President Obama and many other leftist politicians are running around the nation claiming that supposedly greedy employers are deliberately choosing to reduce their profits. They’re not actually making that specific claim, but that’s what they’re asserting, for all intents and purposes, when they claim that women are not getting equal pay for equal work. If […]
read more...One of the best ways of reducing crime is to make anti-social behavior more expensive. Simply stated, the goal is to alter the cost-benefit analysis of criminals. This doesn’t mean, by the way, that I’m assuming that bad guys are geniuses who put together spreadsheets or engage in elaborate calculations. Instead, I’m simply suggesting that […]
read more...My tireless (and probably annoying) campaign to promote my Golden Rule of spending restraint is bearing fruit. The good folks at the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal allowed me to explain the fiscal and economic benefits that accrue when nations limit the growth of government. Here are some excerpts from my column, starting with a proper definition of the problem. […]
read more...I’ve observed, reported, mocked, written, and explained that Obamacare is a cluster-you-know-what. So I’m rather bemused and frustrated by the latest pro-Obamacare spin that the law is a “success” because there are now 7 million people who have picked a plan. There are lots of reasons for normal people to have a what-the-expletive-deleted response to this declaration of victory. For instance: […]
read more...Last August, I shared a fascinating map from the Tax Foundation. It showed which states have chased away taxable income and which ones have attracted more taxpayers (along with their taxable income). In other words, what are the “Golden Geese” doing with their money? Well, the obvious and unsurprising answer is that they are escaping high-tax states and […]
read more...I’m a supporter of a single-rate tax regime, especially if there’s no double taxation of income that is saved and invested. That’s why I like the flat tax. But I’ve expressed concern about the national sales tax, even though it’s basically the same as a flat tax (the only real difference is that the flat tax takes a bite […]
read more...I’m frequently baffled at the stupidity of Republicans. When they took control of Congress back in 1994, for instance, they had unrestricted ability to get rid of the bureaucrats that generated bad economic analysis at both the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office. Yet notwithstanding more than a decade of congressional power, GOPers did almost nothing to neutralize the bureaucrats who […]
read more...Greetings from Obamaland! Actually, that’s wrong in two respects. First, I’m actually in France. And even though I’ve joked that Obama wants to make America like France, technical accuracy requires me to admit that my real location is Paris, where I participated earlier today in the latest stop on the Free Market Road Show. Second, I used the “Obamaland” joke when […]
read more...Congressman Paul Ryan, the Republican Chairman of the House Budget Committee, has unveiled the GOP’s latest budget plan. Is this proposal deserving of applause or criticism? The answer is yes and yes, with a bit of emphasis on the former. Let’s start with some depressing news. The Ryan budget has gotten weaker each year. Three years […]
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