In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” Nick Carraway observes that “the rich are different from you and me.” Mitt Romney’s tax returns confirm it. The rich have access to deductions, evasions, loopholes and favorable rates we working stiffs can only dream of. The absurd truth is that the wages earned by those of us [...]

I couldn’t resist this one. After seeing ads for expensive new cars with big gift bows on top, diamond necklaces and fancy winter vacations, I started wondering what the average American will be getting from Santa this year. With so many unemployed, so many forced out of their homes, so many desperate, and so much [...]

Readers commenting on my blog postings recently repeated two phrases that I hear a lot these days, sayings that have always seemed absurd to me in their simplicity and in their disregard for the way a society actually functions. You want ME to pay for YOUR healthcare? This is one of those stock questions that [...]

Remember supply-side economics and trickle-down theory? Supply side economics theorized that removing barriers to production with income tax and capital gains tax cuts, along with deregulation, would stimulate production and produce enough consumer spending on cheaper products to more than offset the revenue losses from the tax cuts. Trickle-down theory postulated that tax cuts for [...]