Citizens of Illinois are doing the one thing they can to avoid the high taxation of their state, moving out. It's not just the retirees heading to Florida leaving Illinois, it's also workers and small businesses who are fleeing to nearby states to avoid Illinois' high taxes. The Wall Street Journal writes that Illinois lost $4.75 billion in adjusted gross income to other states in 2015. That's a new record, and not one to be proud of. I've written many times that higher state taxes will only drive away business. I've written about Illinois' position specifically, saying in July "Despite … [Read more...]
Will Millennials Ever Vote Republican?
The old saying "if you're not a liberal when you're young you have no heart, and if you're not a conservative when you're old you have no brain," has held up pretty well through the decades. Older voters tend to vote more conservatively, and younger voters tend to vote more liberally. The definitions of those words changes through time, but the trend remains the same. Cato Institute fellows Erik Goepner and Trevor Thrall say this time might be different. Millennials may leave their "critical periods" with such a distaste for the GOP, they may never decide to vote Republican. They write: A … [Read more...]
Can Apple Ever Catch Up in Streaming Music?
Spinning Christmas tunes last night through our Sonos made me wonder how Apple missed this huge opportunity. Looks like they’re trying to pick up their game with the acquisition of Shazam. Too little too late? Spotify, a small company that seemingly came out of nowhere has been able to amass 60 million streaming subscribers. Meanwhile, Apple, creator of the iPod and the unrivaled master of MP3s sat on its hands while streaming music proliferated. Now it's playing catch up, with 30 million subscribers, Apple is well behind. Tripp Mickle writes that Apple may be able to use Shazam to close the … [Read more...]
This Tiny Country Boasts more Troops than Germany
Nestled in the shadow of Russia, Finland is a sparsely populated country of only 5.5 million souls. As Finland celebrates its 100th year of independence from Russia, it is focused on maintaining all the success it has had over the last century. Despite its small population, only 6.7% that of Germany's, Finland can field a large self defense. The Nordic country has approached its self-defense in much the same way as tiny, Switzerland-with a massive force of part time soldiers, ready to be called up at a moment's notice. Finland can field more troops than Germany, despite its smaller … [Read more...]
Are Futures a Good or Bad Evolution for Bitcoin?
Bitcoin futures began trading on Sunday. In a maniacal market like the one for bitcoin has become, no one is sure what to expect. On the first day, the contract's trading became so volatile that its trading was halted twice. Web traffic was so heavy that the CBOE website was slow or unavailable at times. While many are cheering the potential of these futures contracts, others are worried about threats to bitcoin and the cryptocurrency's market stability. Alexander Osipovich and Gabriel T. Rubin report: The launch of the bitcoin futures represents a milestone for the digital currency. But the … [Read more...]
$70 Million in Bitcoin was Stolen, Did Anyone Notice?
Judging by the seemingly unstoppable rise in the cost of bitcoin, it would appear no one even noticed that $70 million worth of the digital currency was stolen by hackers. The victim was the crypto-currency mining operation known as NiceHash. Steven Russolillo reports: Andrej P. Škraba, head of marketing at NiceHash, said to The Wall Street Journal that approximately 4,700 bitcoin had been stolen from a bitcoin wallet, an online account that stores the digital currency. Bitcoin wallets, like other online bank accounts, have been targets of hackers in the past. “It was a professional … [Read more...]
How the U.S. Could Shoot Down a North Korean ICBM
A newly revealed experiment surfaced this week that has the potential to take out North Korean ICBM’s. Northrop Grumman and the Missile Defense Agency conducted the test in 2014 using a ground based distributed aperture radar system (DAS). The test results, along with analysis from Los Alamos National Laboratories, showed that an F-35 armed with a Raytheon AIM-120 missile had the capability to shoot down a ICBM in boost phase. But there’s a “limited range and seeker capability with the AMRAAM” says Rear Adm. Jon Hill, deputy director of MDA. As the U.S. Airforce (USAF) begins to upgrade the … [Read more...]
‘A Watershed Moment for Second Amendment Rights’
'A Watershed Moment for Second Amendment Rights' That's what NRA Executive Director Chris Cox called the House vote Wednesday to pass the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. Concealed Carry reciprocity is something the NRA and other second amendment rights groups have been working on for decades. The reasoning behind the bill is, why should someone who is legally allowed to carry a firearm in one state be barred from doing so in another? The NRA wrote of the bill's passage: “This vote marks a watershed moment for Second Amendment rights,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director, National Rifle … [Read more...]
This Tax Bill Needs Better Messaging
My friend from the Cato Institute, Chris Edwards, outlines some of the areas where Republicans have failed to provide adequate messaging on what will be one of the largest federal tax overhauls in decades. Edwards writes that vague reporting on the bill from various groups who have analyzed it, the bill's "reforms are impressive and promise to lift all boats in coming years with a rising tide of growth." Edwards continues: The Democratic class warfare will continue even after President Trump signs the bill, and that will create two big problems. The first is that the Democrats will probably … [Read more...]
GOP Tax Reform Will Hit Many Wealthy Republicans in Blue States
Yesterday the New York Times published an article about how the elimination of the ability to deduct state and local taxes (SALT) from federal taxable income calculations will hurt many taxpayers in blue states. As the NYT notes, there are even some counties with high Republican affiliations that will take a major hit from the removal of the SALT deductions. Alicia Parlapiano and K.K. Rebecca Lai write: There are a handful of Republican counties, particularly in New York and New Jersey, that claim high amounts of SALT deductions. Many of the 13 Republican representatives who voted against … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 389
- 390
- 391
- 392
- 393
- …
- 475
- Next Page »