The wailing and hysteria in Washington is over. The politicians now have the authority to borrow more money and the bureaucrats are all back at work (rested and refreshed after their paid vacation, so they’ll probably tax, spend, and regulate with extra fervor). So…
Daily Analysis
More Academic Evidence that Bigger Government Means Less Prosperity
My goal in life is very simple. I want to promote freedom and prosperity by limiting the size and scope of government. That seems like a foolish and impossible mission, perhaps best suited for Don Quixote. After all, what hope is there of overcoming the politicians,…
The Sick Joke of Obama’s Shutdown Strategy
Even though it’s an uphill battle, I’m glad there are some lawmakers willing to fight Obamacare. They realize a hard battle today could help save America from genuine fiscal crisis in the future. I don’t know how this government-shutdown battle (which is morphing into…
The Shutdown Fight: Can Advocates of Fiscal Responsibility Overcome the Combined Forces of Obama, Lobbyists, and the Media?
I’m not overly optimistic about the outcome of the government shutdown fight. In part this is because our system of government, based on separation of powers, means it is very difficult to change the status quo. This system, by the way, generally has been good for the…
What if We Had a Government Shutdown and Nobody Noticed or Cared?
What’s the likely outcome of the government shutdown fight? Well, in my libertarian fantasy world, we leave it closed. Or at least we never bother to reopen counterproductive bureaucracies such as the Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of…
Maybe the Real Lesson Is that It’s Best to Shut Down the Federal Government Before a New Fiscal Year Begins
The politicians, bureaucrats, lobbyists and interest groups in Washington are hyperventilating that the federal gravy train may get sidetracked for a day or two by a shutdown fight between Republicans and Democrats. I’m not sure why they’re so agitated. After all, the…
Playing Hardball on a Government Shutdown Is the only Short-Run Way to Make Fiscal Progress
I haven’t written much about the budget fights over a government shutdown, Obamacare, the continuing resolution, and the debt limit for the simple reason that the battles are mostly about politics and strategy rather than policy. At the risk of oversimplifying, here’s…
Testifying to the Joint Economic Committee about “Debt Limit Brinksmanship”
As we get closer to the debt limit, the big spenders in Washington are becoming increasingly hysterical about the supposed possibility of default if politicians lose the ability to borrow more money. I testified yesterday to the Joint Economic Committee on “The…
A Rare Sign of Fiscal Sanity in France
We have an amazing man-bites-dog story today. Let’s begin with some background information. A member of the European Commission recently warned that: “Tax increases imposed by the Socialist-led government in France have reached a “fatal level”…[and] that a series of…
It’s Amazingly Simple to Balance the Budget
I’m testifying tomorrow to the Joint Economic Committee about “The Economic Costs of Debt-Ceiling Brinkmanship.” I won’t give away what I’m going to say (though you can probably figure out my views rather easily by reading this, this and this), but I do want to share…