Center for Liberal Leadership

Beyond ethical concerns, there are two arguments frequently employed to contend against “too much” redistribution of income. The first argument is that redistribution distorts incentives and thus carries a severe loss in efficiency. For example, when a government levies taxes on incomes, people have incentives to make a lower effort (since they will not be able to receive the entire product of their work).

The second argument is that monetary income (consumption) is a poor proxy for actual welfare. Consider the following example: an undergraduate student in economics can pursue a career in finance with a high profile of future incomes, or he can pursue an (equally effort-demanding) academic career, with noticeably lower incomes. Usually the decision is not easy, what might indicate that, in spite of the differences in incomes, the well-being under both activities is pretty much the same. The parity in well being is partially explained by the consumption of some goods and services (in a wide sense) “purchased” by a cut in salary (e.g. time flexibility, lack of stress, taste for that particular job, etc.). Since the consumption of those (costly) goods and services is not measured in the surveys, a comparison of the incomes (or even the expenditures) of individuals in both situations would be simply erroneous.  Read More…

If a sociologist had proposed ten years ago to write a book about globalization, nowadays – it would’ve been a dull of apprehension!!! What is actually globalization???
By globalization, we usually mean the process whereby societies, communities and individuals are increasingly interconnected around the world. Social processes in one part of the world impact on those in other parts.
Globalization can be equated with the collapse of so-called communism and the establishment of free markets on a truly international scale. Establishment of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the extent the European Union (EU) indicates the growth of new markets – the expansion of a world economy. Read more.

One reason that governments impose taxes is to finance the services that citizens demand. This study examines how governments can extract tax revenues in the least costly and economically damaging manner. There are, of course, other policy considerations in determining tax policy. Indeed equity (often referred to as fairness) and simplicity are critical policy factors. That acknowledged, this study focuses on economic efficiency, which is frequently ignored in public policy discussions about tax policy. The reason to focus on economic efficiency is because not all taxes are created equal; the economic costs of different taxes are different. Some taxes impose greater costs on society than others. The key for societies is to rely more on the less costly taxes and less on the more costly taxes. More

Originally Posted at Fraser Institute

Whoever said information would be the key commodity of this new, digital world wasn’t just spouting sci-fi gibberish. 

But then, as a Communications major, I can appreciate the way information is processed both by the general public and the ones we mark as our “Targets” for the campaigns we design and execute. You have a message. It passess through a medium. It is transmitted to the intended (and unintended) reciever. Of course, its never as simple as that. The old Sender->Reciever model of Communications cannot fully illustrate the complexities that come with information processing. More

Posted at www.iflry.org

By Kai Jager

The embodiment of free international trade has been a matter of interest for liberals for centuries. Free trade is closely related to globalization, but trade between people from different countries is not a new appearance and has always existed in human history. The theoretical explanation why free trade benefits the economy was developed by Adam Smith and David Ricardo in the 18^th and 19^th century. Since then, a lot of controversial discussion on the issue have taken place. Nowadays, there is a going outcry against free trade by globalization opponents. Their message is that these “neo-liberal” market reforms will lead to higher unemployment in the developed world and exacerbate the situation in poorer countries. What can liberals offer in the debate to refute these arguments?

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Originally posted at FNF Asia publication site

Last Friday, during my People’s Time in my district office, I received a surprise visitor from the past.

Alex, a batch mate of mine from elementary to high school in Malate Catholic School, came to my office to seek my assistance. He is not a resident or of my district but he decided to go to me instead of the congressman where he lived since he felt that being a long-time schoolmate, I would readily receive him. In spite of that, he told me that he still had a slight apprehension in going to me since I might not give him the time or opportunity to talk to him. More

The nation owes to the Liberals of the 12^th and 13^th Congresses the present state of revenue collection in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC). During the 12^th Congress, Republic Act 9282 was enacted into law while the 13^th Congress gave birth to Republic Act No. 9335. The enactment of these two sensible and dynamic pieces of legislation came at a time when the government needed them most. As a result, the BIR has reached its target beginning the first quarter of 2005. In 2006, the BIR did the same feat and is headed towards a more effective tax collection effort. BOC, on the other hand, barely missed its goal in 2005 but its performance is a far cry from its dismal achievement in the previous years. In 2006, BOC boasts of exceeding the targets set by the Department of Finance. More