The Moral Question

The distribution of taxes paid by US income groups is not a secret and is available to anyone curious enough to look for it.

For my reader (singular intended) who thinks that the mythical rich don't pay enough taxes, it's important to understand that you're making a moral argument, not an economic one. You're saying that by the simple fact of having more money than you do, a rich woman owes a higher percent of her income to the general weal.

I try to stay away from statements of morality when talking economics but let me turn the moral question around. What moral right gives a poor or, more importantly, middle class person the right to take the property of the wealthy woman? By definition, money is a store of value and nothing more. Her couch is a store of value, her car is a store of value, her house is a store of value. Can you take the couch from her living room? Can you take the car from her driveway? By what moral right do we insist that she pay a larger percent of her income that we do?

Maybe the question answers itself but then again, maybe not.

What's the Real Value?

Here's a very interesting look at inflation-adjusted housing prices since 1970. I infer from this that the value crash from 2006 onward has a ways to go yet. (We'll need to get below the moving average price before we can climb back about it.) As a homeowner with a house for sale, this is not great news. However, reality is reality.

I Knew I was Right

A widely held public conception is that America's manufacturing industries are in decline and have been for decades. I have always believed this to be incorrect and here's the evidence. In fact, US manufacturing has doubled in real dollars since 1975.

What's happening is that manufacturing is becoming significantly more productive over time and it is declining as a percentage of the total US economy.

My hat's off to all of us who work in manufacturing. We're doing a damn good job, if I say so myself.

I Could Not Have Said It Better

My wife and I sent both of our daughters to good universities from our own money. At one time, one of my daughters was (very briefly) considering taking out a student loan. She was trying to be noble and lighten the load on her parents. I quickly convinced her that a loan was a bad idea: here's why.

If a private organization managed loans the way the government does, the private loaner would be in prison.

Ever Wonder?

If you follow economic news at all, you may know that California has the eighth largest economy in the world. The Economist has published a great chart showing how each US state compares with nations around the world.


(My apologies that I'm unable to embed an image. The view of the chart itself is pretty good.)

Rich Whitey is Running

This is just too good. Although it appears to be simple human error, it appears that Rich Whitey is running for election.

Innate and Constructed

Here's a great graphic showing the true delineation of political thought.