Libertarians tend to like – or at least have a grudging respect for – the underground economy. For instance, even if we’re personally very straight-laced, we don’t like government prohibitions against gambling, drugs, and prostitution. This is why we’re not upset when…
Daily Analysis
Immorality and the Redistributive State
Back in 2012, I shared a sadly amusing image about how the modern political process has degenerated into two wolves and a sheep voting what to have for lunch. I was making an argument in that column against majoritarianism (and that is a critical issue, as explained…
Scholarly Evidence Shows that Discretionary Spending Undermines Economic Growth
I’ve shared lots of data and evidence about the harmful economic impact of government spending. Simply stated, budgetary outlays divert resources from more productive uses.And this results in labor and capital being misallocated, leading to less economic output….
Is the IRS Suffering from “Fewer Resources”?
The internal revenue service has allowed itself to become a tool of the White House. To be more specific, bureaucrats at the tax-collection agency sought to undermine a free and fair political process by stifling political speech. And now the IRS is lying about its…
Herbert Hoover’s Anti-Market Policies Helped Turn an Economic Downturn into a Great Depression
There have been many truly awful presidents elected in the United States, but if I had to pick my least favorite, I might choose Herbert Hoover. I obviously have disdain for Hoover’s big-government policies, but I also am extremely irritated that – as Jonah Goldberg…
Everything You Need to Know about Government Bureaucracy
Since I’ve already created a Moocher Hall of Fame to acknowledge the strangest and most reprehensible examples of government dependency, it’s occurred to me that there also should be a Bureaucrat Hall of Fame to highlight the government employees that have figured out…
Paul Martin: The Bill Clinton of Canada, Only Much Better
Imagine how weird it would be if the Cato Institute and Americans for Tax Reform praised Barack Obama for fiscal responsibility. And think how inconceivable it would be for the Heritage Foundation and the National Taxpayers Union to applaud Tim “Turbotax” Geithner for…
Spending Restraint Is Good Short-Run Policy and Good Long-Run Policy
Regular readers know that good fiscal policy takes place when government spending grows slower than the private economy. Nations that maintain this Golden Rule for extended periods of time shrink the relative burden of government spending, thus enabling more growth by…
Linear Thinking and the Rahn Curve: Responding to a Critic
There’s an old saying that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. That may be true if you’re in Hollywood and visibility is a key to long-run earnings. But in the world of public policy, you don’t want to be a punching bag. And that describes my role in a book…
Corporate Tax in Japan, Benefits for American Veterans, and Overweight British Kids
The title of this post sounds like the beginning of a strange joke, but it’s actually because we’re covering three issues today. Our first topic is corporate taxation. More specifically, we’re looking at a nation that seems to be learning that it’s foolish the have a…