Politics & Rights
Economics, Politics & Rights
“Fair Tax” Offers Neither Fairness Nor Simplicity
Ari Armstrong October 12, 2011
I would merrily accept a simple national sales tax as a replacement for the income tax—only if it followed the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment. John Keel seems to misunderstand the purpose of my initial article about the so-called “Fair Tax.” I did not endorse the income tax over a…
Economics, Politics & Rights
Concerning “Fair Tax Looks Ugly in the Details”
TOS Admin October 12, 2011
[We received the following letter from John Keel regarding a recent post by Ari Armstrong, and we’re posting it here with Mr. Keels' permission. Mr. Armstrong will reply shortly. –Ed.] In his post “Fair Tax Looks Ugly in the Details,” Ari Armstrong makes several claims that I regard as false.…
Economics, Politics & Rights
How to Actually “Separate Government from the Corporations”
Ari Armstrong October 11, 2011
While the “Occupy Wall Street” movement offers little in the way of a coherent message, it tends to demonize corporations (while using myriad corporate products to organize the protests), demand more political handouts and economic controls, and attack capitalism. Once in a while, though, the “occupiers” offer a tidbit that,…
Economics, Politics & Rights
"Fair Tax" Looks Ugly in the Details
Ari Armstrong October 1, 2011
No wonder so many Americans want to abolish the income tax and the IRS along with it. The IRS pries into our earnings, our daily spending habits, even our mileage records. The nightmarishly indecipherable tax code imposes huge compliance costs, along with the risks of arbitrary persecution for innocent errors.…
Politics & Rights
Of Saudi Savages and American Children
Craig Biddle September 28, 2011
Nina Shea’s recent article, “Saudis' Vile, State-Sponsored Textbooks,” reveals nothing new, but the old news it relays is worth dusting off and shouting from the rooftops every now and then. It’s particularly relevant, for instance, in connection with the Saudis’ and other Islamist regimes’ agitations for Palestinian statehood and their…
Politics & Rights
Ending the North Korean Regime: Two Goods for the Price of One
Joshua Lipana September 27, 2011
The Agence France-Presse reports that North Korean defectors recently testified in front of a U.S congressional panel, recounting the horrors they experienced under the communist regime. One of the defectors, Kim Hye-Sook, who was taken to a prison camp when she was 13 because her grandfather had escaped to South…
Politics & Rights
Gary Johnson on Democracy vs. Republic
TOS Admin September 24, 2011
Here’s a Q&A from Gary Johnson that was not included in his exclusive interview with TOS. The lengthy interview is available to subscribers here. Subscriptions to TOS start at $59 (16¢ a day). David Baucom: Many people today would be surprised to hear that the Founding Fathers spoke negatively of…
Politics & Rights
The United Nations’ Assault on Tobacco Companies
Joshua Lipana September 23, 2011
The United Nations is encouraging governments all around the world to “curb” smoking by increasing taxes and regulations on tobacco companies. Supporters of this move justify this increase in government coercion by claiming this will make people healthier and increase revenue for the government. The government’s proper function, however, is…
Politics & Rights
The Obama Downgrade
Joshua Lipana September 21, 2011
People familiar with addition and subtraction repeatedly told President Obama that the U.S. government needed to cut spending substantially to better its fiscal situation. Obama and his Democrat Party refused to listen. The result was the S&P’s downgrading of the U.S. credit rating, the first in U.S. history. Although it…
Philosophy, Politics & Rights
Don’t Bribe Pakistan; Warn It
Joshua Lipana September 20, 2011
The Obama administration has halted $800 million in military aid to Pakistan. In a CNN op-ed, Kori Schake argues against this, and claims that to destroy “violent Islam” the United States needs Pakistan’s help. She further claims that Pakistan’s unwillingness “to function with U.S. interests in mind argues for more,…