Thursday, July 11, 2013

A low-hanging fruit rant

Re: The Great Stagnation

I've been thinking about low-hanging fruit from changes in political economy. I mean this as a constructive group of points, ideas, questions  . . . I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but nevertheless . . .

There still seems to be low-hanging fruit when we look at certain aspects of government policy. Tax code simplification and ending the war on drugs are two great examples. Immigration expansion and school competition (where tax dollars follow parental choices) would be two others. I'm not saying these would be or should be politically a snap--obviously they are not--but consider simplifying the tax code:

  • Where are the environmentalists on simplification of the tax code? Why can't we free up these resources (labor is the huge one and as we know our precious time is the one resource environmentalists tend to disregard, but still)? 
  • Why can't we get liberal, conservative, libertarian, Democrat, Republican, et al. to agree on this? It can be as progressive as you like. Let me concede to your desire for an intrusive, expansive, colossal government. Just don't make me use a spoon to dig your ditch.
  • How can we not defeat the vested interest on this issue? If your business plan depends on tax policy (tax lawyers and accountants, MLPs (to a degree), some charities, realtors, et al.), you are not adding value to society. 
  • The bootleggers and Baptists on preventing tax code simplification would be those who want to punish others aligned with those who want to advance their own special, vested interest. I'm not sure which group is the bootlegger.
My point is that these changes would be affect massive improvement to society. The magnitudes are strong. There are still low-hanging fruit if we will just pluck them. 

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