- According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in the United States the tax burden is 25.6% of G.D.P. This ranks 17th among developed countries. The global average for the group is 36%.
- Competing outlooks on the price of oil:
- In one corner:
“We don’t think industry fundamentals support oil prices near $60 (a barrel), let alone $90, but with excessive speculation and lack of government scrutiny, prices could go even higher, before they crash, eventually, in our view,” said Fadel Gheit, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., in a research note.
- In the other:
I’m betting we see a lot more $100+ oil than $60 oil. But what do I know; I’m not a high-paid “analyst.”
UPDATE: I just heard a guest on CNBC say that gasoline prices are about to catch up with oil prices. He said the price per gallon could jump $0.20 in the next week or so and soon climb as much as $1. If you think the political mood is pretty bad out there now, wait till this happens. - In one corner:
- Senator Sam Brownback is expected to drop out of the presidential race today. I never figured out why Brownback didn’t get more traction among the religious right, since he’s clearly played to that constituency in his senate career. I guess he wasn’t “sexy” enough (in the political sense).
- Speaking of political oddities, I’ve repeatedly heard leading GOP talking pointers (Rove, Limbaugh, et al.) assert that Iraq was not the central issue in the 2006 election, and that it won’t be in 2008. I find this very hard to reconcile with all the rhetoric we’ve heard from the same people about how this same fight is “World War III,” “World War IV,” the fight for our survival, and so on. If this war is the most important challenge our nation is facing, why isn’t it the most important political issue?