I’m normally disappointed when religious figures comment on economics, particularly since they often turn the individual call to charity into a blank check for government-coerced redistribution. This runs contrary to individual choice, free will, and morality. So I’m…
Daily Analysis
New CBO Numbers Confirm – Once Again – that Modest Spending Restraint Can Balance the Budget
The Congressional Budget Office has just released the update to its Economic and Budget Outlook. There are several things from this new report that probably deserve commentary, including a new estimate that unemployment will “remain above 8 percent until 2014.” This…
Is Obama Really Going to Propose another Keynesian Stimulus?
ust last week, I made fun of Paul Krugman after he publicly said that a fake threat from invading aliens would be good for the economy since the earth would waste a bunch of money on pointless defense outlays. Yesterday, there were rumors that Krugman stated that it…
Another Compelling Reason to Shut Down the Department of Housing and Urban Development
I’ve already explained why the Department of Housing and Urban Development should be eliminated, but a superb column in the Wall Street Journal by my old friend Jim Bovard has my blood boiling. After reading Jim’s piece, I no longer want to merely abolish HUD. I want…
Report from World Economic Forum Gives U.S. Poor Grades for Wasteful Spending and Burdensome Regulation
The latest issue of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report contains some rather damning information about government incompetence in the United States. America ranks only 68th in the “Wastefulness of Government Spending” category (page 373) and 49th…
The Keynesian Crackup Continues: From Space Aliens to Food-Stamp Stimulus
Paul Krugman recently argued that a fake threat from space aliens would be good for the economy because the people of earth would waste a bunch of money building unnecessary defenses. That was a bit loopy, as I noted a few days ago, but other Keynesians also have been…
When Germany and France Both Agree on Something, You Can Safely Assume It Is a Terrible Idea
I’ve joked on many occasions that bipartisanship occurs in Washington when the evil party and the stupid party come up with an idea that is simultaneously malicious and misguided. The international version of two-wrongs-don’t-make-a-right occurs whenever the French…
Paul Krugman Meets E.T.
I’ve poked fun at Paul Krugman for his views on health care and British fiscal policy, and I’ve semi-defended him about unemployment subsidies and housing bubbles. Now it’s time for some more mockery. Back in 2001, Paul Krugman received some much-deserved criticism…
Reid and Pelosi Appoint Fiscal Foxes to Serve on Super-Committee Henhouse
Wow. Not even a pretense of caring about fiscal responsibility. Keep the status quo, even if it means America is doomed to suffer a Greek-style budget meltdown. Those were my thoughts when I heard that Harry Reid appointed Senators Kerry, Murray, and Baucus to the…
What Will You do to Celebrate “Cost of Government Day”?
Tomorrow, August 12, will be a wonderful day. Based on calculations from Americans for Tax Reform, we will have finally worked long enough to finance the total cost of government for 2011. This means the money we earn for the rest of the year will be for the benefit…