Interesting article in Human Events:  Is U.S. Embracing a Global Tax Scheme?:

This week, a good number of liberal activists—when not engaged in trying to stop the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel Alito or celebrating what they consider a big loss for President Bush in the Virginia and New Jersey election defeats—will likely be focused on an obscure conference here in the second largest city in Australia. The outcome of the conference could do much to further the objective of worldwide big government

The continent may seem an odd venue for this. The left hasn’t spoken much of Australia in recent years—and with good reason. To bring up Australia would give lie to the myth that the rest of the world is against the foreign and domestic policies of the United States. A staunch ally of the U.S. in the Iraq War, Australian Prime Minister John Howard handsomely won re-election in 2004, with his party picking up even more seats in Australia’s parliament. Howard is courageously taking on the labor unions that have controlled entry into jobs for decades. Like the U.S., Australia has refused to ratify the costly and scientifically unjustified Kyoto Protocol on global warming. And although the country’s tax rates are still relatively high—the top rate are almost 50%—Australia is ahead of the U.S. in setting up private accounts for retirement through its superannuation program that even the left-wing party supports.

But the free-market policies of the U.S. and Australia could be put at risk by the organization Melbourne is playing host to this week—the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Although the U.S. and Australia are members, the Paris-based OECD is dominated by the nations of Old Europe.