Maudlin - Tax Reform: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly—Part One

http://www.mauldineconomics.com/frontlinethoughts/tax-reform-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-part-one

...The initiation of rural free delivery in 1896 and parcel post in 1913 enabled Sears to send its merchandise to even the most isolated customers. The Sears catalog became a staple of American family life. By the 1960s one out of 200 US workers received a Sears paycheck, and one out of every three carried a Sears credit card. The Sears catalog was a book of dreams that allowed those of us who grew up in rural America to access products that were either not available or were very high-priced in our local general store.

It’s hard for the younger generation to understand, but the Sears catalog coming to our mailbox was a big event in my youth. The Montgomery Ward catalog was a close second. The whole family perused those catalogs page by page to mull over what we needed or wanted. I’m sure I was not the only kid who circled a few toys that he hoped Santa would bring him for Christmas.

It’s hard to believe, but Sears didn’t really have a physical store until the 1920s, by which time the company was the largest retailer in the world. But Sears’ experience enabled Sam Walton, who didn’t start until 1962, to surpass Sears by 1990; and by 2000 Walmart’s sales were six times those of Sears...

...The simple fact of the matter is that United States is producing more manufactured goods than ever before...The authors point out that our 12 million manufacturing jobs today produce the same amount of goods as 21 million manufacturing jobs did in 2000.

...the proposed Border Adjustable Tax (BAT) is significantly different from the VAT (value-added tax) that is used in over 160 countries. That tax simply increases the cost of manufacturing in those countries...

...Some of the biggest mall owners in the world (according to a Wall Street Journal cover story) are simply turning the keys over to the bondholders...

...In the proposed tax reform, 100% of investments will be allowed to be written off in the first year. Build a factory? Forget amortization: write it all off this year. Everything but the land will be a 100% write-off. Not only will that policy create construction jobs; it will create jobs for people who make the equipment that goes into the production lines, as well as jobs for people who work in those plants...

... what we as a society are going to do in a post-employment world...