I’m not a big fan of Obamanomics. I don’t like the President’s class-warfare mentality on taxes. I don’t like his support for Keynesian spending policy. And I don’t like his costly expansions of government such as Obamacare. Indeed, I even like mocking his reflexive…
Daily Analysis
Nation’s Leader Rejects Keynesian Economics, Acknowledges that Real Jobs Are Created by the Private Sector
You’re probably surprised by the title of this post. You may even be wondering if President Obama had an epiphany on the road to Greece? I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but the leader we’re talking about isn’t the President of the United States. Instead, we’re…
Led by North Carolina and Kansas, a Look at States Moving in the Right Direction
My colleagues Chris Edwards and Nicole Kaeding have just released the biannual Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors from the Cato Institute. The Report Card is on the Cato Institute’s most impressive publications sincedevelopments on the state level help…
The Rahn Curve and the Laffer Curve
What’s the relationship between the Rahn Curve and the Laffer Curve? For the uninitiated, the Rahn Curve is the common-sense notion that some government is helpful for prosperous markets but too much government is harmful to economic performance. Even libertarians,…
Slovenia: A Case Study of Missed Opportunities and Economic Decline
I’m a big believer that real-world examples can teach us about the benefits of good fiscal policy (think Hong Kong, Estonia, Canada, and the U.S. under Reagan and Clinton) and the costs of bad fiscal policy (France, Cyprus, Greece, and the U.S. under Bush and Obama)….
The Radical Environmental Agenda Should Be Rejected, even if Global Warming Is Real
I believe that protecting the environment is both a good thing and a legitimate function of government. But I’m rational. So while I want limits on pollution, such policies should be determined by cost-benefit analysis. Banning automobiles doubtlessly would reduce…
A Two-Question Challenge for Supporters of Intervention and Big Government
I want to challenge supporters of intervention and big government. Here are two simple questions. I’ll be happy if I can get a semi-reasonable answer to either of them. 1. Can you name a nation that became rich with statist policies? Before you say Sweden, or…
In the 50-Year War on Poverty, Bureaucrats Have Won while Both Taxpayers and Poor People Have Lost
We know the welfare state is good news for people inside government. Lots of bureaucrats are required, after all, to oversee a plethora of redistribution programs. Walter Williams refers to these paper pushers as poverty pimps, and there’s even a ranking showing which…
Even its Creators Want to Shut Down the Government’s Asset-Forfeiture Racket
If you ask me about the most wasteful department in the federal government, I’ll state that there are lots of good choices, but if forced to identify the best candidate for elimination, I’ll go with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. If you ask me about…
Is Government Threat of Punishment Keeping Private Universities from Cutting Tuition?
Federal policies unquestionably deserve some blame for skyrocketing tuition costs. Washington subsidizes student borrowing, and colleges in turn raise prices to capture federal dollars. Higher prices put pressure on Washington to increase subsidies and the cycle…