If you’re a libertarian, you generally don’t act and think like other people. Most folks, when they heard about Governor Christie’s bridge-closing scandal, focused on the potential political ramifications. But not me. My immediate reaction was to think that the…
Daily Analysis
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall, Which Nation Has Increased Welfare Spending the Fastest of All?
There’s an old joke about two guys camping in the woods, when suddenly they see a hungry bear charging over a hill in their direction. One of the guys starts lacing up his sneakers and his friend says, “What are you doing? You can’t outrun a bear.” The other guys…
More Bad News from Government-Run Education: The Corrosive Centralization of Common Core
I’ve posted hundreds of charts over the past several years, including on favorite topics such as tax code corruption and counterproductive government spending. But arguably the most powerful and compelling chart I’ve ever shared is on the topic of education. Prepared…
Where Will the Canadians Go for Health Care Now?
While Canadians are defensive about their health care system, and often times hold it up as a superior model, tens of thousands nevertheless voted with their feet in 2013 for America’s quasi-market system. Each year the Fraser Institute surveys physicians across…
It’s Not Springtime for Hitler and Obamacare
The title of today’s column may not make much sense if you’ve never watchedThe Producers, a 1960s Mel Brooks comedy featuring Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel, but you’ll soon see the connection. That’s because we’re going to laugh at Obamacare, otherwise known as the gift…
New Data Shows Big Loss of Economic Freedom in the United States
My favorite Heritage Foundation publication (other than…ahem…my studies on government spending and the flat tax) is the annual Index of Economic Freedom. Like the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World and the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness…
The Lamest Possible Rationale for NSA Spying
Last June, in response to a question about indiscriminate spying by the National Security Agency, I made two simple points about the importance of judicial oversight and cost-benefit analysis. I want – at a minimum – there to be judicial oversight whenever the…
Great Moments in Wasteful Spending…or Great Moments in Bizarre Regulation?
Every so often, I share stories about the ridiculous and outrageous way in which the federal government squanders our money. So when I saw this New York Post story about the feds pissing away a six-figure sum on condom research, I figured this would be a perfect…
The War on Poverty Has Been a Disaster for Taxpayers…and for Poor People
I’ve shared many charts over the years, but two of the most compelling ones deal with poverty. The numbers in this chart, which are based on Census Bureau data and scholarly studies (see here, here, here, and here), show that the poverty rate was steadily…
Washington’s Over-Compensated Shadow Bureaucracy and the Real Income-Inequality Problem
One of my most widely read – but also most depressing – articles was from about two years ago and it exposed the fact that Washington, DC, is now the nation’s richest region. I explained that Washington is rich because of unearned wealth. Almost all of the loot that…