tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post4115611528038240368..comments2024-03-28T14:41:03.793-05:00Comments on The Grumpy Economist: Davis on Regulation and More John H. Cochranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04842601651429471525noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-80460174716447105722015-11-05T11:14:06.402-06:002015-11-05T11:14:06.402-06:00Regulations define the boundary of what is permiss...Regulations define the boundary of what is permissible. Consider that the surface of a sphere grows in area more slowly than the volume. Similarly the rules separating permitted states from prohibited states should grow much more slowly than the total number of states. Not every possible state will lie on, or even near, the boundary. Absalonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09131268683451462949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-64932897787969609492015-11-02T17:02:42.237-06:002015-11-02T17:02:42.237-06:00I have young colleagues - very bright, numerate pe...I have young colleagues - very bright, numerate people - who see no problem in an extraordinarily large body of regulation. In their view, as technology advances, society is becoming vastly more complex than it was, and they fully expect that regulation should grow exponentially too - not just in line with GDP, but in line with complexity (which probably goes more like GDP squared). <br /><br />I have suggested, in response, that they think of regulations as boundary conditions on society, i.e., as constraints that have to be satisfied. The more there are that need to be satisfied, the fewer the possible states of society. The danger lies in winding up with so many constraints that innovation becomes difficult or impossible, and even the current states of society may be technically illegal - and the code may be so complex that no-one will be able to figure out which constraints can safely be relaxed. <br /><br />This argument won, at least, a pause. But in the end they reiterated their point, with a variation. Technology is vastly increasing the possible state space. Regulations can increase enormously, and as long as they do so more slowly than the growth of the possible state space, they see no problem - after all, as the possible states of society expand, the number of socially undesirable states grows equally as fast, requiring a very rapid expansion of regulation.<br /><br />I found myself unable to respond. I'm pretty sure they're wrong, but I can't prove it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-49238865777809480712015-11-01T23:55:59.960-06:002015-11-01T23:55:59.960-06:00And if it were up to me I would tell foreign credi...And if it were up to me I would tell foreign creditors of the United States - you don't pay taxes in the United States, you have no voting rights in the United States, and so you don't get paid back by the United States government, it's central bank, or it's taxpayers.FRestlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09440916887619001941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-39367453247774512102015-10-29T14:42:46.574-05:002015-10-29T14:42:46.574-05:00This is all intended. These are the best regulati...This is all intended. These are the best regulations money can buy. Corporations paid up for every line in the Federal Register. Private industry literally writes every one of tax codes. <br /><br />Sandbagging economic competition and growth is the entire purpose. What he is describing is the system's success, not any failure. Creation of high economic barriers to entry is the entire point.<br /><br />I like the technocratic good-faith analysis, but there is ZERO hope for regulation and tax simplification after Citizens United v FEC. None. Write that off. It's locked in essentially forever. The Trans-Pacific Trade agreement will lock it all in yet further.<br /><br />US real growth will have to get very, very, bad before investment in reform yields a return: politicians are cheap to buy, and the return to regulation is quite high. Or raise the cost of regulating: a tribune of the plebes? Guillotine? Wear donors's badges on your lapel?<br /><br />Actually, what I like is simple: political representatives can 1) only accept direct money from living breathing citizens (in any amount after taxes); and 2) only those living breathing citizens within the bounds of your district. Ties the money and the representation together very nicely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-76005440662874621652015-10-28T14:57:53.796-05:002015-10-28T14:57:53.796-05:00You people are lucky! This is the image of the bra...You people are lucky! This is the image of the brazilian tax code,<br />http://f.i.uol.com.br/folha/mercado/images/1408488.jpeg<br /><br />The story (in portuguese): http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/mercado/2014/03/1430486-normas-tributarias-do-brasil-viram-livro-de-41-mil-paginas-e-75-toneladas.shtmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-54660389808790817952015-10-28T09:36:47.560-05:002015-10-28T09:36:47.560-05:00Aside from the perversions of asset/capita/resourc...Aside from the perversions of asset/capita/resource allocation attending (infallibly ignorant) government interventions, the more laws and regulations the greater opportunity for graft. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-62925566191500707532015-10-28T08:22:37.775-05:002015-10-28T08:22:37.775-05:00Hey, if it were up to me, we would go to a nationa...Hey, if it were up to me, we would go to a national sales tax (perhaps exempting food bought in grocery stores and medical), Pigou taxes, and heavy gasoline taxes. And cut federal agency spending (that excludes Social Security and Medicare) by half. <br /><br />No tax code. Just some consumption taxes. <br /><br />That said, I do have a complaint about the use of page-counts to denigrate something one does not like. <br /><br />So on the Department of Defense, should we mention the number of pages in their budget, to exemplify gross complexity or bureaucracy? <br /><br />Did you know there is a publicly held company that reports it has more than 1,000 contracts with federal security agencies? They are Mantech (MANT). <br /><br />From their release: <br /><br />"We provide support to critical national security programs for approximately 50 federal agencies through approximately 1,000 current contracts. ManTech's expertise includes cyber security; command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions and services; information technology (IT) modernization and sustainment; intelligence/counter-intelligence solutions and support; systems engineering; healthcare analytics and IT; global logistics support; test and evaluation; and environmental, range, and sustainability services. ManTech supports major national missions, such as military readiness and wellness, terrorist threat detection, information security and border protection."<br /><br />Okay, do you wonder how many pages are in 1,000 contracts? I am sure the feds are keeping on top of all of it. In 50 national security agencies? We have 50 national security agencies? <br /><br />MANT just won a $6 billion contract from the feds. <br /><br />"The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) awarded ManTech International Corporation (Nasdaq:MANT) an Enhanced Solutions for Information Technology Enterprise (E-SITE) contract to provide worldwide coverage for IT requirements and technical support services for DIA and other members of the Intelligence Community (IC). This multiple-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) vehicle has a 5-year period of performance, with a potential value of $6 billion. <br /><br />E-SITE is replacing the former Solutions for Information Technology Enterprise (SITE) IDIQ vehicle where ManTech was previously a prime. ManTech will have the opportunity to win task orders that require services including systems design, development, fielding, sustainment of global intelligence, and command and control (C2). Ultimately, this contract will design and maintain a worldwide enterprise IT infrastructure to support the DIA's critical mission."<br />Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.com