"It profits me but little that a vigilant authority always protects the tranquillity of my pleasures and constantly averts all dangers from my path, without my care or concern, if this same authority is the absolute master of my liberty and my life."

--Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Belgium Dreamiin'

Not quite the catchy title, but the same basic idea.   People are not automatons.   Economics is the study of human behavior in reacting to scarcity, incentives, disincentives, opportunities, etc., all within the context of human nature/self-interest.   People act.   They are not just going to sit and passively pay higher and higher taxes:

A Belgian mayor says famed French actor Gerard Depardieu has bought a home and set up legal residence in his small town, lured by the food, the people, the lifestyle — and lower tax rates than back home.

The Socialist government under French President Francois Hollande has infuriated many ultra-rich in France by presenting a 2013 budget that would tax top earners at 75 percent over the first €1 million of annual income. Belgium's top rate is 50 percent.

If you've lost Gerard Depardieu...

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