John A. Parnell, Ph.D.
Healthcare is a complex problem. It’s an emotional, literally life and death issue, and it’s getting more expensive every day. I’m going to walk through the major issues in this blog. I’ll also put a proposal on the table. Before I proceed, I want to underscore two points. First, the U.S. provides the best healthcare […]
Read MoreNot too long ago many Americans were complaining that corporations were making too much money at the expense of “working families,” the environment, and society in general. The oil companies were evil because they were too profitable. Wal-Mart was evil because it did not fund health care insurance for its employees. Now that many companies […]
Read MoreObama just placed a $500,000 compensation limit for executives at companies receiving government bailout funds. Unfortunately, a number of highly visible firms have not spent their government goodies wisely, thereby inviting this scrutiny. It’s difficult to argue with Obama at the surface level. If the federal government is going to bail out a firm, then […]
Read MoreDespite his failure to pay $34,000 in self-employment taxes, Timothy Geithner was confirmed as Obama’s treasury secretary last week. We’ve now learned that Tom Daschle, Obama’s health secretary nominee, failed to pay taxes associated with his use of a car and driver provided by a wealthy friend between 2005 and 2007. The specifics of […]
Read MoreI’m not an economist, but you don’t have to be one to understand taxes. I am frequently asked about tax policy, so it might be useful to go through the basics here. We’ll cover three tax categories—the capital gains tax, the corporate tax, and the income tax. Before we start, I should comment on […]
Read MoreThe so-called fairness doctrine just won’t go away. With Obama’s election, the democrats controlling both houses, and much of the informed, effective opposition to socialism coming from talk radio, those who wish to silence opposing points of view could get their way. The fairness doctrine is the idea that (radio) broadcasters should be required to […]
Read MoreNow that the auto industry has received its dose of federal life support, bailout attention has shifted to the states. One such request is for $1 trillion over two years, while other proposals approach $3 trillion over ten years. There are a number of reasons why “bailing out” states for their budget shortfalls is a […]
Read MoreA couple of recent gas tax proposals have caught my attention. The NY Times called for a fluctuating gas tax, permitting the federal government to set the price of gas in the $4-5 range. In the Weekly Standard, Charles Krauthammer called for a $1 increase in the federal gas tax offset by reductions in the […]
Read MoreA few months ago we were told that a financial industry bailout was required to avert a repeat of the Great Depression. While some government intervention was probably necessary, the blank check that Congress passed and President Bush signed is the best definition of a “slippery slope” I’ve seen in a long time. $700 billion […]
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