Tax Cuts: Pure Economics

I recently partook of the Massachusetts tax free holiday. The 5% sales tax was removed, and Massachusetts residents went shopping.

"It's as much a psychological thing as it is economic," House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones Jr. said.

No it is not! Is it any wonder Bay State Republicans are in the minority? It is quite simple: Prices go down, demand goes up. Take away a 5% sales tax, and the price of goods purchsed goes down. There is no feeling about it, it is not mental. Your receipt reads a number that does not include a 5% tax. There are real, actual extra dollars in your pocket. I wonder if he meant that by having extra dollars in your pocket, you feel good!

Politicians in Massachusetts are loath to admit that cutting taxes has a tangible economic benefit. Why? Question 1 looms in November. Eliminating the state income tax WILL have an enormous economic impact. Lower income taxes mean more actual dollars in residents' pockets. It is that simple. It will increase economic growth, it will create jobs, it will increase after-tax income. That will make Massachusetts residents happier. Maybe it is as much psychology.

Federal Government Should Also Stay out of Higher Education

Congress recently passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act in an attempt to address the skyrocketing cost of higher education.

If the federal government stopped meddling, maybe costs would come down. When customers generally do not directly pay for services they receive, costs go up. This is true of healthcare, auto body repair and other pseudo-socialized industries.

There is a direct link between the skyrocketing cost of higher education and the degree to which the myriad of subsidies has replaced actual payments by students and families.

A college degree is not required to understand that.

Director of Common Sense Blasts Housing Bill

My Director of Common Sense said that there is no reason an auto, private equity handout should be in a HOUSING bill. And further, he was wondering what any bill was doing being more than five pages - let alone 675.

I was on the verge of letting him go because a Director of Common Sense should have ended the logic debate at: The federal government has no business intervening in the housing market.