Daily Archives: April 25, 2007

Go Barney Go!

Posted on by
1

barney_frank042507.jpgBarney Frank, that conflicted anti-business Congressional crusader (see here and here) who is nevertheless challenging the federal government’s ludicrous prohibition of internet gambling, has decided to introduce legislation to overturn the prohibition, and he thinks it has a chance of passing.
Good for Barney. But how sad is it that Rep. Frank — who is essentially a socialist with regard to economics, business and big government issues — is one of the only national politicians who is willing to advocate reasonable and common sense restraints on the federal government’s prosecutorial power against business interests?

This is not going to look good on TV

Posted on by
Reply

sandgolf1.jpgI buzzed up to Ft. Worth for a hearing yesterday and the golfers in the crowd were all talking about the EDS Byron Nelson Golf Tournament, which already has a less than inspiring field. Now, it turns out that several greens at the Tournament Players Course at Los Colinas are not going to be particularly picturesque on television:

One after another, competitors at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship struggled Monday to describe the patchwork greens that greeted them at the TPC Las Colinas course.
Riddled with bare patches and marked by evidence of multiple grasses growing on selected greens, the bumpy surfaces triggered a mea culpa from officials at the Four Seasons Resort, who own and oversee maintenance on both courses used at the Nelson tournament. [. . .]
Players who competed in Monday’s pro-am at the Cottonwood Valley course reported thin fairways on selected holes but praised the greens. Competitors at TPC, on the other hand, wondered if PGA Tour officials could find three viable pin placements during tournament week at selected holes.

Tax simplification made simple

Posted on by
3

flat%20tax.jpgOne of the more distressing aspects of the Bush Administration’s distractions is the abandonment of the movement toward income tax simplification. In this lucid EconTalk session, Alvin Rabushka of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution lays out the case for the flat tax, which he has been advocating with colleague Robert Hall since 1981. Rabuska’s plan would reform the current system that is based on the 66,000 page U.S. Tax Code with a single rate and no deductions other than personal exemptions, and each individual tax return would be the size of a postcard. This is a common sense reform that is long overdue for many reasons, including one that Russ Roberts makes: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all the talented people who currently help rich people avoid taxes were instead encouraged to something productive?” Check out Rabushka’s talk.