One of my favorite Cato Institute publications is the Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors, which is produced by my colleague Chris Edwards. The report card uses variables such as the burden of government spending and the degree of class warfare tax policy…
Daily Analysis
A Sign of the Apocalypse? The French and Italians Are More Fiscally Conservative than Americans!
When I first saw this polling data, I thought we had some great news. After all, it shows that Americans – by a margin of more than 4-to-1 – want to reduce the burden of government spending. This comports with data from previous polls, including the recent survey…
No, a Carbon Tax Won’t Halve the Deficit
When I wrote last week about renewed bipartisan interest in a destructive carbon tax, I noted that support from big government proponents would be forthcoming due to the prospect of putting more money in the hands of politicians. Here’s what I said: The motives…
America Isn’t (Yet) a Divided Nation of “Makers” and “Takers,” but some on the Left Are Pushing Dependency as a Political Strategy
I’m part of a just-posted online Debate Club sponsored by U.S. News & World Report which asks “Is the United States a Nation of ‘Makers and Takers?’” My contribution to the discussion is basically a reworked version of what I wrote last week about Romney and the…
Debunking Myth after Myth in Financial Times Column by Former Clinton White House Economist
Even though I have remarked on many occasions that the burden of government was reduced during the Clinton years, that doesn’t mean Bill Clinton was in favor of smaller government. And it definitely doesn’t mean that his appointees believed in economic liberty….
Room for Defense Cuts
Pending sequestration cuts are hanging in the air over DC, with politicians squirming under the prospect of actually putting a limit of any kind on spending. There’s a particular debate raging over the propriety of the spending cuts set to hit defense and what…
An Invaluable Economic History Lesson from Thomas Sowell: Politicians Should Only “Do Something” If that Means Doing Less
The great Ronald Reagan famously said (and I am paraphrasing, since I do not remember the exact phrase) that the most dangerous words in the English language were “I am from Washington and I am here to help you.” Those are very wise words, especially when we think of…
A Picture Says a Thousand Words: President Obama’s Dismal Failure on Jobs
If it wasn’t for the fact that so many people are suffering and being seduced into empty lives of government dependency (symbolized by Julia, the world’s most disappointing daughter), I might feel sorry for President Obama. He promised unemployment would never climb…
Does the $16 Trillion Debt Matter? A Remedial Lesson in Public Finance Economics for the GOP
Everyone has a cross to bear in life, some sort of burden or obligation, often self-imposed. For some inexplicable reason, I’ve decided that one of my responsibilities is to educate a backwards and primitive people who seem impervious to common sense, simple logic,…
Another Dismal Assessment of Obamanomics: United States Drops to 7th in WEF’s Global Competitiveness Index
Every year, I look forward to the annual releases of both Economic Freedom of the World and the Index of Economic Freedom. With their comprehensive rankings, these two publications enable interested parties to compare nations and see which countries are moving in the…