Wow. Even by the low standards of government, here are a couple of remarkable stories about government waste from Obama’s failed stimulus scheme. Let’s start with an example of crony capitalism. The federal government decided to subsidize the wealthy shareholders of…
Daily Analysis
A “Solyndra Rule” to Guide Federal Budget Policy
Just yesterday, I proposed a “Golden Rule” for fiscal policy, based on the simple notion that the burden of government spending should grow slower than the private sector. And regular readers know about my narcissistic attempt to publicize “Mitchell’s Law” as a way of…
What’s the Difference Between an American Politician, a Greek Politician, and an Anguillan Politician?
Sounds like the beginning of a joke, sort of like, “A priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar…” But I have a serious point to make. I’m currently in Anguilla (yes, this is just one of the sacrifices I make in the fight for liberty), where I just gave a speech…
The Simple Solution to the European Fiscal Crisis
The welfare states of Europe are in deep trouble. Decades of over-taxing and over-spending have sapped economic vitality and produced high levels of debt. The high debt levels, by themselves, might not be a problem if European governments implemented good policy….
Over-the-Top Media Bias at Reuters
Life is difficult when you’re a cranky libertarian. President Obama’s latest stimulus scam was just rejected by the Senate, so I went online to read about this rare bit of good news. But my cheerful mood was undermined by a reprehensible bit of bias by the folks at…
No More Bailouts for the IMF
I’m not an expert on addiction, but it’s probably safe to assume that one would never treat an alcoholic by giving him more booze. Or treat an addict by giving him more drugs. So you won’t be surprised to learn that I’m opposed to bailouts. I’m against bailing out…
Will Republicans Choose Sequester Savings or a Supercommittee Surrender?
The budget fights this year began with the “shutdown” battle, followed by the Ryan budget and then the debt limit. These fights have mostly led to uninspiring kiss-your-sister outcomes, which is hardly surprising given divided government. Now the crowd in DC is…
Vote for the French Gal in the Stimulus Debate
The folks at U.S. News & World Report have posted an online debate on the never-ending topic: “Does Stimulus Spending Work?“ You know my thoughts on the topic, including my thumbs-down to Obama’s latest stimulus scheme, so it won’t surprise you to know that I…
Here’s a Powerful Example of Why Obama’s “Stimulus” Proposal for more Infrastructure Spending Should Be Rejected
As part of his latest “stimulus” scam, President Obama argues that the federal government should spend more money on infrastructure. Yet there is widespread evidence that politicians use such projects to squander money – often in exchange for contributions from…
The Greece-ification of America
I’ve posted several times about the dangers of creating too much government dependency, including a set of cartoons that illustrates how small welfare states inevitably erode social capital and create big welfare states. So you will understand that I am utterly…