American Shareholders Association

Could Delaware Be Moving to 401(k) Plans for Teachers?

According to BLS, there are 22,000 teachers and education administrators in Delaware.  Not surprisingly, this government monopoly is bloated and expensive.  That's why the Democrat governor of Delaware, Ruth Ann Minner, appointed a commission to study ways to save money.

What was the committee's recommendation?  A 401(k) option for younger teachers.  The commission thinks that $29 million per year could be saved by making this switch.  At a time when taxpayers have to foot a bigger and bigger bill for retired government employees, this plan is a win-win.  And it comes from a Democrat governor.

Kudlow on Why Bush Is Not the New Hoover

Big rock candy Kudlowism is back, baby.  Here's a snippet of the longer piece.

It was Hoover who signed the Smoot-Hawley trade-protectionism act and overturned the Coolidge-Mellon tax cuts. These disastrous measures — along with monetary contraction from a fledgling Federal Reserve — turned a recession into a depression. FDR didn’t help matters, either. His misbegotten tax hikes on successful earners and businesses, and his alphabet agencies to control the industrial and farming sectors, extended the depression and held unemployment near 20 percent. Today, it’s the Hill-Bama Democrats who want to raise taxes on successful producers. And they want to turn protectionist by reopening NAFTA and stopping any new open-trade treaties. Schumer himself has spent years bashing China, threatening the nation with huge tariffs if its currency policies don’t conform to demands.  If anyone has resurrected the party of Hoover, it’s today’s Democrats. They’ve adopted pessimism as their national pastime, and want us to believe we’re already in a long and deep recession.

Canadians Get Universal Tax-Free Savings

News today from Canada that the government is getting ready to approve a system of universal tax-free savings accounts.  Any Canadian over 18 could contribute $5000 per year.  The money is after-tax, but grows tax-free (like a Roth IRA).  The money can be withdrawn (and returned!) for any purpose.  It's depressing when the Canadians beat us at our own game.

IRS Updates Capital Gains and Dividends Tax Revenue Historically

Hat tip to the Tax Prof Blog.

The Laffer Curve, Part III: Dynamic Scoring

GWB As Herbert Hoover? Hardly

Yesterday, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) accused President Bush of being a "new Herbert Hoover," by which he meant asleep at the switch.

If only Hoover had been asleep at the switch.  In any event, the contrast couldn't be starker.  Where Hoover signed a massive income tax increase, President Bush has signed multiple pro-growth tax cuts.  Where Hoover raised taxes on imports (aka tariffs), Bush has been a tireless free trader.  The only area of negative comparison is that neither man could seem to keep their hands out of the taxpayer's cookie jar when it came to spending.

If we had that kind of Hoover in 1929, we might be a far freer and pro-growth nation right now.

The Best Part About Ireland? How About the 12.5% Corporate Income Tax?

Everyone knows that today is St. Patrick's Day.  People harp on the brogue, the beer, and the shamrocks. 

What investors should be grateful for is the 12.5% corporate income tax rate--the lowest in the developed world, leading to the "Celtic Tiger" effect of the last decade.

Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat! Ádh mór ort!