[jsanders2001]

The provision to have access to your financial information via Obamacare makes a lot more sense if the Feds are trying to monitor how much more they can squeeze you for...just enough so you can eat a meal a day, afford a car so you can work, and your Obamacare biill

[EEGator]

[SpaceBar]

I’m a big advocate of the Laffer Curve.

The Laffer curve is simply a restatement of the mean value of derivatives on a smooth differentiable curve. If the derivative is positive at one end, and negative at the other end, there HAS to be at least one place somewhere at an intermediate value of the independent variable where the derivative is zero, which identifies a local extrema on the interval. Being an advocate of a mathematical theorem is a no-brainer.

[KarlInOhio]

One argument I've always heard against the Laffer Curve by leftists is that people won't quit working just because the government is taking more money. They even go so far as to claim that people will work harder in order to get the same after tax income to maintain their lifestyle and use as evidence that the first year after a tax rate increase will often result in a total tax revenue increase. However, the Laffer Curve is more about longer term investment than tax returns next year. Did Laffer do any studies on this where the long term Laffer Curve would have a peak at a much lower rate than the short term curve? And the Rahn Curve for growth maximization referenced by the author will peak at an even lower tax rate than either a short or long term Laffer Curve. Also, I believe a tax curve maximizing personal freedom would have an even lower peak rate than that.

[theBuckwheat]

The important point to note about the Laffer Curve is that Conservatives must not fall for the trap it lays for them. We are tempted to want to tweak the tax rate so as to optimize government revenues.

Government exists not to be able to extract the maximum amount of money from its citizens but to achieve the maximum amount of liberty for them. This is the Liberty Curve, where zero government has no liberty due to anarchy and complete government intrusion has no liberty due to tyranny and coercion.

We must strive to use government for its intended purpose, to secure the blessings of liberty for all citizens.

Look up “Rahn Curve”

[walford]

During the Depression, top tax rates were above 90%. So instead of building a factory and creating jobs, investors put their money into stamp collections, Swiss Bank accounts and other non-productive tax shelters.

Hence the worst year of the Depression was 1937.

We are being given the innovative policies of the 1930s — with similar results.

[grumpygresh]

The Left has never cared about maximizing economic growth or even maximizing tax revenues. When will conservatives stop thinking that Leftists have good intentions but lack sufficient knowledge or good sense.

The Leftists are composed of 3 primary factions economically. There are the exempt super-rich (not the 1%, but the .001%) that are exempt from income taxes because they can shelter their income via off shore corporations, foundations, and various other complex tax shelter schemes not available to medium and small business owners. They also get the government contracts, and special immunity from legislation (0-care, carbon emissions). There is the parasitic government worker class (teachers, bureaucrats, municipal & state workers) that receive overly generous tax free benefits such as pensions & healthcare, and are relatively less affected by higher taxes paid by those making more than $200k. More government means more work & job security. Then there is the welfare class that receives food stamps, EITC, healthcare etc.

The Left needs to destroy their enemy, AKA the productive & innovative sector, to retain political power. Deprive small and medium business of income, and you can destroy their means to fund candidates. Put people out of work, or into part time employment, and you gain more welfare constituents, and those that depend on government programs.