A few odds and ends, things that I've been meaning to get to, and a few things that I've missed and overlooked in my inbox.
Via ACTA's Tim Wise: Cartoonist Scott Adams suggests that the U.S. should create a stupidity tax in an effort to "reduce its prevalence over time." Adams suggests that such an idea is impractical: "No elected official could support a tax on stupidity." I would suggest that politicians are unlikely to make Tax Code changes that are going to lead to dramatically higher tax bills for themselves.
Tim also comments on a story from the Tax Prof Blog where the "IRS allowed 'millions in erroneous car deductions to prisoners, dead people, kid,' citing a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration." Check out Tim's post for all of the details.
Perhaps I should have titled this post Tim Wise blogging. A couple of thoughtful quotations that Tim was kind enough to pass along for you to ponder over the approaching weekend:
"[T]he illusion that by means of progressive taxation the burden can be shifted substantially onto the shoulders of the wealthy has been the chief reason why . . . the masses have come to accept a much heavier load than they would have done otherwise."
--Friedrich A. Hayek
"Nothing is more calculated to make a demagogue popular than a constantly reiterated demand for heavy taxes on the rich. Capital levies and high income taxes on the larger incomes are extraordinarily popular with the masses, who do not have to pay them."
--Ludwig von Mises
A huge (and belated) thank you to Jim Agresti of justfacts.com for including NTUF's BillTally research in their discussion of the national debt. They have a number of helpful charts, tables, and footnotes so that you know where everything comes from. Please check it out.