December - 2017

Downwind Pollution: Suing the EPA

According to a Reuters report today eight Northeastern states just sued the US EPA to force it to impose more stringent controls on some largely Midwestern states on the claim that their exclusion by the Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA, from being subject to more stricter smog regulation, is harming their states. The problem here is that pollution being generated in a particular geographical location, in this case believed to come from these states most of them Midwe

Scenarios Testing out how the Tax Reform Law impacts Households

I compare the impact of the tax reform law for typical households in Ohio by comparing their tax liability under the now old law with their tax liability when the tax reform law is implemented. The tax liability is how much in taxes the household has to pay for that tax year. President Trump has signed the Tax Reform bill into law, and while the tax reform provides benefits immediately in 2018 in the form of reduced withholding resulting from the lower marginal rates and exp

Performing a Reality Check on the Tax Reform Law

The tax reform bill has now been signed into law by President Trump. It was all congratulations and excitement yesterday as the Republican members of Congress joined members of the Trump Administration to celebrate the passage of the bill and the delivery of a major part of their mandate - tax relief for American households and businesses and the provision of incentives believed will lead to jobs and income growth over time. Congressional Democrats on the other hand were all

Net Neutrality Axed by the FCC: The Underlying Nature of the Debate

On December 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to end the Obama era net neutrality rules which had essentially ensured that internet service providers could not segment internet users and attempt to price discriminate with respect to speed of content delivery. The supporters of this move to end those rules, largely the carriers and providers in the telecom industry (broadly defined), argue that the rules prevent them from investing in innovation in br

Tax Reform and the Supply Side Promise (Tax Reform Part III)

The US House of Representatives passed in November the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” bill and the Senate followed with its own version shortly after Thanksgiving. Both bills intend to provide comprehensive tax reform and are premised on meeting three objectives: Reduce Taxes on Americans and American businesses in general. Simplify the tax code simple so that most filers can file it as easily as on a postcard. Grow the economy through the underlying economics of job growth through

Assessing the Impact of the Proposed Bills (Tax Reform Part II)

The US House of Representatives passed in November the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” bill and the Senate followed with its own version shortly after Thanksgiving. Both bills purport comprehensive tax reform and are premised on meeting three objectives: Reduce Taxes on the middle class and on Americans and American businesses in general. Make the tax code simple enough so that most filers can file it on a postcard. Grow the economy through the underlying economics of job growth thro

What is the Cost of Tax Reform? (Tax Reform Part I)

The US House of Representatives passed in November the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” bill and the Senate followed with its own version shortly after Thanksgiving. Both bills intend to provide comprehensive tax reform and are premised on meeting three objectives: Reduce taxes on the middle class and on Americans and American businesses in general. Make the tax code simple enough so that most filers can file it on a postcard. Grow the economy through the underlying economics of job g

Sensible Tax Reform: Based off the Republican Blueprint

When talking about Tax Reform it is trite to put forward the ideal, and while this is often good in helping clarify our thinking about the issues and the "what ifs" in a perfect world, we economists often get caught up in that world and mistake it every so often for the real world. We forget our origins that we came from a philosophy of thought that was originally meshed with political reality. So while today we watch as Congress mulls over the prospect of what bill will come

Tax Reform: A back of envelope analysis

The Trump Administration seeks to reform tax policy by making it simple, easy to file, and less of a tax burden on the middle class. The House has recently passed a Tax reform bill and Senate is set to attempt to pass the one that cleared the Finance Committee this week. The three important questions I ask are: 1. What is the true cost of tax reform? 2. Do the bills in their current form achieve the intended objective on face value? 3. What exactly does economics project will