News, Notes, and Opinions From the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI)http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/en-usFri, 12 Mar 2010 10:51:07 -0500 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:01:12 -0500
The Wall Street Journal’s John Fund recently explained that Democrats are considering an ambitious lame-duck session when Congress returns after the November elections.

If Democrats lose control of the House and maybe even the Senate, their congressional leaders could return in early December with plans to tax and spend like there’s no tomorrow -- which, for them, there wouldn’t be.

If a number of Democratic incumbents has been defeated, why not “go for the gold” -- your gold, that is -- and ram through their Christmas wish list? New taxes, new spending, maybe “card check” for the unions.
]]>http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.27-christmas-surprise.htmTaxMerrill Matthews Jr.http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.27-christmas-surprise.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.27-christmas-surprise.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dxcomments/taxbytes-7.27-christmas-surprise.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.27-christmas-surprise.htm?opendocument&comments Tue, 6 Jul 2010 13:06:10 -0500
Politico quotes Howard Gleckman of the Urban Institute as saying, “The question is, can [Democrats] create the perception that they have done all these things to create jobs, or that they tried but the dastardly Republicans prevented them from creating jobs?”

Rather than blaming Republicans, Democrats ought to thank them. Had Republicans been able to stop the Democrats’ uber-spending spree even earlier, the economy might have come back quicker and unemployment might be trending down.
]]>http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.26-when-flips-dont-flop.htmTaxMerrill Matthews Jr.http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.26-when-flips-dont-flop.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.26-when-flips-dont-flop.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dxcomments/taxbytes-7.26-when-flips-dont-flop.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.26-when-flips-dont-flop.htm?opendocument&comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 07:44:58 -0500
A mere 18 months later not even the European socialists want to go where the president wants to lead—ever more government spending. Indeed, most of Europe is headed in the opposite direction.

• The U.K. has announced new austerity measures, including 25 percent budget cuts and a two-year public-sector pay freeze. Even the queen’s allotment will be frozen next year.

• Germany has said it will cut its budget by nearly $100 billion over the next four years.

• And France wants to cut its budget deficit from 8 percent of GDP this year to 3 percent by 2013.

By contrast, Obama tried to convince countries at the G-20 meeting to, lemming like, follow us off the economic cliff. They declined en masse.]]>http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.25-making-european-socialists-blush.htmTaxMerrill Matthews Jr.http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.25-making-european-socialists-blush.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.25-making-european-socialists-blush.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dxcomments/taxbytes-7.25-making-european-socialists-blush.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.25-making-european-socialists-blush.htm?opendocument&comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:58:48 -0500
Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey has introduced the “Create Jobs and Save Benefits Act,” otherwise known as the “Buy Union Votes and Boost My 2012 Reelection Chances” bill. In essence, the bill would transfer billions of dollars in unfunded pension liabilities from mostly union-managed multi-employer pension plans to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), which is backed by taxpayers.

But even as unions push for taxpayers to fill the gap in their underfunded and mismanaged pension plans, they drop millions of dollars in union dues on political causes.
]]>http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.23-a-penny-saved-is-a-penny-not-spent—on-politics.htmTaxMerrill Matthews Jr.http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.23-a-penny-saved-is-a-penny-not-spent—on-politics.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.23-a-penny-saved-is-a-penny-not-spent—on-politics.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dxcomments/taxbytes-7.23-a-penny-saved-is-a-penny-not-spent—on-politics.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.23-a-penny-saved-is-a-penny-not-spent—on-politics.htm?opendocument&comments Tue, 8 Jun 2010 15:21:00 -0500
Anyone who knows Washington knows there is a fundamental flaw in the budget process. If an agency or department doesn’t spend all of its budget, the excess funds go back to the federal government.

Moreover, that agency may see its future budget cut by a similar amount, as the money gets redirected in the next budget cycle to the squeakier wheels. So agencies, reacting to the established economic incentives, routinely find ways to spend their allotments, whether they really need the funds or not.

Back in the 1990s, stories emerged that one of the defense department agencies found it had some $900,000 left at the end of the year and wasted it all on magazine subscriptions. That problem was fixed; the Pentagon can now shift leftover dollars around to other agencies.
]]>http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.22-obama-and-musgrave’s-iron-law-of-economics.htmTaxMerrill Matthews, Jr.http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.22-obama-and-musgrave’s-iron-law-of-economics.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.22-obama-and-musgrave’s-iron-law-of-economics.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dxcomments/taxbytes-7.22-obama-and-musgrave’s-iron-law-of-economics.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.22-obama-and-musgrave’s-iron-law-of-economics.htm?opendocument&comments Tue, 1 Jun 2010 16:32:45 -0500
Reduce Medicaid eligibility. Historically, states have varied widely on Medicaid eligibility, with some setting the threshold significantly below the federal poverty level (FPL). ObamaCare sets a nationwide eligibility threshold at 133 percent, which increases the number of people in the government-run program by an additional estimated 15 million by 2019. Funding Medicaid eligibility only up to 100 percent of FPL would dramatically lower its cost.]]>http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.21-debunk-and-defund.htmTaxMerrill Matthews, Jr. http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.21-debunk-and-defund.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.21-debunk-and-defund.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dxcomments/taxbytes-7.21-debunk-and-defund.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.21-debunk-and-defund.htm?opendocument&comments Tue, 25 May 2010 10:23:44 -0500
In a word: fugetaboutit!

That’s because Social Security will withhold one dollar for every two you make above $14,160 this year. It’s called the Social Security earnings limit, and it exists to discourage older Americans from taking early retirement under Social Security.

The original earnings limit was created with the passage of Social Security in 1935 to fulfill social policy, not economic policy.]]>http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.20-how-washington-hammers-early-retirees.htmTaxMerrill Matthews, Jr.http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.20-how-washington-hammers-early-retirees.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.20-how-washington-hammers-early-retirees.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dxcomments/taxbytes-7.20-how-washington-hammers-early-retirees.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.20-how-washington-hammers-early-retirees.htm?opendocument&comments Tue, 18 May 2010 16:21:19 -0500(http://republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut/) where, along with a greeting by House Republican Whip Eric Cantor explaining the need to get federal spending under control, the public can “vote” on several potential cuts in the federal budget. Votes can be rendered either on the website or from a cell phone.

This week’s choices include, among other options:

• $260 million for the presidential election fund. After singing the praises of government-financed elections, President Obama refused to take federal money because it would limit what he could raise. Eliminating this program would mean all presidential elections would be funded by private contributions.

• $600 million for taxpayer subsidized union activities.]]>http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.19-cut-to-the-revolution.htmTaxMerrill Matthews, Jr.http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.19-cut-to-the-revolution.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.19-cut-to-the-revolution.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dxcomments/taxbytes-7.19-cut-to-the-revolution.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.19-cut-to-the-revolution.htm?opendocument&comments Tue, 4 May 2010 15:14:58 -0500
  Rubio confirmed that he did, and went on to add that he believed all serious observers agreed that benefits would need to be cut.
  
  We disagree, but more about that in a minute.
  
  If we lived in a “post-partisan” political world, where ideas could be proposed and discussed in an intelligent manner, then we could have a rational discussion about benefits cuts.
  
  But Washington’s political divisiveness has become a national embarrassment, with name calling, and scoldings and massive pieces of legislation being forced through without one single vote from the minority party.
  ]]>http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.17-a-short-painful-lesson-on-‘benefits-cuts’.htmTaxMerrill Matthews, Jr.http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.17-a-short-painful-lesson-on-‘benefits-cuts’.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.17-a-short-painful-lesson-on-‘benefits-cuts’.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dxcomments/taxbytes-7.17-a-short-painful-lesson-on-‘benefits-cuts’.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.17-a-short-painful-lesson-on-‘benefits-cuts’.htm?opendocument&comments Tue, 6 Apr 2010 15:49:49 -0500
  The Tax Foundation says that Friday, April 9, will be Tax Freedom Day. The organization defines Tax Freedom Day as “the date on which Americans will have worked long enough to have earned enough money to pay this year’s tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels.”
  
  The Tax Foundation also tracks Tax Freedom Day by state. For Texas it was yesterday, April 5. It could be worse—and in a few years it WILL be a lot worse. It could also be a lot better.
  
  Alaska was the first state to reach the goal this year, March 26. And Connecticut will be dead last, on April 27.
  ]]>http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.13-free-at-last-free-at-last.htmTaxMerrill Matthews, Jr.http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.13-free-at-last-free-at-last.htm?opendocument&commentshttp://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.13-free-at-last-free-at-last.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dxcomments/taxbytes-7.13-free-at-last-free-at-last.htm http://www.policybytes.org/blog/policybytes.nsf/dx/taxbytes-7.13-free-at-last-free-at-last.htm?opendocument&comments