U.S. Should Get Out of Syria

A newly released declassified secret US intelligence report (DOD) written in August 2012 predicted that the formation of a “Salafist principality” in eastern Syria and an al-Qaida in Iraq (which became ISIS) controlled Islamic state in Syria and Iraq would come to fruition. Further, the report indicated “The West, Gulf countries, and Turkey support the opposition” to the Syrian regime in Damascus.

So, in our leaders’ zeal to overthrow Assad, they gave us the monster which is ISIS.

But, Putin of Russia has given us an out. He is attempting to militarily destroy ISIS in Syria and restore order to that country. Of course, for his intervention he is putting Russian targets at risk of terrorist attacks – think Russian airliner over Sinai.

That is why the time is right for U.S. forces to pull out of Syria. Our intervention there has been a complete failure anyway causing a refugee crisis, rise of a radical Islamist regime, and the exportation of violent extremists to Europe and the Americas. Washington should cut its losses and get out.

By pulling out of Syria and letting Putin fight ISIS, the Obama Administration would save Americans potentially hundreds of billions of dollars and more importantly make us safer.

High Taxes Chase More Companies from Our Shores

Mega drugstore chain, Walgreen’s, is considering a merger with European competitor, Alliance Boots.   As part of the deal, Walgreen’s would move its corporate headquarters to Switzerland and in the process lower its effective corporate tax rate from 31 percent to 20 percent.

Walgreen’s is just one of many American firms that are contemplating using the tax reducing strategy called inversion – merging with foreign competitors in countries with lower tax burdens and then reincorporating in those countries while maintaining business interests in the United States.

Naturally, the economically illiterate are having a hissy fit. They are concerned about the revenue lost by government when firms relocate abroad. Walgreen’s actions are being called everything from “unfair” to “unpatriotic”. Senator Dick Durbin, from Walgreen’s home state of Illinois, told The Chicago Tribune, that he is “troubled by American corporations that are willing to give up on this country and move their headquarters for a tax break. It really speaks to your commitment.”

What’s amazing is that Senator Durbin and other statists do not understand how the market works. Business exists to turn a profit, not to fill the treasuries of government. And businesses make a profit by providing a better good or service at a lower price than its competitors. This in turn, benefits consumers, especially lower income ones. Thus, it should surprise no one that Walgreen’s and other companies would consider moving abroad to lower costs. After all, since the latter part of the last century, America has become accustomed to its businesses offshoring jobs to other countries.

But, try telling Durbin and his ilk that it’s their beloved government’s fault that U.S. companies and the jobs they provide have gone overseas. Back in October, this commenter predicted medical device companies would jump ship due to Obamacare’s new excise tax making their products more expensive to produce. Sure enough, last month medical device giant Medtronic announced a proposed $42.9 billion offer to buy Irish company Covidien and make lower tax haven Ireland its corporate home.

At the end of the day, the ability of business to move offshore is the check against government raising taxes forever higher. Otherwise, consumers of government services will continue to demand more and more and taxes on business will be raised higher and higher. As Chief Justice John Marshall believed, “the power to tax involves the power to destroy”.

If America is going to retain its business and reacquire businesses that have already left, we need to compete with the rest of the world. Americans need to understand that there are consequences to the profligate spending of government and the over regulation and taxation of business. The sooner Senator Durbin and his ilk understand this, the better.

An Update on How the Minimum Wage Hurts Workers

It has been a while since I last blogged. A lot has happened recently that is worth commenting on. But, this post will focus on the correctness of my previous postings that the minimum wage hurts workers.

According to Andy Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants – parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, in locations across the country where the minimum wage has been increased, his company’s franchisees are closing shops after their leases expire. “When the minimum wage increases, there are two things you can do,” he said. “One is you can reduce the amount of labor that you use or you can increase your prices.” Unfortunately, minimum wage increases do reduce jobs; as in the case above sometimes all jobs are eliminated.

But, Puzder is also correct about the causation between minimum wage increases and price increases. Many businesses in SeaTac, Washington, where the local minimum wage has recently been increased to $15, have imposed an 8.25 percent “Living Wage Surcharge” on goods and services to ease the increased cost of labor on business.

However, the bulk of the negative consequences of the $15 minimum wage in SeaTac have fallen on local workers. Those making the higher wage have reported losing their 401ks, paid holidays and paid vacations, free food, free parking, and overtime hours. In many cases, these benefits plus the lower state minimum wage added more value to workers’ earnings than the new $15 wage.

In the final analysis, the minimum wage does not enrich the working class or stimulate the economy like its proponents claim. Quite the opposite is true. The money involved to pay for the increased labor costs is not free. It comes from consumers in the form of higher prices and it comes from workers in the form of lost benefits and lost jobs.