The 1993 increases in marginal tax rates may have been Pareto inferior, in that everyone, rich and poor alike, may have been made worse off. A simple geometrical illustration makes the point.

Argues that unconstrained legislative majorities overtax political minorities and proposes that a general principle of a uniform, proportional rate of tax be applied at all income levels.

Examines structural flaws in U.S. fiscal politics as reflected in current budget deficits. Argues for the adoption of constitutional constraints that will change basic rules of the fiscal body politic.

The paper contrasts two interpretations of the role of agreement in politics, a social contract notion and a dialogue notion. It is argued that the two notions can be viewed as complementing each other if one explicitly separates two components in human choice that in rational choice theory are...