The Santa Clause

"You're a hallucination brought on by alcohol...Russian vodka poisoned by Chernobyl."
--Frank Cross (Scrooged)

The Mises editor selects a timely excerpt from Mises (1949) framed in the Obama administration's current proposal to increase taxes on wealthy Americans. As the editor notes, 'soaking the rich' not only consumes capital, thereby lowering standard of living over the long term, but it does not significantly alter our perilous financial course in the near term.

Mises summarizes at the end of the passage:

"An essential point of the social philosophy of interventionism is the existence of an inexhaustible fund which can be squeezed forever. The whole doctrine of interventionism collapses when the fountain is drained off. The Santa Claus principle liquidates itself."

No, Virginia, there is no Obama Claus.

Reference

Mises, L. (1949). Human action. New Haven: Yale University Press