We're #1

In the 80s and 90s it used to be routine to mock Europeans for their astonishing anti-growth, anti-investment policies. Punitive tax rates there drove capital investment to the United States, and, as a result, the US economic growth rate was double that of Western Europe int he quarter century 1982-2007. But it didn't take forever for governments around the globe to conclude that they needed to be more competitive for business investment, and tax rates started dropping.  Meanwhile, like an incumbent resting on his past laurels, the US did nothing in response. As of April 1st, we now have the highest corporate tax rates in the world, and, more importunately, the competitive gap against other developed countries continues to grow. While we put welcome mats out for illegal immigrants at our border, we are now posting large "Keep Out" signs to the capital markets. Having taught the rest of the world a lesson about competition, we now seem determined to watch our pupils beat us at our own game.