Monday digest

- Lately, I've been blogging a lot about taxation because it's the time of year when we all fill out our income tax forms. Have you ever thought about how much your total tax burden is, even after income taxes? Think about the following: GST, PST, employment insurance premiums, sin taxes on essentials like gasoline, and if you own a home, property taxes. Here's a look at that issue from an American point of view, but the same principles apply here in Canada. And think about this while you're at it. It's what taxes are supposed to be paying for, after all:

"How many of you have ever used an automatic bank machine overseas?" Newt Gingrich asks, and since this is a pretty affluent New Hampshire audience, a fair number of people raise their hand. "Do you get impatient waiting for the money? You're 4,674 miles from home, in a foreign banking system, and there's your money, in 11 seconds on average. Now, say you're a small-business owner wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. How long does it take the Federal Government to respond to your emergency loan application? More than 11 weeks, on average ... Katrina was a decisive moment for our country. It proved that our government is broken. We need real change, and here's my new slogan: Real change means real change. Your experiences dealing with the government need to be more like the experiences in the rest of your life—more like using an automated bank machine."

- Speaking of bureaucracy, would the issue of illegal immigration be such a problem if the state focused on two or three key priorities before all others (e.g. securing the border for the lawful flow of goods and people) rather than getting itself into all kinds of other business where the private sector could do a much better job? See here. A lot of social unrest is resulting from government not doing its job. And who can argue with the observation that by rewarding illegal behaviour, all you'll get it more illegal behaviour?

- One of the great things about America is the get-up-and-go attitude. In the article above, Niall Ferguson takes a look at how this plays into the US economy right now through the lens of Miami, Florida, and concludes that optimism underwrites it all. Compare that to a country like, say, France.

- Free trade: short-term pain for big-time long-term gain. And I love it.

- Anyone who doubts the seriousness of Iran should read this. It sounds like they will settle for nothing less than complete domination of the Middle East. On that note, here is one of the more thoughtful pieces I've read recently on Iraq.

- I've heard a lot of nonsense from environmentalist whackos over the years, but this takes the cake. I never really thought that any dire prediction would ever beat out what my high school world issues teacher said would happen if everyone in China lined up on that country's east coast and simultaneously jumped (a tidal wave that would completely flood North America, if you're wondering ... how he knew this, I'll never know). However, floating the idea of killing off 5/6 of the Earth's citizens comes close.

- Young black men remain at risk, but at least the Cos is fighting the good fight.