| 2005 Summer Seminar |
—Bert Ely, M.B.A.
Course Description:
Taxes understandably are an unpleasant subject for Objectivists, and a subject Objectivists have not explored in depth. While some Objectivists contend that whatever functions a minimalist government must perform (national defense, policing, courts, etc.) can be financed entirely by user fees and voluntary contributions, it may be that those sources of funding will be insufficient, in which case taxes will have to be levied to cover the spending shortfall. This talk will first outline the myriad of taxes a government might levy and then discuss the criteria by which the positive and negative virtues of each type of tax can be assessed. Based on these criteria, Bert Ely will then propose which types of taxes might be "least-bad" from an Objectivist perspective. Ely anticipates a vigorous discussion following his presentation.
Bert Ely is a financial institutions and monetary policy consultant in Alexandria, Virginia. Bert was an early predictor of the S&L crisis, in 1986, and an early predictor, in 1992, of the taxpayer bailout of Japan's banking system. He has developed the cross-guarantee concept for privatizing banking regulation and deposit insurance and he has demonstrated that financial markets are fully capable of setting all interest rates, thereby eliminating the need for central banks. More recently, he has published a proposal for privatizing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. He received his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and his B.B.A. from Case Western Reserve University.
Schedule: Tuesday, 11:30 - 12:45 PM
Track: Political/Cultural Commentary