Best Superbowl Ad
So what Audi’s message? Buy our enviro car, not because you care about the environment, but because it will keep the governmental enviro-nutjobs off your back.
Welcome to Jon Caldara
Jon Caldara's official blog! Caldara is the President of the Independence Institute, Colorado's free-market think tank in Golden, Colorado. Caldara also hosts a 3 hour a day a radio talk show on the 50,000-watt blowtorch News Radio 850 KOA. His current affairs television program Independent Thinking, on Denver’s KBDI Channel 12, airs on Fridays at 8:30 pm repeated the following Monday at 1:30pm.
A Lesson in Tax Policy for Children
Here’s a pretty clever way to explain taxes that even I can understand…
Can the State Be As Transparent as Jeffco?
Colorado’s largest school district has become a national leader in transparency by posting detailed spending online for citizens to search. Will the state of Colorado and other government agencies follow the example of Jeffco Public Schools? On this week’s Independent Thinking, Jeffco’s chief financial officer Lorie Gillis and Independence Institute policy analyst Ben DeGrow join me to explore the growing trend of governments opening up their checkbooks. Tune in tonight at 8:30 PM on KBDI Channel 12, re-broadcast the following Monday at 1:30 PM.
Econ Nerds Vindicated
Keeping with the theme of econ nerds and their love of the dismal science, I wanted to share this fantastic video with you. It’s called “My Friend Sarah” and it tells the story of a young woman with a big heart who, through no fault of her own, was exposed to economics and…
It’s funny what a little economics education will do. Which reminds me, Sarah could have achieved her same love for free markets by attending our Free People, Free Markets class.
Econ Nerds Rejoice, part 2
I alerted the econ nerds out there last week to this Hayek vs. Keynes rap video. Here’s a little something extra to enjoy in between your readings of Friedman and Mises: Resident PhD economist Paul Prentice appeared on the Jim Pfaff Show last October to discuss the moral basis for free market capitalism. You can find the whole program’s audio file here.
Additionally, Paul’s appearance is a good baseline for what our Free People, Free Markets class is all about – the philosophical, moral, and political principles of the free market system. If Paul’s interview piques your interest, please contact Mary by email or phone (303.279.6536) to sign up for our next class.
Let’s Talk About Hickenlooper
Mayor John Hickenlooper is extremely popular in Denver. But will Hick be able to work his magic outside the metro area in the governor’s race? On this week’s Independent Thinking, reporter Lynn Bartels and columnist Susan Greene from the Denver Post join me to talk about Mayor Hickenlooper and his chances at going all the way to the governor’s mansion. Tune in tonight at 8:30 PM on KBDI Channel 12, re-broadcast the following Monday at 1:30 PM.
Imagine Writing THAT Check
I was looking at the Examiner’s list of new bills introduced on the first day of this year’s legislative session, and a couple of them are goofy, some are not so great, and some are good ideas. One of the good ones in my humble opinion is House Bill 1087 which would eliminate the mandatory withholding of state income taxes. Strangely enough, our Transparency Czarina Amy Oliver discussed this very bill with Mike Krause on iVoices.org.
Aside from the obvious arguments relating to every working citizen in Colorado giving an interest free loan to the government, whether they like it or not, due to mandatory withholding, there is another argument to be made about leaving withholding up to the employee: IMAGINE WRITING THAT CHECK! I wonder how much outrage and hostility your average voter would have if they had to write a check to the government each year. Would that sort of income tax transparency be enough to cause an overall shift in demand for lower taxes and less spending?
Econ Nerds Rejoice
Man I wish I would have come up with this YouTube video. It’s gotten over 200,000 views in just a few days. If you’re into economics or you enjoy historically accurate rap (or both), you’ll definitely enjoy this very clever music video:
9News Interviewed Me
Adam Schrager from 9News sat down with me the other day to discuss our initiative to opt Colorado out of Obama Care. In addition to answering his questions, I also had the opportunity to answer questions from viewers. Watch the video, courtesy of Channel 9 here.
Land of the mostly free?
The Index of Economic Freedom, 2010 edition, is now available. The U.S. ranks 8th in the world, but has slipped into the “mostly free” from the “free” category. As usual, Hong Kong and Singapore lead the pack. Also in front of the U.S. are Switzerland and four other “Anglosphere” countries — Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Canada. Please note that the Index measures economic and not political or social freedom. While in general, the three tend to go together, there are significant exceptions: Singapore, for example, as a great deal of economic freedom but much less political freedom.
Some people ask how “socialist” Canada can be more economically free than the U.S. The answer is that although the Canadian public sector is still probably larger than ours (mostly because of their health care behemoth), Canada does better on other measures:
“Canada performs particularly well in business freedom, financial freedom, property rights, and freedom from corruption. Straightforward regulations facilitate entrepreneurial activity. Overall, regulation is thorough but essentially transparent. A strong rule of law ensures property rights and equitable application of the commercial code.”
Like the U.S., Britain slipped badly. Among the countries with significantly improved scores were Switzerland, South Korea, and Qatar.
The Index is a joint venture of the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation.
