Taxes and Spending

The reliability and service life of the F-35 were greatly exaggerated in earlier reports. Now the aircraft is looking like an even bigger boondoggle than before. 

The more the government spends, the worse it is for the health of the economy and thus for economic growth. Experts who advocate for very strong government stimulus never bother to ask how those measures are going to be supported by the larger economy.

The economic analysis of repudiation applies to the debt of all levels of government and to all countries. The central question is not how big the government is or how much it owes, but rather whether the debt is funded by taxes.

If we look beyond the mere tax revenue totals, we begin to understand that the cost of taxation to society is far higher than the tax revenue raised and that the costs to society of taxation grow faster than the size of government.

The assertion that “tax-financed public goods can make us all better off” is just that: an assertion. As Rothbard showed, there is no reason to just assume consumers would pay for these amenities were they not forced to through taxation. 

Murray Rothbard was a pioneer in analyzing taxation from an Austrian or causal-realist standpoint. However, he never explicitly engaged the standard theory of deadweight loss from taxation. This article develops the Austrian analysis of taxation further toward this end

The assertion that “tax-financed public goods can make us all better off” is just that: an assertion. As Rothbard showed, there is no reason to just assume consumers would pay for these amenities were they not forced to through taxation. 

The economic analysis of repudiation applies to the debt of all levels of government and to all countries. The central question is not how big the government is or how much it owes, but rather whether the debt is funded by taxes.

What would it mean for the economy if by one fell swoop not just the debt owed to the central bank, but all of it disappeared?

Social activists now regard the minimum wage as another welfare program that can reduce the costs of programs like Medicaid and food stamps, and can reduce inequality. But the minimum wage is very poorly targeted for these purposes.