Mises Wire

Week in Review: April 22, 2017

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Tax day came and went this week, ironically moved to the 17th due to Washington DC celebrating “emancipation day.” Washington’s addiction to spending keeps tax rates high, while the labyrinthine enriches lobbyists while causing headaches for Americans across the country. As Ludwig von Mises write in Human Action, “The metamorphosis of taxes into weapons of destruction is the mark of present-day public finance.”

The cost of taxation isn’t limited to what government takes out of taxpayer wallets.

The distortive impact of taxes on US and multinational businesses is also extraordinary, albeit not as much discussed. While monetary policy causes malinvestment through artificially low interest rates, high tax rates and burdensome complexity similarly cause firms to radically alter their business decisions. And just as interest rates affect the length of production, tax rates (and rules) dramatically affect decisions about the capital structure of companies.

Rather than being “the price we pay for civilization,” taxes are an unnecessary burden on the prosperity of society.

On Mises Weekends this week, Jeff is joined by Tho Bishop to discuss Richard Spencer’s appearance in Auburn, Alabama, this week. The event was a win for free speech, but also revealed Spencer’s affinity for socialism and the state. Instead of being a dangerous “thought criminal,” Richard Spencer is really just a naïve statist? Of course, the best way to win in the battle of ideas is not to simply ignore or censor those you disagree with, and there is no need for libertarians to run from topics such as nation and culture. As demonstrated by scholars such as Mises, Rothbard, and Hoppe, these ideas are in no way at odds with liberty and individualism, and are best preserved by decentralizing power and grounding society in a respect for private property rights.

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And in case you missed them, here are this weeks Mises Wire articles, covering a wide array of topics including taxes, trade, spending, and the Fed.

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Image Source: Phil Roeder flickr.com/photos/tabor-roeder/
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