Cartwright: Absolutely, you should be rewarded for entrepreneurship. Being an entrepreneur is hard enough as it is. Add the government taxes on top of that and it becomes even more difficult. Wonder why businesses are losing their competitive advantage against foreign businesses? Labor costs and taxes. We have one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. But let’s look at the reality. Most small businesses are LLC or S-corps that are taxed at the individual level. So, they’re paying self employment taxes and individual income taxes on the profits of the business. It adds up real quick. When you have to factor in the cost of taxes, you may work all year and come up with very little once you pay Uncle Sam who’s going to allow politicians in Washington to squander your hard earned dollars. Continue reading
Public Articles
Most recent articles
2013 Symposium: We Are Currently $18 Trillion In Debt; What Should We Do?
Cartwright: We’ve discussed this extensively before. I believe we debated it at length at one of the champagne summits back in October. The Republicans had the Democrats and Mr. Obama over the barrel back in October with the government shutdown and they caved in. They got scared that the media was blaming them and that the public was turning against them, so they rolled over and gave in. They could have forced the Democrats and Obama to do whatever they wanted by just keeping the government shutdown. The voters would have forgotten about it all by the time the 2014 mid-term elections came up. But no, they gave in and got nothing for it. In fact, Mr. Obama and the Democrats came out smelling like a rose. Continue reading
2013 Symposium: Education In America Continues To Decline As We Fall Further And Further Behind Other Countries. How Do we Fix This?
Cartwright: We have to stop teaching to the lowest common denominator. I’ve spoken about this many times before. You have all kinds of kids lumped into the same classes and some of these kids have different learning aptitudes. So, the teacher has to teach to the level of the slowest kids in the class. Continue reading
2013 Symposium: What Is Your Outlook For The Economy In 2014?
Cartwright: Either I’ve been wrong about the US economy for the last year or so or else the economic data being provided by various federal departments is wrong and intentionally misleading. Unemployment is down to 7%? How about all the people who exhausted the unemployment benefits and aren’t included in that statistic? And if everything is going well why is the Congress considering extending unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed? I don’t think the economy is doing particularly well right now. I think we’re just sort of stagnant. Forget the GDP figures. Businesses aren’t really growing. They’re just maintaining the status quo. The real retrenchment comes once Obamacare is in full force and businesses find out how it’s going to impact them. Consumers aren’t all that optimistic. I think retailers will find that the Christmas shopping season didn’t live up to expectations. Prices are rising. Just take a look at groceries. Everyone has to eat so everyone has to buy goods at the grocery store. This is going to continue to hurt consumers. Continue reading
2013 Symposium: Do You Have Any Mid-Term Congressional Elections For 2014?
Cartwright: I hope the Republicans keep the House of Representatives and retake a majority in the Senate in 2014. At least we’ll have a chance of emasculating the Obama administration and keep it from doing any further damage to our nation and our economy. However, I would point out that I think the DNC is capable of anything. I think they perpetuated massive fraud in the 2008 and 2012 elections, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they try the same thing in 2014. After all, Mr. Obama’s aim it to make Nancy Pelosi the Speaker of the House again. God help us if that happens, but I wouldn’t put anything passed Mr. Obama and the DNC. Continue reading
2013 Symposium: Should The Congress Repeal Obamacare?
Cartwright: Yes. Obamacare should be repealed. However, there are parts of the law that a lot of people like such as keeping kids on their parents insurance until they’re 26 and ensuring that insurers don’t turn you down because of a preexisting condition. Let’s repeal Obamacare but keep parts of the law that people generally agree with when we craft something new. What’s going to create downward pressure on healthcare costs if we do repeal Obamacare? Competition and tort reform. Continue reading
Thinking Outside the Boxe Releases 2014 Economic Outlook
Myrtle Beach, SC, Orlando, FL and Washington, D.C. January 6, 2014—Thinking Outside the Boxe has released its 2014 economic outlook based on internal analysis and input from the think tank’s various correspondents and attendees who participated in the 2013 annual symposium held in Orlando in late December. The highlights of the economic outlook follow: Continue reading
Top Problems Plaguing America by Digger Cartwright
America is in crisis. We are a nation in decline as a result of society’s own hedonism, greed, and self destruction. Our problems are rooted not only in our dysfunctional political system but in the dysfunctional state of society itself, both of which have become increasingly more dysfunctional over the last decade. Americans’ perceptions of our problems are divided along political lines, which tends to cloud the judgment of individuals and take the discussion away from the cause of the political problems to a debate over political ideology. Each and every American shares part of the blame for the problems plaguing our nation, and if we don’t address the problems individually, as a society, and as a nation, they will continue to grow and like a cancer consume our health and vitality, eventually killing the foundation upon which our nation was established and the foundations of our society. Continue reading
A Collaboration between Digger Cartwright and Thinking Outside The Boxe: What are your thoughts on the partial government shutdown and the situation in Washington?
Anyone who knows me or who has read some of my comments and posts will know that I have tremendous disdain for the politicians in Washington and the dysfunctional way they behave. They’re like a bunch of little kids arguing on the playground. I think they forget that they’re there to do the work of the American citizens and taxpayers who elected them to serve us. Unfortunately, it’s got to the point that they’re just looking out for themselves. They’ve created this entire political elite class who live in the increasingly isolated world of Washington where everything is ok. They don’t know what it’s like back in their constituencies and the problems that the people face every day. It’s like going to Disney World and escaping from reality for the day, except Washington is permanently detached from reality. Continue reading
Is It Time to Colonize Another Planet?
From Thinking Outside the Boxe’s Sydney Correspondent
By now there is an overwhelming scientific consensus that anthropogenic climate climate change has the potential to wreak havoc on our planet, and irrevocably change the way we live our lives. Low lying pacific island nations are already seeing the effects first hand and are being confronted with the question of whether to move to another country. The potential consequences for other nations is not as clear but there are some signs emerging. The question of colonising other planets has been thrust into the public debate because of comments made by Stephen Hawking recently. However, there are many challenges surrounding the practical aspects of colonising other planets and this article will explore some of them. Continue reading
Thinking Outside The Boxe 