Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'Public finance'

December 13, 2016

What you should know about subsidies

Note: This is post #13 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. What is a subsidy? A subsidy is really just a negative or reverse tax, explains Alex Tabarrok. Instead of collecting money in the form of a tax, the government gives money to consumer or producers. Continue Reading...
December 06, 2016

Understanding tax revenue and deadweight loss

Note: This is post #12 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Why do taxes exist? What are their effects? In this video by Marginal Revolution University, economist Alex Tabarrok explains how taxes affect consumer surplus and producer surplus. Continue Reading...
October 10, 2016

Is taxation theft?

Last week, before the most recent news about Donald Trump and the current US presidential campaign burst onto the scene, Think Christian ran a short reflection of mine on the question of taxation. Continue Reading...
February 09, 2016

Ben Sasse on Why Over-Regulation Hurts the Poor

Conservatives are known for arguing about the ill effects of over-regulation, reminding us how it stifles innovation, cramps entrepreneurship, and harms small businesses. Where we’re less effective is connecting this reality to the more fundamental abuses it wields on human dignity in general and the poor and vulnerable in particular. Continue Reading...
April 15, 2015

7 Figures: Tax Day Edition

Today is tax day, the day when individual income tax returns are due to the federal government. Here are seven figures you should know about tax day: 1. The average federal tax rate for all households (tax liabilities divided by income, including government transfer payments) before taxes is 18.1 percent. Continue Reading...
April 15, 2014

7 Figures: Tax Day Edition

[Note: ‘7 Figures’ is a new, occasional series highlighting data and information from a variety of surveys and reports.] 1. The average federal tax rate for all households (tax liabilities divided by income, including government transfer payments) before taxes is 18.1 percent. Continue Reading...
April 02, 2014

Samuel Gregg on Just Money

“If a society regards governmental manipulation of money as the antidote to economic challenges,” writes Acton research director Samuel Gregg at Public Discourse, “a type of poison will work its way through the body politic, undermining justice and the common good.” Continue Reading...