By Tyler Durden A new report from The Wall Street Journal shows how a new transfer tax in Manhattan has led to a slump in sales of luxury properties this summer. The new tax, basically a one-time payment on homes valued above $2 million, was enacted on July 01. The new policy led to a massive surge in June sales of luxury residential properties. But when it came time … [Read more...] about Manhattan Luxury-Apartment Sales Plunge After New Transfer Tax
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More Force Won’t Fix the American Diet
By Jeffrey A. Tucker Two nutritionists (Dariush Mozaffarian and Dan Glickman) have sounded the alarm about the American diet, saying bluntly what most of us know intuitively to be true: Americans are sick — much sicker than many realize. More than 100 million adults — almost half the entire adult population — have pre-diabetes or diabetes. Cardiovascular disease afflicts … [Read more...] about More Force Won’t Fix the American Diet
Kids Ordered to Pay Sales Tax at Children’s Expo Receive a Sad Lesson in Entrepreneurship
By Brittany Hunter Twelve-year-old Lucie Wise couldn’t wait to open her own business. On three separate occasions, she had accompanied her mother to the Children’s Entrepreneur Market—an expo of child-run businesses hosted annually by the Utah nonprofit Libertas Institute—dreaming of the day she could set up her own booth and sell her wares to curious passersby. Lucie’s … [Read more...] about Kids Ordered to Pay Sales Tax at Children’s Expo Receive a Sad Lesson in Entrepreneurship
Solar Roads: Another Government-Funded Energy Failure
By Ross Marchand Surprise—solar panels don’t make great roads. The French government recently learned this the hard way after debuting a $6 million solar road in Normandy in 2016. The road generated about half as much power as expected, and costs exceeded any reasonable expectation for a road…or even a solar panel. An American experiment in solar roads fared similarly. In … [Read more...] about Solar Roads: Another Government-Funded Energy Failure
IRS Revoking Passports Shows How Government Erodes Everything We Hold Dear
By Graham Smith If you have outstanding tax debt, the IRS may now want to take your passport. For U.S. crypto holders still waiting on promised IRS guidelines for filing — especially those overseas who may have missed these warning memos — the over 400,000 agency notifications issued since February last year are troubling. This kind of behavior from government is nothing … [Read more...] about IRS Revoking Passports Shows How Government Erodes Everything We Hold Dear
I Immigrated to the US to Pursue the American Dream, Not to Pay for Your College Degree
By Jen Sidorova Candidates were back at it last week, competing to see who could present the best student loan forgiveness plan. Sure, that might appeal to some of the party's base and America’s cash-strapped millennials. But for roughly 46 million immigrants like me, the idea that the government should forgive student loans is totally unfair. After all, when we came here, … [Read more...] about I Immigrated to the US to Pursue the American Dream, Not to Pay for Your College Degree
Want to Fix Health Insurance? Start With the Tax Code
By Ethan Lamb In March, President Trump tweeted, “The Republican Party will become ‘the party of healthcare!’” The Republican Party will become “The Party of Healthcare!” — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 26, 2019 Given the GOP’s inability to deliver on that promise over the better part of the past decade, many have remained despondent. After all, health … [Read more...] about Want to Fix Health Insurance? Start With the Tax Code
What If Charity Replaced Taxation?
By Jean Vilbert Health care. Education. Among others, these goods have been considered so important that most current governments make a huge effort to provide them to people with inadequate incomes. Surely, it would be crazy to deny how important these goods are. In a 2016 survey conducted by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) titled “The 2016 US … [Read more...] about What If Charity Replaced Taxation?
Nothing Is More Expensive Than a Free Government Service
By Jeffrey A. Tucker I’m listening to politicians hock their wares these days. The same ideas keep reappearing. Put them in charge and health care will be free. College education will be free. All life essentials will be free. Jobs will fall like manna from heaven. There will be a guaranteed income. Retirement will be secure. You get the impression of government as some … [Read more...] about Nothing Is More Expensive Than a Free Government Service
Debt, Deficits and the Cost of Free Lunches
By Richard M. Ebeling It seems that every generation or two, fundamental economic ideas are questioned and challenged. The reasonable and important idea that governments should balance their budgets on an annual basis was challenged in the 1930s by the rise of Keynesian Economics and the counter-argument that deficit spending was desirable, if it was used to maintain full … [Read more...] about Debt, Deficits and the Cost of Free Lunches
Why My Generation—Gen Z—Has the Most to Lose from Andrew Yang’s Freedom Dividend
By Thomas Ullman In early April, the quarterly campaign earnings of possible Democratic frontrunners were released to the public. Among these candidates were familiar faces—ones that have been in the public eye for months now: Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, and others, most of whom echo a cacophony of basic ideals that reflect those of their base. However, one … [Read more...] about Why My Generation—Gen Z—Has the Most to Lose from Andrew Yang’s Freedom Dividend
The High Cost of Free College
By Antony Davies and James R. Harrigan Last year, total student debt in the United States passed the $1.5 trillion mark. Even after subtracting loans that are paid down, the total has been growing at around $80 billion per year. Relative to the economy, outstanding student loan debt may have peaked last year, but the amount in question is alarming. Around 11 percent of … [Read more...] about The High Cost of Free College