I’ve almost exhausted my interest in California’s suicidal fiscal policy. How many times, after all, can you write about politicians over-taxing and over-spending to the point of economic ruin? But everyone has a cross to bear in life, and (if you allow me to mix my…
Daily Analysis
On Reason TV, Andrew Ferguson Discusses the Parasite Economy of Washington, DC
Back in February, I posted this startling map showing that 10 of America’s 15-richest counties are the bedroom communities surrounding Washington, DC. There’s a lot of money in Washington because federal bureaucrats are wildly overpaid, as I document in this video,…
Taxpayers get Screwed to Finance a $537,767-Per-Year Bureaucrat
I’ve reported some horror stories about bureaucrats ripping off taxpayers with lavish compensation packages, including: The chief bureaucrat of a low-income California city getting almost $800,000 per year. Cops in Oakland getting average compensation of $188,000. A…
Illinois Politicians Meet the Challenge in the U.S. vs. U.K. Government Stupidity Contest
When I read the story from England about needing photo ID to buy teaspoons, I thought British bureaucrats built an insurmountable lead in the U.S. vs. U.K. contest for stupidest government action. But I should have had more faith in the hare-brained politicians of…
California’s Top-One-Percent Bureaucrats
Every so often (about 362 days per year), I come to the conclusion that government is a racket for the benefit of special interests. Greece would be an example. And if we limit ourselves to the United States, California is probably the poster child for a kleptocracy…
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…
Great Moments in Government Stupidity
Do you want drunk truck drivers barreling down the highway? Probably not, but the government does. That’s a bit of hyperbole, but it’s not an unreasonable interpretation of a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC is upset that a…
Government Jobs are to Die For
The federal government fires so few of it’s workers that bureaucrats at a number of agencies are more likely to die in office than get a pink slip: Death — rather than poor performance, misconduct or layoffs — is the primary threat to job security at the…
The Diversity Racket in California: Good for Bureaucrats, Bad for Education
Walter Williams has pointed out on many occasions that many government programs and initiatives exist primarily for the benefit of the bureaucracy, and he coined the phrase “poverty pimps” to describe the folks who get comfortable government jobs to operate programs…
Is This an Example of the Nanny State Run Amok, Government Stupidity, or the Overlawyered Society?
Or is it another example of the “wussification of America?” I don’t know how to classify this story, other than it is a sad commentary on what is happening to America. Bureaucrats in Maryland, who obviously have too much time on their hands, are issuing rules…