Con Edison

Originally published at Freedom Conservatism. 

​Vance Ginn is the founder and president of Ginn Economic Consulting and host of the “Let People Prosper Show.”

A FreeCon signatory and former associate director for economic policy at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Ginn currently serves as senior fellow at Americans for Tax Reform, associate research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, and chief economist at the Pelican Institute for Public Policy.

In a recent AIER commentary, he critiqued President Biden’s proposed federal tax on unrealized capital gains and similar proposals from progressive-led state governments.

Such a tax “should be rejected,” Ginn wrote, “as it is fundamentally unjust, likely unconstitutional, and would hinder prosperity and individual freedom.”

“A tax on unrealized capital gains means that individuals are penalized for owning appreciating assets, regardless of whether they have realized any actual income from selling them.”

He argued that a better way to help disadvantaged Americans would be to reduce their tax burdens and reform regulations to spur more economic innovation and job creation. In a separate piece in Law & Liberty, Ginn recommended the application of two rules to federal policymakers: a cap on annual spending growth and a disciplined approach to monetary policy.

“Proper constraints will nudge even the worst politicians to make fiscally responsible choices and reduce net interest costs. Furthermore, America will be better positioned to respond to crises at home and abroad.”