The President has issued an ultimatum that more tax revenue must be part of budget negotiations. Indeed, he endlessly repeats his desire for a “balanced approach,” implying that as much as 50 percent of the deficit reduction in any agreement should come from higher…
Daily Analysis
European Political Elite React to Deteriorating Fiscal Outlook with Decisive Moves to…Kill the Messenger
I’m not a big fan of the rating agencies. I’ve warned in TV interviews that they generally wait too long before downgrading profligate governments. So when the rating agencies finally catch up to everyone else and lower their outlook for failing welfare states such as…
Should American Taxpayers Finance another Big Fat Greek Bailout?
The notion that American taxpayers are about to subsidize another Greek bailout (via the Keystone Cops at the IMF) is way beyond economically foolish. It is also morally offensive. To turn Winston Churchill’s famous quote upside down: “Never have so many paid so much…
Time to Shut Down the Department of Agriculture
I have a confession to make: I have a hard time making up my mind. At times, I am overcome by indecision. To be more specific, I can’t figure out which department of the federal government should be shut down first. In the past, I’ve written about the squalid waste…
Andrew Sullivan Has No Idea What He’s Talking about, but I Agree with His Conclusion
Even though he’s become rather partisan in recent years, I still enjoy an occasional visit to Andrew Sullivan’s blog. But I was rather amused last night when I read one of his posts, in which he was discussing whether government spending helps or hurts economic…
IMF Recommendation for Europe: Double Down on the Approach that Caused the Sovereign Debt Crisis
Many European nations face a sovereign debt crisis because of excessive spending caused by too much redistribution. The obvious – and only – solution to this crisis is to reverse the policies that caused the problem. So take a wild guess about what the International…
Why on Earth Should We Consider Tax Increases When Politicians and Bureaucrats Allow Multi-Billion Dollar Losses of Taxpayer Money Because of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse?
Maybe I’m just old fashioned, or maybe I’m a bit stiff-necked, but I will never relent in my opposition to tax increases so long as the crowd in Washington is spending money on things that are not appropriate functions of the federal government. But that’s just one…
Ben Bernanke: Political Hack for Big Government
Ben Bernanke is definitely trying hard to overtake Arthur Burns and G. William Miller (those wonderful guys who helped give us the 1970s) as the worst Fed Chairman of the modern era. But unlike Burns and Miller, who “earned” their poor reputations with bad monetary…
The Not-so-Secret Left-Wing Agenda to Increase the Burden of Government – and How to Stop It
The main political goal of the left is to seduce Republicans into supporting higher taxes. Bluntly stated, all of their fiscal policy goals require more tax revenue coming to Washington. The most important factor (from their perspective) is that they can’t make…
Boost Economic Growth by Slashing the Size of Government
It doesn’t get much attention, but one of the most interesting economic experiments in American history occurred right after World War II. Despite warnings of Armageddon from Keynesian economists, government spending was slashed as the United States demobilized from…