In an attempt to compete with California for the political jurisdiction with the most economically destructive policies, Seattle’s city council recently approved head taxes on large businesses in the city.
To this day, the Marshall Plan, that enormous government program for foreign aid and wealth redistribution, is still held up as a model of good government planning, and of the benefits of forcibly redistributing the taxpayers’ money.
A common criticism levied at the capitalist system is that resources are prioritized on the ability to pay. The wealthy are able to better compete for resources when compared to the poor, creating an inequitable distribution of resources in favor of the rich. A common solution presented to this perceived problem is to convert to a socialist society, where the State is responsible for provisioning and distributing goods. As the argument goes, if the government is responsible for this provisioning, the issue of inequitable distribution will be solved and everyone will have access.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is known for dressing up in ridiculous costumes. His latest? A defender of free trade.
Congratulations to Demelza Hays, a 2015 Mises Research Fellow, for being named to Forbes 30 Under 30 from Deutschland/Austria/Switzerland. Ms. Hays is currently a PhD student at the University of Liechtenstein, specializing in cryptocurrency. Her analysis can be found at incrementum.li, an investment and management company guided by an understanding of Austrian economics.
