…at least I think so. This article from the NY Times highlights the intersection of two current political themes:
As I read it, several states have become concerned about (or at least highly focused on) the concentration of their income tax revenues on a handful of taxpayers.
“Residency flight” seems to be a particular problem facing Maine as well.
Recognizing that “jobs” is the #1 issue for voters in the 2016 election, all of the candidates are talking about how they’re going to create jobs, help the middle class and reduce income inequality.
Which got me thinking–what government policies actually create jobs, which ones create an environment conducive to job creation and which ones destroy jobs or impair job creation? Can the government create jobs beyond simply paying more workers (directly or through subsidies to business)?
Here are a couple of links, one recent, one “not so,” to review for discussion tomorrow.
The Mirage of a Return to Manufacturing Greatness
The following is posted on behalf of Dick Marshuetz. Now we have two good topics to kick around on Monday…
Last Monday we had a brief discussion about a question that had been asked of Congressman Poliquin: Why are we better off with for-profits than government enterprises? I think the reference was to health insurance but that’s a variant on a general theme that by eliminating profits, government enterprises might offer better service at lower prices. This sort of question is usually asked as an unanswerable stopper since everybody knows that profits don’t really do anything except line some plutocrat’s pocket. Without the plutocrats presumably customers and taxpayers are better off. Continue reading “Government vs. Private Sector Services”