I’m a sucker for a good flowchart because they either can help to simplify analysis or they can show how something is very complex. Some of my favorites include: This explanation of double taxation. This depiction of the no-win Greek economic crisis. Portrayals of Obamacare complexity here and here. I’d like to see a good […]
read more...The food stamp program seems to be a breeding ground of waste, fraud, and abuse. Some of the horror stories I’ve shared include: Using food stamps to buy luxury coffee at Starbucks. Buying steaks and lobster with food stamps. The Obama Administration rewarding states that sign up more food stamp recipients. Proposals to make it […]
read more...Cigarette butt, to be more specific. All over the world, governments impose draconian taxes on tobacco, and then they wind up surprised that projected revenues don’t materialize. We’ve seen this in Bulgaria and Romania, and we’ve seen this Laffer Curve effect in Washington, DC, and Michigan. Even the Government Accountability Office has found big Laffer […]
read more...It doesn’t create a lot of confidence in Europe that tiny little Cyprus, with a GDP less than Vermont, is now causing immense turmoil. Though to be more accurate, events in Cyprus aren’t causing turmoil as much as they’re causing people to examine both government finances and bank soundness in other nations. And that’s causing […]
read more...Regular readers know that I’m a big advocate of the Laffer Curve, which is the common-sense notion that higher tax rates will cause people to change their behavior in ways that reduce taxable income. But that doesn’t mean “all tax cuts pay for themselves.” Yes, that happened when Reagan lowered tax rates on the “rich” […]
read more...It can be very frustrating to work at the Cato Institute and fight for small government. Consider what’s happened the past couple of days. Congressman Paul Ryan introduces a budget and I dig through the numbers with a sense of disappointment because government spending will grow by an average of 3.4 percent annually, much faster […]
read more...I wrote about the Ryan budget two days ago, praising it for complying with Mitchell’s Golden Rule and reforming Medicare and Medicaid. But I believe in being honest and nonpartisan, so I also groused that it wasn’t as good as the 2011 and 2012 versions. Now it’s time to give the same neutral and dispassionate […]
read more...As a general rule, it’s not right to take pleasure at the misfortune of others. But I think we’re allowed an exception to that Schadenfreude rule when the “others” are greedy politicians pursuing spiteful policies. We want the political elite to suffer misfortune because of our desire to promote freedom and prosperity for ordinary people. […]
read more...Sigh. Even when they’re sort of doing the right thing, Republicans are incapable of using the right argument. Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House Budget Committee, has unveiled his proposed budget and he and other Republicans are bragging that the plan will balance the budget in 10 years. That’s all fine and well, but good […]
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