The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Excuse Me, Veronique, You’re Stepping On My Narrative

Posted on | April 30, 2011 | 4 Comments

by Smitty

No bandwidth for the video, but Veronique de Rugy threatens a few cherished notions over on Reason.TV:
Myth 1: Wealthy people pack up and move when their taxes increase.

. . .taxes have little impact on cross-state migration. Instead, the migration impacts of unemployment are much greater. Overall, the results suggest that taxes do not cause out-migration, but they do influence the choice of destination for some migrating households, such as retirees.

Myth 2: Blue states are big government states and red states are small government states.

Only 10 blue states are net recipients of federal subsidies, as opposed to 22 red states. Only one red state is a net payer of federal taxes, as opposed to 16 blue states. Another blue state pays in as much as it gets.

Here I’d like a bit more granularity. VA looks like a mendicant, but, when you’ve got Norfolk and attendant bases, the numbers can be argued. In favor of BRAC, sure.
Myth 3: The federal income tax may be progressive but the rest of the tax system is not, particularly the payroll tax.
Read the whole thing. Once people are done gawking at the Wedding of the Century, this is the kind of sober analysis we’ll need going forward.

Category: Taxes

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