I’m not a big fan of the rating agencies. I’ve warned in TV interviews that they generally wait too long before downgrading profligate governments. So when the rating agencies finally catch up to everyone else and lower their outlook for failing welfare states such as…
Daily Analysis
Perpetual Bailouts for the Fiscal Black Holes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?
Here’s a recent interview with Neil Cavuto about bailouts for Fannie Mae, one of the government-created entities used by Barney Frank, et al, to subsidize housing (and line the pockets of well-connected political insiders). My main concern is not the bailouts, which…
If Truth-in-Labeling Is Important, the Housing Crisis Should Be Stamped: “Made in Washington”
If you want to understand how government intervention screws up markets and damages an economy, there are two new publications worth reading. First, pick up a copy of Reckless Endangerment, a new book by Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times, and Joshua Rosner, an…
A Left-Wing Plan to Replace the Ideas of the Founding Fathers with a “Declaration of Dependency”?
Like the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence is filled with old-fashioned ideas about liberty, freedom, and restrictions on the power of government. But that’s no fun, at least if you’re a member of the ruling class. Heck, some people are using those musty…
Senator Rubio Slams Class Warfare
Obama waved the bloody flag of class warfare in his press conference this past week, though it’s not clear whether he was effective since he went out of his way to attack a provision for corporate jets that was part of his failed stimulus bill. In any event, Senator…
Is This an Example of the Nanny State Run Amok, Government Stupidity, or the Overlawyered Society?
Or is it another example of the “wussification of America?” I don’t know how to classify this story, other than it is a sad commentary on what is happening to America. Bureaucrats in Maryland, who obviously have too much time on their hands, are issuing rules…
The “Tax Expenditure” Con Job
e left is desperately trying to maneuver Republicans into going along with a tax increase. And they are smart to make this their top goal. After all, it will be very difficult – if not impossible – to increase the burden of government spending without more revenue…
Words I Never Thought Would Cross My Lips: “Government Is even More Incompetent than I Thought”
Regular readers know that I don’t have high regard for government. I’m willing to believe just about anything bad about politicians and bureaucrats, and I am not the least bit surprised when I hear horror stories about counterproductive government programs riddled…
Two Examples of Reprehensible and Outrageous TSA Behavior…and Senator Rand Paul Speaks Up for Common Sense
I’ve largely stopped beating up on the TSA because it seems like a dog-bites-man or sun-rises-in-the-east issue. Do we really learn anything by repetitively discussing the stupidity on one bureaucracy? But sometimes the idiocy reaches such an extreme level that it…
Should American Taxpayers Finance another Big Fat Greek Bailout?
The notion that American taxpayers are about to subsidize another Greek bailout (via the Keystone Cops at the IMF) is way beyond economically foolish. It is also morally offensive. To turn Winston Churchill’s famous quote upside down: “Never have so many paid so much…