The Other McCain

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

A Root Canal, Or A Post On Taxation. You’re Opting For The Dentist?

Posted on | August 4, 2012 | Comments Off on A Root Canal, Or A Post On Taxation. You’re Opting For The Dentist?

by Smitty

There was an excellent panel yesterday on a topic that is so important, it isn’t addressed with any seriousness: taxation. Sure, candidates and parties natter on about it in a purely class-warfare sort of way. But that’s all hormonal whinging, turning emotion into power. Quite successfully, too. Which is why all that ‘fair share’ and ‘1%’ talk is as inevitable as death.

Yesterday saw Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Stephen J. Entin offered some remarks with humor that easily achieved British levels of dryness. Shorter wonks: a non-suck tax code is achievable, but requires a determined, engaged electorate. I emailed Entin about online availability of his slides. Afterward, I asked DHE if the lack of a budget for 3+ years meant all talk of tax reform was moot “on our current course”, and he seemed affirmative on the point. AFP events are non-partisan, and the problem of our mad, mad tax code is certainly bipartisan. But if we’re to have a snowball’s chance, we have to have other than a tin-pot dictator at the helm.

DHE:

SJE:

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