Over the last two months, we’ve looked at some academic literature on the corporate income tax. With the general election over (or is it?), the discussion will soon be very non-academic. What will the people in charge of Minnesota’s tax system–the governor and the Legislature–do? The prospects for rectifying the problems with the corporate income tax are murky, at best. Candidate Mark Dayton, likely to […]
John LaPlante
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DFL Wins Governorship; Republicans Win Legislature: Here’s How
How can Minnesota Democrat (in Minnesota-speak, DFL) Mark Dayton win the governor’s office even when his party loses its majorities in the Legislature? Sure, the Independence Party, which captured almost 12 percent of the vote, is likely one factor. But another factor, which is easy to overlook, is the fact that the rule for counting legislative majorities is not the same as the rule for […]
Part 4 in a Series on the Minnesota Corporate Income Tax Debate: Encouraging Debt, Punishing Prudence
What effect does the corporate income tax have on corporate debt? That’s the topic in our latest edition of a series on the corporate income tax. More specifically, what are the effects of marginal corporate income tax rates on corporate debt, as measured by debt-equity ratios? As with the last time, the commentary comes from an article in the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, by Simeon […]
What’s riskier: a corporate bond or a promise from a member of Congress?
Democrats love to slam Republicans for promoting “risky schemes” to privatize Social Security, even when the Republicans in question have no power over the program. The people who make these charges must believe that they resonate with enough of the population to make a difference. And I suspect they’re right. To be sure, investments in the stock market (which is to say, American companies that employ […]
Religious Faith Is Not A Policy Handbook
A preacher-turned-politician is accused of disregarding his faith by opposing this or that expansion of government-financed health care. Put aside the obvious question–whatever happened to the separation of church and state?–the criticism is based on the invalid assumption that there’s an indisputable link between “Love thy neighbor” and a specific government program. Making this assumption leads to all sorts of errors and undesirable outcomes in public […]
Part 3 in a Series on the Minnesota Corporate Income Tax Debate: Higher Rates Mean Fewer Jobs
In our last two posts in this series, we looked at the effects of marginal corporate income tax rates on investment and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), as reported in peer-reviewed economic journal articles. Today, we look at the effects of marginal corporate income tax rates on the number of businesses and the creation of new businesses. Entrepreneurs are the people who take an idea and […]
Michigan by the numbers
I looked at the NYT article that Dan Calabrese linked to, and among the more interesting things I found there was the political map of Michigan. Click on a particular U.S. House district and you’ll get information about it. For each district you’ll find both the “projected vote” for the two major-party candidates, as well as a “chance of winning seat” calculation. The following list […]
Can I get a competitive race?
If past performance is in any way related to future results, all of the congressional races in Minnesota–and most in the nation–are over before they even begin. (Hint: In Minnesota, all the incumbents will win.) So says the work of 538, a project of the New York Times. Of 435 seats in the House, only 37–less than 10 percent–are truly in play. Cartel, anyone?
Expansive Government Poisons Science
Scientific disciplines are filled with internal disputes–few of which matter to outsiders, until governments use the authority of science as a justification for taking away individual liberty and expanding official power. The most obvious example is “climate change.” Is the earth on a secular warming trend or is it just another phase in a cycle? What factors cause the climate to change? Does the relative […]
Is a good CEO a good guv?
Rick Snyder, the Republican candidate for governor in Michigan, is touting his record as a CEO who oversaw the growth of Gateway computers. Will that make him a good governor?