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.

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Category: Taxes

Comments

  • http://dad29.blogspot.com/ Dad29

    I dunno about this. The South and West have zillions of military bases–contrast with North and Midwest…

    And the claim that SocSec is ‘progressive’ just because the 1940 cohort payment-scheme is ‘progressive’ …..well……..what if you’re a member of the 1975 cohort? 1995 cohort?

    I can assure you, SocSec will NOT be ‘progressive’ for those last ones.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1385852725 Richard Mcenroe

    They’re also throwing in farm, manufacturing and energy ‘subsidies’…

  • Anonymous

    Not only that, but some western states have as much as 80% of their land area under some form of Fedgov ownership: reservations, national parks, etc. What do you bet that they are counting all of those as “subsidies” when most people living there would like nothing more than for the feds to leave.

    And of course, there’s my standard response: stealing my money back from government thieves is a good thing. As long as you’re taxing out of my pocket, I want my share.

  • Anonymous

    Not only that, but some western states have as much as 80% of their land area under some form of Fedgov ownership: reservations, national parks, etc. What do you bet that they are counting all of those as “subsidies” when most people living there would like nothing more than for the feds to leave.

    And of course, there’s my standard response: stealing my money back from government thieves is a good thing. As long as you’re taxing out of my pocket, I want my share.

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