By differentially taxing different groups of voters, the incumbent leader can encourage emigration of one of the groups, and maximize the share of the voters who support him. While benefiting the incumbent, these taxes may actually impoverish the area and make both groups worse off.
Edward L. Glaeser and Andrei Shleifer
2013
JLEO, V21 N1 1T he Curley Effect: The Economics of Shaping the Electorate
[Via a comment by Richard in regard to Cascading failures in policing where he said:
Look up the Curley Effect. This was perfected by Coleman Young, mayor of, you guessed it, Detroit
I haven’t read the whole paper yet. The Appendix looks particularly interesting. It starts with:
I was going to make a big blog post after reading this paper and several others on the topic address the current situation in Seattle, Portland, and other cities, then extrapolate the concepts to corporate cultures. I didn’t get around to it because I worked late on some work stuff then one of my daughters called and we talked for quite a while. Maybe tomorrow.—Joe]
And people wonder at why Floridians bristle at New Yorkers moving down here.
Ya, trying living in So. Oregon with all the big pension/sold the 2 bedroom masonite palace for a million dollars, Californian refugees!
I can’t count how many came into the gun store and asked where to go register their weapons? Scary.
The Curly Effect is in full force there. Brainshape them. Then force them on the rest of the world to vote the same people they hate into office.
Californian three strikes law had thousands of criminals under life sentences. So, make possession of a stolen car, stolen firearm a retroactive misdemeanor and voila! Back to two strikes with time served.
What you going to do with two strikes still hanging over your head? Take your gang related ass to Oregon. And trade the locals heroin for the pot their growing!
Homeless junkie gal walks into the wife’s station and explains that she had to leave Cali. as being white the competition for services was just to much down there.
And the worse. Wife gets a call 20 years ago. The refugee wants to know when the city was coming to pick up leaves? Sorry sir, we don’t do that here. ( Instead of saying, just run over’em a few times and the rain will do the rest!) Jokes to me about it later.
Fast forward 20 years. She comes home one day and announces, they won! I just over heard the city council talking about doing leave pick-up!
All the more reason for a constitutional amendment specifying a limited range of types of taxation, and strictly limited set of controls for governments. For example, (without advocating or condoning any of the existing forms):
Income Tax: Restricted exclusively to federal government; (PERCENTAGE TAXED) and (INCOME NOT TAXED PER INDIVIDUAL) only legislatively alterable variables.
Import/Export duty: Restricted to Federal government; negotiated by treaty; zero-ized for anything brought out of country and returns in same condition, or vice-versa
Sales/Service Tax: Restricted to state government; (PERCENTAGE OF SALE) only legislatively alterable variables; proceeds equally split by state, county and local governments where provider resides, county gets local fraction for unincorporated areas
Real Estate Taxes: Restricted to specific purposes of limited scope for duration of not more than 5 years; approved by direct vote of people; (RATE) enumerated in points (dollars per 100,000 of property value); always passthrough to renters by fraction of facilities rented
Usage Fees: Restricted to 105% actual costs by use including maintenance by forecast/actualized measurement, to include cost to retire relevant capital debt instruments within 20 years of original principle, and 150% of ideal administration costs (assuming completely automated fee collection system at present best demonstrated technological capability).
Subscription model with by-use defector fees: Police/Criminal Justice, Civil Justice, Fire/Emergency Medical, Civil Defense, Strategic Defense, Transport Infrastructure, Energy, Water, Waste Management, Macroeconomic Infrastructure, Intersectional Insurance Arbitration, Records and Identity Services. May be used in substitute to eschew entirely any of the above revenue systems. Notice there’s no ‘Education’ component? That’s because education becomes a component of insurance, and the un-insured recovery penalty is steep, so pay your damned premiums or pay full freight.
Take away the opportunities for corrupting graft by taking away the tools needed to make winners and losers.
Way too complex.
1) Fedgov gets 10% of State tax revenue, which is its only source of revenue
2) Money is specie – gold or silver, take your pick
3) Fedgov cannot issue bonds, except as related to a formal declaration of war by Congress
4) Stop – end of story.
Notice that this doesn’t specify what, who or how much States can tax. That’s a State problem, and when a State gets out of line, folks will decamp for greener climes.
The Real Kurt
The only thing I might change is “gold or silver” -> “gold and/or silver”.
Otherwise, NICE!
The problem with allowing both is that there’s a lot of gaming of the market that could be done (has been done!). when arbitrage between redemption rates fluctuate – and they have and will again.
Pick one, stick with it. I prefer gold, but I wouldn’t insist on it.
The Real Kurt
I retract my suggestion. Thanks for the lesson.
That’s pretty much what the constitution started out with. States were only allowed to collect gold and silver for payment of taxes. And all taxes had to be even at the consumer end. As in macro-economics consumers pay all taxes anyway.
Federalist papers show that allowing the government to issue bonds was for exactly that. War.
The only thing they seem to have forgotten was a ” playing politics is a hanging offense clause”. Which should have been at the front.