RealClear Radio Hour: Internet Sales Tax Shakedown and Legal Graft

This week on RealClear Radio Hour, Jessica Melugin and Trevor Burrus discuss freedom from bureaucracy online and political corruption.

Up first is Jessica Melugin, adjunct fellow in technology policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Jessica breaks down the nearly 20-year-old Internet sales tax debate and shares why lobbyists, politicians, and big box retailers advocate Internet taxation without representation. Under those proposals, she explains, consumers would see sales tax rates increase, states would export their tax regimes to remote businesses, and online sellers would be forced to keep records for about 10,000 tax jurisdictions around the nation.

Wrapping up the show is Trevor Burrus, research fellow in the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies and managing editor of the Cato Supreme Court Review. Trevor discusses campaign finance reform, declining media credibility, and defunding public broadcasting. With political sensationalism and journalistic malfeasance on the rise, he explains why calls for taking money out of politics and licensing journalists won’t improve the state of political discourse.

You can hear the discussion by listening to the full show as-aired on iTunes, or you can check out the podcasts hosted on YouTube and SoundCloud. Make sure to check back next week for another episode of RealClear Radio Hour.

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