Romney, as Reagan Did, Has It Right on Cutting Taxes | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary

Romney, as Reagan Did, Has It Right on Cutting Taxes | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Presidential candidate Mitt Romney wants to cut all marginal tax rates by 20%. Vice President Joe Biden, in the debate with Paul Ryan, emphatically repeated that, "it has never been done before."

Yet President Kennedy cut all tax rates by 22% in 1964, and President Reagan cut them by another 19% to 22% by mid-1983. The 1986 Tax Reform Act then cut the top rate to 28% in 1988-90."

"Aside from booms and busts, the individual income tax always brought in about 8% of GDP regardless whether the top tax rate was 91% or 28%."

"The reason individual tax revenues remained above 8% of GDP as top tax rates fell from 91% to 28% is that high-income taxpayers earn and report more income when marginal tax rates come down. Economists call this the "elasticity of taxable income," and the response is powerful in high tax brackets."

Election 2012: Let's Hear It for Cynicism | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Election 2012: Let's Hear It for Cynicism | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "As political scientist Colleen Shogan explains, all two-term presidents in the modem era have been plagued by some form of the "Sixth-Year Curse," characterized by "scandals, weakened political coalitions, and midterm electoral defeat.""

Of Kids and�Christmas - Desiring God

Of Kids and�Christmas - Desiring God: "It wasn’t like that first Christmas was a time of quiet reflection. Mary and Joseph were on a huge last-minute trip. And she’s big pregnant on a donkey? Think of it. It sounds like the worst travel experience of all time. No room. No bed. No privacy. Baby coming. Not just any baby either — one Mary knew was the Messiah. Angels? Shepherds dropping in? You think she felt dressed for that? I doubt Mary had time to throw together a cheese platter. She was in a barn, forced to place the King of kings — her Lord — in a trough. And I doubt her livestock roommates were quite as cute as they look in the storybooks."

Obamanomics Explained | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obamanomics Explained | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Obama suggests that raising the top two tax rates will turn deficits into surpluses, which would now be good for our economy. Isn’t he the one who used to say huge deficits were a “stimulus”?"

"The Obama Treasury estimates that taxing long-term capital gains at 20 percent “for upper-income taxpayers” (not counting the Obamacare surtax) would raise $5.8 billion in 2013, but lose $5.9 billion in the following two years. That adds up to less than zero."

Lies, Damned Lies, And Defense-Job Statistics | Christopher Preble | Cato Institute: Commentary

Lies, Damned Lies, And Defense-Job Statistics | Christopher Preble | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The Pentagon might be a jobs program, but it isn't a very efficient one. It creates the kinds of jobs that politicians like to claim credit for, but military spending doesn't produce more growth in the economy or generate more innovation than a comparable level of spending by private individuals, businesses, and entrepreneurs."

"no more than 3.53 million jobs — direct, indirect, and induced — are sustained by the defense industry, so it is barely credible that a 10 percent reduction in Pentagon spending would result in the loss of one-third of all defense-related jobs."

"it is appropriate for resources to shift out of the military sector and into private sector as wars end and threats diminish."

Congressional Control as Important as White House | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Congressional Control as Important as White House | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Again, it is obvious that big increases in government spending do not lead to higher growth rates and lower unemployment. To be considered valid, an economic model needs to be reasonably accurate in its predictions. The Keynesian models have failed this test time and time again over the past 100 years and, most recently, during the past four years. Unemployment was supposed to be less than 6 percent, but it is higher, at 7.9 percent, than it was when the president took office. (Note: The real unemployment rate is 14.6 percent because many have stopped looking for work.)

The Austrian and classical economists who have argued for lower spending and tax rates have proved again to be correct."

Survey shows more drugged drivers than drunken drivers in California on weekends | Fox News

Survey shows more drugged drivers than drunken drivers in California on weekends | Fox News: "The California Office of Traffic Safety said Monday that 14 percent of drivers surveyed tested positive for driving under the influence of illegal or prescription drugs.

A little more than 7 percent of drivers were driving with alcohol in their system."

"Marijuana was most prevalent with 7.4 percent of drivers having it in their system."

The Twinkie Manifesto - NYTimes.com

The Twinkie Manifesto - NYTimes.com: "nothing before or since has matched the doubling of median family income between 1947 and 1973."

When you start from the great depression and the largest war, I sure hope things improve a lot!

What the world doesn't know about health care in America | Fox News

What the world doesn't know about health care in America | Fox News: "A growing list of European countries, including Denmark, England, Finland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden, have been forced by public outcry and laws to address unacceptable waits for care.

Meanwhile, it is understood that “waiting lists are not a feature in the United States,” as stated in a 2007 study and separately underscored by the OECD (“[the US is] a country where waiting time is not a policy concern”)."

"England’s 2010 “NHS Constitution” declared that no patient should wait beyond 18 weeks for treatment (after GP referral). Even given this long leash, the number of patients not being treated within that time soared by 43% to almost 30,000 in January."

"Royal College of Surgeons President Norman Williams, calling this “outrageous,” charged that hospitals are cutting their waiting lists by simply raising thresholds."

"Confirming OECD studies, Howard in 2009 reported the US had superior screening rates to all 10 European countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland) for all cancers. And Americans are more likely to be screened younger, when the expected benefit is greatest. Not surprising, for almost all cancers, US patients have less advanced disease at diagnosis than in Europe."

"treatment of diagnosed high blood pressure, the focus of preventing heart failure and stroke, was highest in the US"

"in 2007, 88.1% of US patients received medication to control it, compared to only 62.4% in the ten European nations."

"Swedes waited a median of 55 days, even though 75% were “imperative” or “urgent.” Canada’s heart surgery patients wait more than 10 weeks after seeing the doctor, and two months for CABG even after cardiologist appointments.
“Most United States patients face little or no wait for elective cardiac care,” "

"Americans enjoy unrivalled access to health care— whether defined by access to screening; wait-times for diagnosis, treatment, or specialists; timeliness of surgery; or availability of technology and drugs. And, gradually, Europeans are circumventing their systems. Half a million Swedes now use private insurance, up from 100,000 a decade ago. Almost two-thirds of Brits earning more than $78,700 have done the same."

FEMA's Top-Down Approach to Disaster Relief Is Fundamentally Flawed | Tad DeHaven | Cato Institute: Commentary

FEMA's Top-Down Approach to Disaster Relief Is Fundamentally Flawed | Tad DeHaven | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Federal efforts suffer from excessive bureaucratic red tape and an inherent inability to effectively coordinate the dispersion of relief supplies. State and local officials, on the other hand, are naturally closest to those affected and thus better appreciate the needs of their communities.

Another problem is that, like all federal aid, it is manipulated by policymakers for political gain. Studies have shown that presidents issue the most "major disaster" declarations in years they are up for re-election. Indeed, policymakers have apparently decided that handing out disaster relief funds is a good way to curry favor with voters as the average annual number of total disaster declarations has more than tripled since the mid-1990s."