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I think Cowen has a lot to offer and he frequently challenges me to think about things differently. But this is perhaps the least convincing argument I've ever
by chasingthewind 5y ago
I think Cowen has a lot to offer and he frequently challenges me to think about things differently.
But this is perhaps the least convincing argument I've ever read from him (and the commenters on Marginal Revolution seem to agree.) It does nothing to convince me that raising the rate on very wealthy individuals is a bad idea.
I'd be willing to entertain thoughtful arguments on either side of the debate and I wonder if anyone here can point to more convincing examples.
- savanaly 5y agoI agree. Love Cowen, thought this article was very meh. Seems like it's always his weakest stuff showing up on HN :/ A better critical take on the capital gains issue is Scott Sumner's short and succinct one: https://www.econlib.org/capital-gains-nonsense/ https://www.econlib.org/capital-gains-nonsense/
- zozbot234 5y agoBut this is hardly the only argument against high capital-gains taxes. Capital gains taxes share the extreme inefficiency of capital taxation more generally (taxing "capital" just means double taxation of your already-taxed earnings - as long as you don't spend it, that is!), and place an especially unfair burden on risky assets that are linked to the highest economic growth. It's just a terrible idea. Say anything about the federal "FairTax", many people don't like that either but it would be a lot more sensible than this.