Advair FOR SALE

This is my library of essays, articles, and commentary on current issues as well as older things I wrote years ago. Below on the "Editorial Page" are additional articles I really like and I wish I could have written them. My 1982 book, THE INCOME TAX MUST GO!, is here, as well as many shorter articles published in other places.

My basic values and beliefs are libertarian; my way of forming and changing my ideas and beliefs is skeptical (empirical, critical) with a bias toward natural law/natural rights theory - eschewing anything supernatural. Those labels are discussed in detail in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Check out the list of publications in my Vitae. Very few are accessible anywhere else on line, so my project for the coming year is to link them up. I plan to digitize everything I have ever written and put it on this site.

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Editorial Page

The "Fair" Tax - A Socialist Proposal by Joe Cobb The proposal for a national retail sales tax, with its embarrassing "prebate" to make a flat sales tax progressive, is popular with some libertarians who don't understand how it is supposed to work. Ron Paul and Gary Johnson by Joe Cobb Is the "Americans Elect" political party a Trojan horse for unexpected events? An opportunity for Ron Paul, or a deadly threat to the libertarian future of our country? Government Bailouts by Joe Cobb Can government spending help repair the current economic recession? This is a debate sponsored by Phoenix College, March 10, 2009. The short video segments here are my presentations. Misinformation About the Euro Crisis by Joe Cobb It is frustrating to listen to the news reports and to read about the Euro crisis. Let me set out some observations. Money Illusion by Joe Cobb A more serious form of money illusion has seldom been noticed by economists due to one of the most useful things about money itself: You can add it up. Banks add up credit and make an unstable aggregate. Penn Jillette on Philosophy This is a video interview with Penn Jillette by Nick Gillespie of Reason.tv. In this 17-minute video they discusses his personal ethical and political philosophy (with which I agree). He opens with the great quote:

"I don't go with pragmatic arguments at all. My whole take on libertarianism is simply that I don't believe I know what is best for other people."

The Result that Socrates Died For The failure of Congress to resolve the U.S. debt ceiling deadlock should not be a surprise. The Failure of Al Gore by Walter Russell Mead This essay is quoted from The American Interest blog site. Mead explains why the political agenda of the Global Warming or Climate Change movement has failed. The Gold Clause, book review by Joe Cobb "The Origin of Specious." (a Bobbysbrane.com production) This 2-minute video presents the evolution of religion in a delightful, graphic manner. You see how the branches of the traditions of Abraham relate to each other; see how the branches of the Hindu and Chinese systems work. Immigration Socialism versus Freedom
and the Free Market by Jacob G. Hornberger Climate Catastrophe Cancelled Transcript of a report from the Finnish Broadcasting Co. California: The Big-Spending, High-Taxing, Lousy Services Paradigm by William Voegeli Poetry is an Example of Free Will by Joe Cobb Audit the Fed? Why? by Joe Cobb India and Climate Change by William Antholis Don't Treat CO2 as a Pollutant by Mark W. Hendrickson Identity: "Know Thyself" by Richard Russell Bound to Burn by Peter Huber Respond to Medical Pot Raids with Legalization by Anthony Gregory Massachussetts Debacle, Coming Soon to Your Neighborhood. The Wall Street Journal Capitalism Needs a Sound-Money Foundation by Judy Shelton Ruin Your Health with the Obama Stimulus Plan by Betsy McClaughy Photo Enforcement (highway speed) Cameras by Joe Cobb Our Culture Is Better by Geert Wilders, interviewed by James Taranto Taxes and Justice by Tibor Machan The Great Recession by Joe Cobb In Praise of Cheap Labor by Paul Krugman Obama's Magic. Presto, Change-o! by Kim Strassel Why I Am Not a Conservative by Jim Davidson The Credit Collapse is Having a Similar Effect as an International Trade Barrier by Joe Cobb Cap & Trade is Not a Market Solution by Robert P. Murphy Contracts as Good as Gold by Amity Shlaes Ranked Chioice Voting in the Electoral College by Joe Cobb Fitna, a Bold Film Against Tyranny by Geert Wilders Ron Paul / Steve Kubby for President by Joe Cobb Obama's Global Tax Proposal Up for Senate Vote by Cliff Kinkaid "A Vote for Liberty is Not Wasted" by Tibor Machan Competition in Currency: Ron Paul's "Nutty" Idea by Peter Brimelow with commentary by Joe Cobb My Endorsement of Steve Kubby for President of the United States Question from a Friend Politics is about power Manifesto by Jim Babka and Perry Willis Long Range Solar Forecast published by NASA, May 10, 2006 Secularism is not a Religion by Joe Cobb The Meaning of Ron Paul's Support by Marc Guttman The Weak Dollar and Inflation by Joe Cobb The United States Government is not Christian Article 11 of treaty ratified by the Senate in 1797 Their Claim is that an Enemy Exists by Joe Cobb Libertarians Rising by Michael Kinsley Capitalist Heroes by David Kelley Why Do We Need a Government Budget? by Joe Cobb An Inconvenient Fact by Patrick Moore Sen. Craig's Opportunity After Congress by Joe Cobb Envy: How to Defeat the Insidious Green Monster
by Michael Masterson Chief Scientist Revises Global Warming Data by Joe Cobb Gays Become Just Another Special Interest by John Fund Religous Doctors No More Likely to Care for Underserved Patients from University of Chicago Magazine Free Markets Also Have Tough Negotiators by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard with an introduction by Joe Cobb Racism? Ron Paul? by Joe Cobb The Complex Life and Death of Pat Tillman from Centre for Liberal Studies Welfare Rights by Joe Cobb Video interview on the economics of war. Joe Cobb interviewed in 2005. Should We Abolish the Federal Reserve? by Joe Cobb It's Time for the Truth about the USS Liberty by Ward Boston, Jr. Illegal Immigration: Surely This is a Victimless Crime by Joe Cobb Global Warming: Nature Goes Against Science by Robert Matthews Libertarians Win an Election, Eliminate a Goverment Program by Kim Hawk Libertarians' Silver Lining in the Dark Cloud by Brian Doherty The Tax on Your Retirement Savings by Joe Cobb Ron Paul for President by Joe Cobb Christopher Monckton: Strong Voice on Climate Change with an introduction by Joe Cobb Little Scraps of Paper for the I.R.S. by Joe Cobb 10 Myths - and 10 Truths - About Atheism by Sam Harris Subsidized Agriculture and Illegal Immigration by Joe Cobb Climate Change: The Pollution Solution by Russell Seitz Early Social Security Retirement: Good Idea? by Joe Cobb Santa Claws Is Coming to Town by Joe Cobb Court Orders California Counties to Obey Medical Marijuana Law from the Orange County Register Remembering Milton Friedman by Joe Cobb Cure for the Immigration "Problem" - Stop Subsidizing Farmers by Joe Cobb Why the Defeat of Conservatives Nov.7 is Important for Libertarians by Joe Cobb Libertarians Made a Difference; We Changed the Government by Joe Cobb The Right Stuff by Edward L. Hudgins Is Gay Marriage a Threat to Marriage? by Steve Chapman How Capitalism Can Save American Health Care by David Gratzer, as summarized by NCPA N.Y. Times Column About Libertarian Defections by John Tierney Summary of Arizona 2006 Ballot Propositions Libertarian Party analysis and recommendations Vote 'NO' on the Minimum Wage Nov.7 - Ballot Proposition 202 by Joe Cobb Why You Should Vote for Me Nov.7 as your candidate for Congress by Joe Cobb My Position on GLBT Rights; Nov.7 - Vote 'NO' on Prop. 107 by Joe Cobb N.Y. Times Editorial, "Rushing Off a Cliff," Sept.28
condemning the new Military Commissions law

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Second Page

Reply to Bruce Cohen For your libel, David Nolan deserves an apology. Brights' Creed Calvin Coolidge on the Declaration of Independence Ron Paul Got 16% in Pennsylvania. This video did it for him. Public Law 99-185 Background of Ron Paul's Legislative Achievement by Joe Cobb The Pursuit of Excellence [draft] by Joe Cobb Global Warming: Myths and Reality by Jarret Wollstein Is Abortion Murder? by Tibor R. Machan Unflattering Picture of Al Gore Stonewall Libertarians Chapter in Arizona Christine Smith for President? by Joe Cobb Who Pays the Income Tax? by Bruce Bartlett Curriculum Vitae of Joe Cobb

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A book by Joe Cobb [click here to go to the Table of Contents]

The Income Tax Must Go! (1982)

We should repeal the 16th Amendment; then the original Article I, Section 2 (census) method would automatically once again become Constitutional tax law. Federal taxation was originally supposed to be apportioned to the States by population. Different States would each use various revenue methods. Competition among tax regimes in different States would start to occur, and the political dynamic of Federal spending would also change. Some states with less burdensome taxes would grow faster, run a fiscal surplus, and others would stagnate and run fiscal deficits. The people would learn better policy from the comparative experience. With all Federal money coming only from State legislatures, the "gravy train" of money from Washington would no longer seem to be "found money." Local and State governments would immediately have to start collecting the full cargo of Federal revenue -- proportionate to each State's population (not based on its prosperity or wealth). States would not be taxed more for being more successful economically. Local legislators would pressure their U.S. Representatives and Senators for lower Federal taxes, instead of pressuring for more earmarked pork projects, because all Federal money would have to be raised locally by State legislators. Local politicians would probably not support any members of their own party for promotion to Congress who were big spending tax increasers -- in contrast to how it works today.

A truly revolutionary proposal! We normally think of the Federal income tax as a fiscal policy tool, affecting the economy, but more importantly it has changed the entire structure of federalism in our political system. Restoring federalism is more important than getting rid of the I.R.S.