QUESTION: You do a lot of comparison to the Roman Empire. What was the size of the government relative to GDP? Can you estimate that? GY ANSWER: The Roman economy was more like the USA during the mid-19th century in that it was pre-industrial. About 80% of its inhabitants worked in agriculture, which was about […]
While there is a grave danger many speak of with trade wars creating protectionism, that is merely a reaction to the economic decline in the West. It is not merely trade wars; it is appearing also in tax wars. Germany bribing Swiss bankers to get names of Germans with accounts in Germany illustrates that […]
QUESTION: Wasn’t there an income in Britain under Addington in 1803 to pay for the war against Napoleon predate the USA? Is the income tax voluntary? GH ANSWER: Yes that is true. However, it actually predates even that. Income tax was first implemented in Great Britain by William Pitt the Younger in his budget of December […]
It is imperative that we MUST eliminate the income tax. It is a purely a Marxist development that is destroying the world economy. The income tax has become such a tyranny that our liberty, freedom of movement, and world economic growth are all at great risk. Never before in the history of human civilization do […]
Socialism is dying because governments have made promises they cannot keep. Now when people expect that they will be there, they suddenly find the promises have been constantly revised. They always point to the rich and how they will make them pay. Everything who thinks they cannot possibly be the rich cheer, but at the […]
QUESTION: Martin, Washington State DOT is planning to bond against toll revenue generated by express toll lanes on or highways here in Western Washington. These express toll lanes were created by our DOT by stealing a general purpose lane and turning it into a toll lane. The pricing strategy is to keep the roads moving at […]
QUESTION: Hello Martin, [Analyst} recently …. raise[d] the alarm that the US is headed towards a very bad debt crisis. During an interesting part of the segment, he was asked if the rich should pay higher taxes, and he said “of course”, but he clarifies that what really matters is whether the tax dollars are […]
The battle over illegal aliens in the United States will really make your head spin. In 2017, California passed a “sanctuary state” law that limits cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration officials. Trump has stated that it remains an option for his administration to dump undocumented immigrants in “sanctuary cities,” namely send them all to […]
The EU has been unable to agree on taxing the internet. As a result, Austria went ahead and passed its own digital tax this week on revenues earned by online companies in their country. The entire problem with this type of taxation is the burden of accounting. This means that the online world will be […]
We are beginning to witness the impact of state taxes on decision making. California’s high taxes led to the San Francisco Giants losing Bryce Harper to the Philadelphia Phillies. The 26-year-old professional baseball star agreed to a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies because the bottom line net of what California would take was insane. I know […]
