the maze adds to the cost of whatever endeavor you are involved in.

If you think it impacts only businesses you are mistaken.  Think about simple things like low volume flush toilets and incandescent light bulbs.  Think about tax credits for replacing appliances with energy efficient versions.

While many things the government regulates are good ideas, the free market will do what is smart and good anyway.  But the complex maze of regulation and red tape cannot improve upon the free market.

At Clintonemail.com

Hillary Clinton uses email.  Not surprising as most Americans anymore do also.  But Hillary Clinton has an email problem.  Her problem is not the email sent or received, nor the server on which it was processed.  Her problem is lack of credibility and lack of integrity.

Mrs. Clinton was not truthful in her dealings with the American people, and this revelation was brought to light when her email service was exposed.  If Mrs. Clinton expects others to follow certain policies and procedures, but not do so herself, she should not expect our support for her past performance, or support for her ambition to become the next President of the United States. 

Mrs. Clinton should not be the person who determines which and when certain emails are made available for scrutiny.  Mrs. Clinton should not be hiding behind ambiguous policy interpretations by political cronies in order to prevent those emails from being made available.  She should be allowing the server and contents to be examined.  Who does that is open for debate, but it should be voluntary on her part to make them available.

Until she does so, she should not be given consideration for election to any office.

Is It Any Wonder?

So Michael Brown did not put his hand up in surrender to Officer Wilson.  Instead he assaulted the officer in an attempt to take away the officer's firearm.  The grand jury heard the testimony and came to that conclusion, as did the US Department of Justice investigators.  Attorney General Eric Holder said so in releasing their report.

But all of that does not matter because Mr. Holder also said the cops in Ferguson are bad, real bad.  All during the riots in Ferguson in 2014 the AG told America that cops are bad.  The mayor of New York City told America their cops are bad.  The Rev. Al Sharpton told America cops were hunting down black youths in the streets.

So is it any wonder we have had 2 police officers shot dead in New York City, and now 2 officers shot and wounded in Ferguson?  Like elections Mr. President, words having consequences too.