List/Grid

Economics Subscribe to Economics

DoE Inspector General: Government Too Incompetent to Spend Stimulus

DoE Inspector General: Government Too Incompetent to Spend Stimulus

Gregory H. Friedman, Inspector General for the Department of Energy, testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee  this morning (Hat-tip: Adam Peshek at the Reason Foundation). Not only… Read more »

Germany’s Not a Good Role Model…Except When Compared to the Profligate U.S.

Germany’s Not a Good Role Model…Except When Compared to the Profligate U.S.

Last week in New York City, during my Intelligence Squared debate about stimulus, I pointed out that Germany is doing better than the United States and explained that they largely… Read more »

Sequestration Is a Small Step in Right Direction, not Something to Be Feared

Sequestration Is a Small Step in Right Direction, not Something to Be Feared

I have sometimes wondered whether it is accurate to say that Republicans are the “Stupid Party.” We’ll soon know the answer to that question. As part of the debt limit… Read more »

Was FDR Misguided or Malicious?

Was FDR Misguided or Malicious?

Here’s an absolutely horrifying video of President Franklin Roosevelt promoting a “Second Bill of Rights” based on coercive redistribution. At first, I was going to post it and contrast it… Read more »

Mitchell’s Golden Rule

Mitchell’s Golden Rule

A couple of weeks ago, I proposed a “Golden Rule of Fiscal Policy” that was probably a bit too wordy. Good fiscal policy exists when the private sector grows faster… Read more »

CBO’s Witch-Doctor Economics and Gypsy Forecasting

CBO’s Witch-Doctor Economics and Gypsy Forecasting

I’ve criticized the Congressional Budget Office for generating biased and inaccurate numbers. These are the clowns, after all, who say deficit spending stimulates the economy in the short run but… Read more »

Four Reasons Why Keynesian “Stimulus” Does Not Work

Four Reasons Why Keynesian “Stimulus” Does Not Work

Professor Allan Meltzer of Carnegie Mellon University has a must-read column in today’s Wall Street Journal, beginning with what should be an obvious statement. Those who heaped high praise on… Read more »

Did I Lose, or Are the People of New York City Unworthy?

Did I Lose, or Are the People of New York City Unworthy?

Folks of a certain age, who watched ABC’s Wide World of Sports, will remember the phrase “the agony of defeat.” Well, that’s what Richard Epstein and I endured Tuesday night… Read more »

The Vatican Should Try to Save Souls, not Ruin Economies

The Vatican Should Try to Save Souls, not Ruin Economies

A couple of months ago, after reading an excellent column in the semi-official newspaper of the Vatican, I joked that we should send Obama to Rome for an economics lesson…. Read more »

Republicans vs. the Free Market

Republicans vs. the Free Market

Over and over again, I tell people to ignore whether politicians have a D or an R after their names. That’s because Democrats sometimes do the right thing and Republicans… Read more »