Tag Archive: free markets

  • Tax freedom day banner1

    Happy Tax Freedom Day!

    Ben Wilterdink | April 18, 2013 | Add a comment

    Each year, the Tax Foundation releases a report on Tax Freedom Day – the day when the annual tax burden is paid off and people are able to keep their income. This year, that day is April 18. The calculation is a measurement of the total amount Americans earn in … »

  • Myth of the Day: Lower Tax Rates are Bad for the Economy

    Our blog post on Myth #1 explained why it is untrue to assume that increased government spending (economic stimulus proposals in particular) leads to increased economic growth.  Today’s myth strikes at a related assumption: lower tax rates are bad for the economy in a recession and always lead to lower … »

  • Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Long on Opinion, Short on Research

    ALEC Blog Team | February 20, 2013 | Add a comment

    The Left-wing Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is out with a new essay attacking the economic basis for low tax, free-market, limited government policy proposals like those laid out in Rich States, Poor States. In reality, CBPP’s paper is a case study in poor research methods, self-referentialism, and confirmation bias. The … »

  • No Snake Oil, Life is About Incentives

    ALEC Blog Team | December 10, 2012 | Add a comment

    By Jonathan Small, CPA Many have heard the saying, “You reap what you sow.” This is an undeniable fact of life, reality. Essentially, this saying means that productive efforts eventually yield constructive results and destructive efforts eventually yield damaging results. Recently, two groups — the Iowa Policy Project and Good … »

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    Capital Gains Taxes: The Phantom Menace

    Andrew Bender | November 5, 2012 | Add a comment

    Film fans are abuzz over news that George Lucas will sell LucasArts, along with the globally renowned “Star Wars” franchise to Disney for a staggering $4 billion.  But as Quentin Fottrell at The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch illustrates, the decision may have more to do with taxes than filmmaking. The … »

  • globe networks

    Is Broadband a Monopoly?

    Alex Rued | November 1, 2012 | Add a comment

    Broadband is often described as the “core” of the Internet ecosystem—little more than the basic infrastructure across which users interact, and subject to heavy-handed government regulations that reflect this assumption. However, AEI visiting scholar Jeffrey Eisenach challenges this assumption, arguing instead that broadband is an integral part of the Internet … »

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    Hired With a Silver Spoon?

    Ben Wilterdink | October 31, 2012 | Add a comment

    At a time when states are tightening their budgets and looking everywhere to find savings, one area has been largely overlooked. A new study released by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) highlights the major disparity between state workers and private sector workers. In the new report, titled Public Servants or … »

  • Cato Institute Grades Governors on Fiscal Record

    Kati Siconolfi | October 22, 2012 | Add a comment

    The latest edition of the Cato Institute’s Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors grades the states on economic policies enacted since 2010.  Governors that earned an “A” implemented pro-growth reforms, such as reducing taxes and spending, while Governors that received an “F” have a record of raising spending and … »

  • Graph Up

    The Need for Corporate Tax Reform

    Fara Klein | October 9, 2012 | Add a comment

    It’s no secret that the U.S. corporate tax rate is one of the highest in the world. However, a recent report released by the Cato Institute measured exactly how the U.S. compares with 90 other nations on corporate taxes. The results of the study are unsettling – the authors found … »

  • Intellectual Property: The Innovation Economy’s Engine for Growth and Job Creation

    Tom Bird | October 8, 2012 | Add a comment

    Intellectual Property (IP) is work or an invention resulting from creativity and innovation and can be used to define anything from a piece of art to the latest technological gadget.  Intellectual property rights (IPR) have always been part of the American legal landscape and were so important to the Framers … »