One interesting and behind-the-scenes strategy of American conservatives is to starve the beast. Under the Starve the Beast strategy, conservatives embed themselves into government and cut taxes as much as possible whether they can offset the tax cuts or not. The usually articulated goal of this strategy is to force the United States government to… Continue reading A quick note on starving the beast
Author: Matt Bruenig
Identitarianism’s class problem
Identitarianism (aka identity politics) is a descriptive and prescriptive political framework that emphasizes the interests and perspectives of discrete identity groups. Gay rights, women’s rights, black rights, trans rights, and other similar movements push the interests of those identity groups. Some who operate within the identitarian framework often try to lump class issues into that… Continue reading Identitarianism’s class problem
The three conservative philosophical frameworks rebutted
When trying to understand conservative arguments, I keep in mind the three major philosophical frameworks they rely upon. Although I have written previously about these frameworks and rely upon my understanding of them frequently in my posts, I have never specifically explained where I think they go wrong. With any of the frameworks, one could… Continue reading The three conservative philosophical frameworks rebutted
The fairly flat tax burden in 2011
The Center for Tax Justice released a report yesterday detailing the 2011 tax burdens of different income groups in the United States. Contrary to common wisdom, the poor are not free-riding on taxes and the rich are not drowning in them. As the CTJ notes (and as I have noted before), certain taxes are progressive… Continue reading The fairly flat tax burden in 2011
The myth of jobs Americans wont do
Peter Frase has an excellent post today about the way media outlets frame so-called labor shortages. According to theorists of the free market, when a certain employer or industry can no longer attract workers at a certain compensation level, that employer or industry needs to offer more compensation. There is no labor shortage in such… Continue reading The myth of jobs Americans wont do