There’s been a lot of heated discussion about various preferences, deductions, credits, shelters, and other loopholes in the tax code. Some of this debate has revolved around whether it is legitimate to refer to these provisions as “tax expenditures” or “subsidi…
Daily Analysis
Earmarks are the Gateway Drug to Big Government Addiction
I haven’t commented much on earmarks, but an oped in today’s Washington Post was has goaded me into action. A former Reagan Administration appointee (the Gipper must be spinning in his grave), who now makes a living by selling our money to the highest bidder, made s…
Don’t Blame Ireland’s Mess on Low Corporate Tax Rates
Ireland is in deep fiscal trouble and the Germans and the French apparently want the politicians in Dublin to increase the nation’s 12.5 percent corporate tax rate as the price for being bailed out. This is almost certainly the cause of considerable smugness and joy i…
Column on TSA Wins “Sentence of the Day” Contest
Our airport security system is a giant hassle. It’s very costly. And now we have the incredible privilege of having government bureaucrats grope our private parts.
So are we getting big benefits to offset these high costs? Mark Tapscott of the Washington Examiner h…
Another Tax-Hike Scheme from another “Bipartisan” Group of Washington Insiders
I’ve already commented on the proposal from the Chairmen of President Obama’s Fiscal Commission (including a very clever cartoon, if it’s okay to pat myself on the back). Now we have a similar proposal from the so-called Debt Reduction Task Force. Chaired by former…
Obama’s Proposed Payroll Tax Increase Is a Growing Threat
Back during the presidential campaign, Barack Obama proposed several tax increases. Some of those tax hikes, such as the proposed higher income tax rates on investors, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and other “rich” taxpayers, have received a lot of public…
More TSA Humor
Here’s what Conan had to say about the Transportation Security Administration on his new late-night talk show. In San Diego, a man refused to be patted down by airport security and some people are calling him a hero. I don’t mind being patted down by airport security,…
Great Moments in Local Government
Not to be outdone by bureaucrats on the west coast who thwarted a dangerous lemonade trafficking operation, New Castle Councilman Michael Wolfensohn alertly called police to nab a dangerous duo peddling pernicious pies to passersby, and for profit no less. But fear…
New Uniforms for TSA Gropers?
If we believe in truth-in-advertising, TSA bureaucrats should wear these t-shirts as they get their cheap thrills.
Savage New York Post Column on How Obama Economic Policy Is Causing Global Concern
I have a column in today’s New York Post, where I pull no punches as I comment on how the rest of the world is increasingly worried about Obama’s policies of easy money and deficit spending. I note that other nations often are guilty of the same mistakes, but that’s…