Tuning Out of Politics
There's an old joke about the man who was asked in a poll, "Do you think the nation has a problem with ignorance and apathy?" To which he responded, "I don't know and I don't care."
Portability: Is Kassebaum/Kennedy the Answer?
While solving the problem of the 1 percent of the population that lacks health insurance because they have been denied coverage due to a preexisting condition, this bill would create even greater problems for the 99 percent. Let's see why.
Tax Reform's Third Rail: Mortgage Interest
The mortgage interest deduction has long been considered the untouchable third rail of tax reform. However, a close look at a flat-rate tax suggests that, on balance, homeowners would gain more from it than they would lose.
Limiting Welfare Benefits for Illegitimate Children: The Family Cap
One of the most controversial welfare reform proposals under consideration would limit the amount of cash assistance mothers on welfare would receive if they bear additional illegitimate children. But in this case it's not just a theory, there is some practical experience to help evaluate the idea. The state of New Jersey passed a family cap law in 1992, taking effect in August 1993. No longer does a mother on welfare receive additional welfare money for bearing more children.
Principles of a Flat Tax
There is a better way of taxing. Under a flat tax, all income is taxed, and it is taxed at the same rate. Furthermore, income is taxed only once, at its source, when it is realized.
Benefits of the Flat Tax
A flat or single-rate income tax would replace the current system of five rates and hundreds of deductions, credits, exclusions, etc. This change is grounded in widely accepted principles of taxation.
Even Unions Want This Free Market Idea
Congress may soon make Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) the law of the land. And even labor unions like the idea.
The Republican Dilemma: Growth or Green Eyeshades?
Sixteen months into the conservative revolution that swept the field in the 1994 elections, the liberals are winning the war. They lost the battle at the polls but they are winning the war in the trenches of the Congress and the sound bites of the evening news.