Obama's Soak-the-Rich Tax Hikes Won't Work | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama's Soak-the-Rich Tax Hikes Won't Work | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The individual income tax brought in 7.8% of GDP from 1952 to 1979 when the top tax rate ranged from 70% to 92%, 8% of GDP from 1993 to 1996 when the top tax rate was 39.6%, and 8.1% from 1988 to 1990 when the highest individual income tax rate was 28%. Mr. Obama's hope that raising only the highest tax rates could keep individual tax receipts well above 9% of GDP has been repeatedly tested for more than six decades. It has always failed."

In Japan, Let's Stop Sweating the Small (Nuclear) Stuff | Patrick J. Michaels | Cato Institute: Commentary

In Japan, Let's Stop Sweating the Small (Nuclear) Stuff | Patrick J. Michaels | Cato Institute: Commentary: "This is the familiar story of misplaced concern about tiny risks while blithely ignoring other major ones. People who have irrational fears of small amounts of ionizing radiation have no problem crossing a busy street in the city.

Others are terrified by flying and drive instead, even though there were nearly 34,000 automotive fatalities in 2009 in the U.S., compared with 50 on scheduled planes.

People stay up at night worrying about the 5% increase in sunburn-causing radiation as a result of stratospheric ozone depletion, and the next morning go to the beach and expose 95% of their skin to the same rays."

A Pyrrhic Victory | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

A Pyrrhic Victory | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Worse, contrary to assurances by the Republican leadership, the budget agreement actually increases the budget baseline. While that sounds like the sort of accounting-speak that makes eyes glaze over, it means that next year's budgeting process will start with an automatic assumption of higher spending, making it more difficult to cut spending in the 2012 budget.

From the negotiating brinkmanship, Republican leaders made it clear that they were more concerned with avoiding a government shutdown than in making real spending cuts. That's exactly what they got."