According to Gallup, D.C. has the highest amount of economic confidence in the country…and it’s not even close. It would be easy to say that Gallup over-sampled White House staffers wearing Keynesian blinders, but the truth is far more depressing. It would…
Brian Garst
Brian Garst is Vice President of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity.
He writes regularly on tax and free-market issues, and has been published by national and international outlets such as Offshore Investment, RealClearPolicy, Cayman Financial Review, China Offshore, Thomson Reuters Accelus, IFC Review, The Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Human Events, and Townhall.
Lasting Economies Are Not Built
During his State of the Union speech, President Obama expressed his desire for an “economy built to last,” an oxymoron emblematic of the President’s embrace of Keynesianism and other failed economic philosophies. Simply put, strong economies are not…
Harry Reid’s Unicorn Economics
Harry Reid announced recently that millionaire job creators are “imaginary,” just like the “unicorns” that apparently advise him on economics: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggested on Monday that millionaires who create jobs are…
The Real Problem With the “Christmas Tree Tax”
Yesterday evening, Heritage spotted a conspicuous entry in the day’s publication of the Federal Register, defining a new tax on Christmas trees, which would fund a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The story quickly blew up and went viral, and now the…
Taiwanese Banks Pulling Billions Out of US Over FATCA Legislation
As CF&P has consistently warned, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act passed last year is driving foreign investment out of the US, which means less capital investment for the economy and thus fewer jobs for Americans. A group of Taiwanese banks fed up with the…
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 was the stimulus based upon bad Keynesian economics, but…
Record Government Spending Seen for 2011
President Obama and Vice President Biden are currently playing the role of traveling snake-oil salesmen, peddling their latest wares in the form of yet another so-called stimulus bill. At the heart of their pitch are claims that would have you believe that up is down,…
Bringing Science to Government
Accusing a political opponent of being anti-science has become a standard tactic of both parties in recent years. These accusations are usually dishonest, as what the accuser typically means is that the accused is not properly weighing the costs and benefits of…
Disaster Keynesianism Follows in Irene’s Wake
Disaster Keynesianism is the moniker I’ve given to the belief that destruction from natural disaster promotes prosperity. It is the logical extension of standard Keynesianism, which holds that any government spending is a boost to growth, and the various voodoo…
FATCA Law is Self-Destructing Fiscal Protectionism
I recently co-authored with Dan Mitchell an article in the Swiss magazine Schweizer Monat explaining the many problems with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and the schizophrenic nature of US tax policy in general. The key points: The rationale behind…