The United States has been on a decade-long spending binge. Thanks to the profligate policies of both Bush and Obama, the burden of federal spending has climbed to about 25 percent of economic output, up from 18.2 percent of GDP when Bill Clinton left office. The…
Daily Analysis
Tax Haven Myths Return
Senator Carl Levin is revitalizing his crusade against so-called tax havens. In a press release yesterday, he announced the reintroduction of his Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, while touting the support of labor lobby groups and advocates of big government. As the Center…
How to “Cut” Spending and Make Government Bigger at the Same Time
One of the first things I learned when coming to Washington is that there is pervasive institutional dishonesty. A classic example is the way politicians have rigged the system so a “spending cut” takes place if the budget grows by, say, 6 percent instead of 8…
I Hope I’m Wrong, But Here’s Why Republicans Will Lose the Debt-Limit Fight
There are three reasons why I’m not very hopeful about the outcome of the debt-limit battle. 1. There is no unity in the GOP camp. Republicans have been all over the map during this fight. Some of them want a balanced budget amendment. Some want a one-for-one deal of…
The Government Fraud Racket
With politicians like Barack Obama demanding higher taxes, this is a good moment to ask what we’re getting in exchange for the buckets of money we send to a federal overlords in Washington. The answer is disappointing, but not surprising. We get lots of waste, fraud…
Here’s More Evidence for Andrew Sullivan about Herbert Hoover’s Big-Government Statism
I had some fun at Andrew Sullivan’s expense a couple of weeks ago, mocking him for asserting that spending cuts today would be repeating the mistakes of Herbert Hoover. That was a rather odd thing for him to write since Hoover boosted the burden of government spending…
Even the Europeans Are Trying to Undo the Mistakes of Obama-Style Class Warfare
President Obama is stubbornly clinging to his ideological agenda of bigger government and class warfare. Wasteful programs magically become “investments” for growth, and higher tax rates get turned into “shared sacrifice.” Interestingly, we already know what…
With Terrible New Job Numbers, Can We Finally Say Obamanomics Has Failed?
Actually, Obamanomics already has failed. It didn’t work for Hoover and Roosevelt. It didn’t work for Bush. It isn’t working in Europe. And now it’s failing for Obama. It doesn’t matter what you call it or when the policies are imposed, expanding the size and scope of…
Bacon, Duct Tape, and the Free Market
It’s hard to imagine how we would get through life without necessities like bacon and duct tape. But have you ever thought about how the free market gives you so much for so little? Here’s a video that should be mandatory viewing in Washington. Too bad politicians…
Washington’s Never-Ending Scam of Fake Spending Cuts
There’s lots of talk in Washington about spending cuts, with almost everybody saying that there needs to be at least $2 trillion of cuts in exchange for hiking the debt limit. Since the federal budget is about $3.8 trillion and is riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse,…