President Obama made a much-hyped pivot-to-the-economy speech yesterday in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I already explained, immediately following the speech, why his “grand bargain” on corporate taxes was not a good deal because of all the hidden taxes on new investment…
Daily Analysis
Should Detroit’s Bankruptcy Be an Early-Warning Sign for Washington?
In an interview last week about Detroit’s bankruptcy, I explained that the city got in trouble because of growing dependency and an ever-rising burden of government spending. I also warned that the federal government faces the same challenge. Washington is in trouble…
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall, Which State Is Headed in the Wrong Direction at the Fastest Rate of All?
There are all sorts of ways to measure the burden of government spending. The most obvious approach is to look at the share of economic output consumed by the public sector. That’s what I did, for instance, when comparing fiscal policy in France and Switzerland. And…
Atlas Shrugs in Detroit
About two weeks ago, while making an important point about the Laffer Curve, here’s what I wrote about the fiscal disaster in Detroit. Detroit’s problems are the completely predictable result of excessive government. Just as statism explains the problems of Greece….
Limbaugh Cites Dan Mitchell on Government Shutdown
I was on the road this afternoon when I caught on the radio Rush Limbaugh’s mention of a 2011 article by CF&P Chairman Dan Mitchell, in which he argued against the conventional wisdom that the 1995 government shut down harmed Republicans. This debate matters…
Which State Has the Most Self-Reliant People?
Back in 2010, I put together a “Moocher Index” as a rough measure of which states had the highest levels of welfare dependency after adjusting for poverty rates. My goal was to answer this question. Is there a greater willingness to sign up for income redistribution…
Are Higher Taxes Solving Fiscal Problems, either in Washington or California?
The budget deficit this year is projected to be significantly smaller than it has been in recent years and some of our statist friends claim that this shows the desirability and effectiveness of higher taxes. I’m not persuaded, mostly because our big long-run fiscal…
Crime Fighting or Corporate Welfare?
I want government to successfully and rationally fight crime and stop terrorism. That’s a perfectly appropriate libertarian sentiment since protecting life, liberty, and property are among the few legitimate roles for government. But I don’t want to give bureaucrats…
Are Republicans the “Stupid Party” or the “Big-Government Party”…or Both?
I sometimes make fun of Republicans for being the “Stupid Party,” but I get genuinely agitated when they’re the “Statist Party.” You can forgive someone for not being intelligent, after all, but it’s much harder to look the other way when they deliberately and…
Two Cheers to the Obama Administration for Resisting French Anti-Tax Competition Scheme
I damned Obama with faint praise last year by asserting that he would never be able to make America as statist as France. My main point was to explain that the French people, notwithstanding their many positive attributes, seem hopelessly statist. At least that’s how…