I’ve had some fun over the years by pointing out that Paul Krugman has butchered numbers when writing about fiscal policy in nations such as France, Estonia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. So I shouldn’t be surprised that he wants to catch me making an error. But I’m not sure his “gotcha” moment is very persuasive. Here’s some of […]
read more...I’ve written many times about America’s looming fiscal collapse, and I’ve also pontificated about America’s costly and failed welfare state. I even have speculated about when America reaches a tipping point, with too many people riding in the wagon of government dependency (as illustrated bythese famous cartoons, which even have a Danish equivalent). If you read all my posts on these issues, I […]
read more...I’ve argued repeatedly that efforts like FATCA and the OECD’s Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters pose a substantial threat to financial and taxpayer privacy. In an excellent commentary at The Daily Signal today, David Burton outlined how the OECD’s proposed standard to grant automatic government access to private taxpayer information leaves […]
read more...I’m currently in Asia, where I just finished a series of speeches about economic policy in China and Hong Kong. These two jurisdictions offer very powerful lessons about the importance of economic policy. Hong Kong is supposed to be Nirvana for libertarians. It holds the top spot in the Economic Freedom of the World rankings. It has […]
read more...In some sense, there’s nothing remotely funny about the IRS’s targeting of Tea Party organizations. It is disgusting that a powerful arm of the government became a corrupt vehiclefor illegal partisan politics. But it’s better to laugh rather than cry, so let’s enjoy this new video from Remy at Reason TV. And let’s not forget that the IRS rewarded itself with […]
read more...I’m a big believer in federalism, both as a matter of policy and politics. So you won’t be surprised that I’ve called for the abolition of the Department of Transportation. On more than one occasion. But when you’re trying to convince politicians to give up power and money, it takes a lot repetition. So, to paraphrase what Ronald Reagan said to […]
read more...When people in other nations ask me for evidence in favor of low taxes, I often will ask them to compare the economic performance of a high-tax nation like France with the performance of a nation such as Switzerland with less onerous taxes. If I’m asked by Americans, I generally suggest that they compare different states. For instance, […]
read more...Last month, I nailed Bill and Hillary Clinton for their gross hypocrisy on the death tax. But that’s just one example. Today, we’re going to experience a festival of statist hypocrisy. We have six different nauseating examples of political elitists wanting to subject ordinary people to bad policy while self-exempting themselves from similar burdens. Our first three […]
read more...I periodically comment about government corruption, often in the context of trying to make the general point that shrinking the size and scope of the public sector is the most effective way of reducing sleaze in Washington. Now let’s get specific. I’ve already cited Obamacare, the tax code, and theExport-Import Bank as facilitators of corruption. Let’s augment that list by […]
read more...Last September, I shared a disconcerting video showing an unfortunate young woman getting her OB/GYN exam from a very creepy version of Uncle Sam. Well, you’ll be pleased to know that “Creepy Uncle Sam” does not discriminate. In this video, a young man faces the unpleasant experience of getting his prostate checked. Kudos to Generation Opportunity for […]
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