Category: Economy
Debt Wrong: Dealing With College Costs and the College Debt Crisis
by Steven Pressman | Feb 12, 2020 | EconomyAs the presidential race heats up, two contentious and related issues concerning higher education have begun to take center stage—whether to make tuition free and what to do about Americans drowning in college debt. The Democrats running for president have struggled mightily with these issues. Before we get to solutions, let’s review the problems. The […]
Tax Policy Options for the Next Administration
by Steven Pressman | Jan 19, 2020 | EconomyThe Democrats running for president all promise large spending programs if elected—Medicare for All (or for all who want it), free or cheap college, infrastructure development, and (for Andrew Yang) a $12,000 annual income grant. Given the interest generated by my two recent Washington Spectator pieces on wealth taxes and financial transaction taxes, it seems […]
It’s Time to Tax Financial Transactions
by Steven Pressman | Oct 18, 2019 | Economy, PoliticsOver the years, many prominent economists have advocated taxing financial transactions. During the Great Depression that followed the 1929 stock market crash, John Maynard Keynes advocated such a tax to curb financial speculation and help ensure that investments went to productive endeavors rather than short-term gains. Nobel laureate James Tobin proposed a financial transactions tax […]
Yes, Increase Taxes on the Ultrarich, but What’s the Best Way to Do It?
by Steven Pressman | Sep 29, 2019 | Economy, Election 2020During the most recent Democratic presidential debate, Elizabeth Warren vigorously defended her proposal for a new type of tax in the United States—an annual tax on wealth. “It’s time to tax the top one-tenth of 1 percent fortunes in this country,” she said. Indeed, the very rich do need to pay higher taxes. Their tax […]
Trump Tinkers With Formula That Sets Poverty Threshold
by Steven Pressman | Jun 2, 2019 | Economy, PoliticsIf President Trump has his way, things are about to go from bad to worse for America’s poor. On May 7, the Office of Management and Budget proposed changing the way that poverty gets measured in the U.S. The public has 45 days to respond to this proposal (June 21); then the government will decide […]