Commentary on capitalism and poor tax policy.

Heavy hand state intervention in the economy has always been an enemy of wealth creation, this is what Adam Smith wrote about.

But so does under investment in the key instruments of social justice namely, education, health, justice, public transport and power.

Smith wrote about this too.

This is equally an enemy of building wealthy societies. The challenge for any society is how to create sustainable communities from the twin virtues of inequality of outcome and equality of opportunity.

Financial Times -- Why I’m feeling strangely Austrian
The old is dying and the new cannot be born: in the interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms will appear.”

Meanwhile. (ed’s note – it’s the after tax outcome that matters).

Financial Times -- Capitalism in crisis: The code that forms a bar to harmony
The enrichment of bankers, corporate chiefs, flash traders and their cronies is testing tolerance of inequality.

And more.

Financial Times -- A letter to capitalists from Adam Smith
To: Capitalists of the World From: Adam Smith

Bill Gross on markets out of whack.

PIMCO -- Towards the Paranormal
How many ways can you say “it’s different this time?” There’s “abnormal,” “subnormal,” “paranormal” and of course “new normal.” Mohamed El-Erian’s awakening phrase of several years past has virtually been adopted into the lexicon these days, but now it has an almost antiquated vapor to it that reflected calmer seas in 2011 as opposed to the possibility of a perfect storm in 2012.

We are stunned at the terrible tax policy put in place that makes the tax system inefficient, biased to deficit and incapable of funding critical areas of competitiveness principally education and health. Who are these fiscal Frankenstein’s, the typically irresponsible political parties of the Left? Of course not, it is the typically fiscally irresponsible parties of the Right.

Flaherty’s tax credits costing Ottawa billions
The myriad tax credits introduced by Jim Flaherty before the recession are now placing an added strain on Ottawa’s bottom line as the Finance Minister prepares to wrestle a $31-billion deficit.