The irresistible rise of the repugnant tax dodger

When the state can exercise vastly expanded powers almost for free, fairness is violated, writes Christopher Caldwell

You don’t have to be a non-dom to avoid paying income tax. Over the last 12 months, I’ve paid less than 10% tax and national insurance on my income. This isn’t because I’m a non-dom - I haven’t been abroad for 15 years - or because I have a fancy accountant. It’s simply because I made a big contribution to my pension fund, which attracted tax relief.

Low public debt requires a generous welfare state. This sounds paradoxical. But it’s not. In Fault Lines, Raghuram Rajan says that one reason why the US engages in big Keynesian counter-cyclical policy is precisely that it has a weak welfare state. The absence of significant protection against unemployment means that there’s greater demand upon governments to do something about recessions:

The narrowness of the 2000 election was a sign that the former US president might be barking up the wrong electoral tree, writes Christopher Caldwell

What looks like a recovery or an increase in confidence may just be the effect of elites passing money among themselves, writes Christopher Caldwell

(DanCentury)

If $125m is all it costs to facilitate a hugely beneficial cyber-library, then who needs Google? writes Christopher Caldwell

Steve Moore in Thursd