Categories:
Austrian Economics
Seriously. He shines in this response to Paul Craig Roberts on economic freedom indices. Highlight:
Then there is this entirely inept, misleading, and even insulting equation of the “American taxpayer’s situation today with that a 19th century American slave.” Did you ever hear that joke: “Do you know the difference between a bathroom and a living room? No? Well, then don’t come to my house.” In a similar vein I say that if you cannot tell the difference between outright slavery, as occured to blacks in the US in the 19th century, and being subject to an income tax, then do not come into the parlor where matters of political economy are being discussed…
Perhaps the source of Walter Block’s addictiveness is his knack for ridicule…
READER COMMENTS
Les
Nov 3 2008 at 7:58pm
Bryan describes Block’s definition as “inept, misleading and even insulting.” But Block has carefully defined economic freedom as the degree to which a worker owns the product of his/her labor.
Under this definition, Block seems to be correct in stating that an income tax reduces economic freedom by reducing the extent to which a worker owns the product of his/her labor.
It would appear that Bryan is criticizing Block, but Bryan has not made it clear if he is criticizing Block’s definition per se, or – on the other hand – the application of the definition to an income tax. Nor has he clarified why he is either finding the definition or its application to be flawed.
So I’d like to see clarification of both these issues.
Bryan Caplan
Nov 4 2008 at 9:18am
Read the piece, Les. Block is describing Paul Craig Robert’s definition as “inept, misleading, and even insulting.”
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