The contest between the United States and Europe for dumb public policy is always hard to judge. The Europeans tend to make more policy mistakes, though Obama certainly is giving them some stiff competition. America, by contrast, is prone to really inane bouts of…
Daily Analysis
The $27 Light Bulb and other Examples of “Stimulus” Waste and Fraud
When politicians and bureaucrats spend our money, they rarely demonstrate any concern about waste and fraud. Why be conscientious, after all, if you’re spending other people’s money – especially if your real goal is to buy votes and get campaign contributions by…
Congressional Staffers Should Cry on Their Own Dime
I saw a story linked on Instapundit, but it really belonged on The Onion. Apparently, our tax dollars are being used to fund grief counseling for congressional staffers who will lose their jobs in January because of the elections. Can you think of a better example…
Taxpayers vs Bureaucrats, Part XLI
I’ve avoided this topic in recent weeks because it’s too depressing, but this story is too outrageous to ignore. The County of Los Angeles has 199 bureaucrats who “earned” more than $250,000 last year. According to Census Bureau data for 2008, the median household…
The GOP “Pledge” Doesn’t Go Far Enough: There Should Be No Federal Government Role in Housing
Considering they could have sat on their hands and relied on unhappy voters to give them big gains in November, I’m not too unhappy about the House GOP’s “Pledge to America.” Yes, it’s mostly filled with inoffensive motherhood-and-apple-pie language, but at least…
The World’s Biggest Political Clown?
I’m working on a serious blog post about European fiscal developments, but my research on that issue has alerted me to a couple of stories about President Jose Manuel Barroso that cry out for immediate mockery and abuse. Mr. Barroso, for those that don’t follow the…
Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless
The gilded nobility otherwise known as politicians get lavish compensation packages, particularly when fringe benefits are part of the equation. But that doesn’t include their first class travel to exotic overseas locations. And even that doesn’t count the…
Great Moments in Local Government
Here’s another remarkable story illustrating the incompetence of government. A bureaucrat in Norfolk, VA, got paid for 12 years (including benefits) without ever showing up for work. Depending on the agency, this may actually have been a good thing (I wish IRS…
Taxpayer-Funded Sex Trips to Amsterdam?!?
I think Viagra subsidies for sex offenders are an absurd example of government stupidity in America. I’m also amazed that European taxpayers are forced to pay for penile implants for bureaucrats at the European Commission. But I’m almost speechless to learn that…
The Private Sector Always Does a Better Job than Government
Using road management as an example, John Stossel explains that government does a worse job than the private sector, even at things that theoretically are a government responsibility. Part of this is because of the profit motive, to be sure, but a big reason is…