Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages. ~ H.L. Mencken Two weeks ago I shared with you data that identifies the source of state tax revenue in the USA by way of a plot from 2014 aggregate state level census data. […]
The Taxes We Don’t Pay Attention To
Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state. They forget that the state wants to live at the expense of everyone. ~ Frederic Bastiat While reaching for a bottle of champagne to celebrate National Scavenger Hunt Day on May 24th, I couldn’t help but be reminded why we would do well to pay […]
The Responsibility of Freedom
Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt April 30th marked the end of Passover (Pesach), the yearly Jewish celebration of freedom […]
Trends in the Housing Market
My wife, son, and I share a small nondescript three-bedroom home in a middle class historic neighborhood known for it’s display of Christmas lights. Lately, I’ve noticed homes in my neighborhood being gutted and updated and it gave me reason to explore if this is indicative of a trend I should be aware of. The […]
American Manufacturing, Wage Stagnation, and Income Inequality
After exploring CEO pay, the minimum wage debate and the state of American manufacturing jobs over the past several weeks, today, I pose the question: How are American workers faring in this economy? As outlined last week, although manufacturing employment in America has decreased, American manufacturing output has increased. One of the reasons for this […]
The State of American Manufacturing Jobs
It’s a new election cycle, in between photo ops at manufacturing plants, the topic of “saving American manufacturing jobs” has crept back into the public discourse. Accordingly, another swath of America is swept up in the narrative that America doesn’t make anything anymore and, Global trade is taking away American jobs. Hopefully after reading today’s […]
The Economics of Paying More than Minimum Wage
Some of you were surprised to learn our employees are paid over $12/hour. The question: With the minimum wage in Arizona set to $8.05/hour why don’t at least some of our employees make close to the minimum wage? The answer has both an economic and a moral component. I’ll tend to the first today but, […]
The Minimum Wage Debate: Does an increase hurt those it is supposed to help?
I’ve always been of the opinion that anyone in the USA who works full time and heads a household should be able to earn enough income to keep them above the poverty line. Which lends the question: Where is the poverty line? Although it’s a function of household size, the federal poverty level for a […]
The CEO Pay Gap
I often speak to other small business owners about wages and compensation and was therefore rather surprised by the figures reported by the AFL-CIO’s Executive Paywatch survey: The pay gap between CEOs and “average-rank-and-file workers” (see note at bottom of the blog) is 373 to one. Top executives of the S&P 500 Index companies received on average $13.5 […]
Ancillary Revenue: Welcome to The Nickel and Dime Era
Last week was the 90th running of the Tucson Rodeo. Known as the Fiesta de los Vaqueros, the event lasts a full week and features the world’s longest non-motorized parade and a professional rodeo. Most local schools shut down on Thursday and Friday so kids can participate in the festivities. We used it as an […]
