Subsidized Statism: Americans Are Paying IMF and OECD Bureaucrats so They Can Agitate for Obama’s Agenda

If some special-interest lobbies give money so that a left-wing group can propose something like a value-added tax to finance bigger government, that’s no surprise.

And if a bunch of subsidy recipients donate money to Barack Obama or some other statist politician because they hope for new programs, that’s also standard procedure in DC.

I’ll fight these initiatives, of course, but I don’t get overly upset when these things happen.

What does drive me crazy, though, is when proponents of big government want to use my money to subsidize left-wing activism.

This is why I’m against taxpayer handouts for groups such as Planned Parenthood and AARP. If they want to endorse bigger government, get voluntary contributions to push that destructive agenda.

All I ask is that you don’t coerce me to subsidize statism.

I get especially upset when international bureaucracies use my money to push for bigger government. And it the past few days, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have delivered a one-two punch for statism.

And they used our money!

The IMF advocated for more government in their recent survey of the United States.

The recent expansion of Medicaid and the increase in health insurance coverage have been concrete steps whose effect on poverty and health outcomes should become more evident over time. An expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit—to apply to households without children, to older workers, and to low income youth—would be another effective tool to raise living standards for the very poor. …the minimum wage should be increased. …Action is also needed to achieve a sustained increase in both Federal and State spending on infrastructure paid for by…additional revenues, and an expansion of financing sources… The Federal gas tax should be significantly increased. …Some progress has already been made…through implementation of the Affordable Care Act… Addressing the expected depletion of the social security trust fund will require…increases the ceiling on taxable earnings for social security… In addition, the U.S. should introduce a broad-based carbon tax and move toward the introduction of a Federal-level VAT.

Keep in mind, by the way, that the IMF already has endorsed a giant energy tax on American consumers, as well as a value-added tax.

Though, to be fair, they’re not discriminating against Americans. The IMF has a long track record of pushing for bad policy in other nations.

Meanwhile, the statists at the OECD also are pushing for a wide range of bad policies.

The report encourages close cooperation between businesses and government… The Survey highlights that income inequality is high in the United States. …While this cannot be improved easily, the report praises reforms recently adopted or being considered: health care reform will help vulnerable families access high-quality care; dealing with mental health will help reduce job loss and disability; preschool education would be a good investment in children’s future and help middle-class parents; and paid maternity leave would help working women. …The OECD recommends introducing an adequate pricing of greenhouse gas emissions and supporting innovation in energy saving and low carbon technology.

Unsurprisingly, the OECD endorses a panoply of tax hikes to enable a bigger and more bloated public sector.

Act toward rapid international agreement and take measures to prevent base erosion and profit shifting… Make the personal tax system more redistributive… The federal government could…develop a social insurance programme for paid leave for all workers funded by a small increase in the payroll tax… Taxing the extraction of non-renewable resources offers the potential to raise revenue… Increase reliance on consumption taxation.

The OECD favors higher taxes for everyone, so it’s not as if they’re targeting Americans.

But it’s nonetheless irritating when a bunch of pampered international bureaucrats take money from American taxpayers and then use those funds to produce “research” calling for even higher tax burdens.

Especially when those bureaucrats are exempt from the income tax!!!

And keep in mind that this isn’t the first time that the OECD has acted as a public relations team for Obama’s statist agenda.

P.S. The one silver lining to the dark cloud of the IMF is that the bureaucrats inadvertently generated some very powerful evidence against the VAT.

P.P.S. And the OECD accidentally produced some data showing the poor results of governments schools in the United States, so that’s a bit of consolation as well.