ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Political leaders regularly promise to “fight” for noble causes and “combat” pressing problems. They declare “war” on social problems, such as poverty, disease, drugs and terrorism.
This violent political rhetoric—whether politicians intend to or not—can enflame violent attitudes in many Americans, especially those predisposed to behave aggressively in daily life, according to new University of Michigan research involving three studies. (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Taxes on executive bonuses, financial transactions and excess profits are a few of the taxes proposed or enacted to punish banks for their role in the recent financial crisis, but most of these ideas have shortcomings, says a University of Michigan economist.
“A number of potentially complicated and ambitious new taxes on the financial sector are currently being discussed,” said Joel Slemrod, professor of economics and the Paul W. McCracken Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “While the recent financial crisis shows how important it is to consider whether such instruments might help to improve incentives, reform efforts should not unduly focus on the exotic and new at the expense of the familiar and old. (more…)
