It’s rather symbolic of what’s wrong with Washington that a commission ostensibly created to promote deficit reduction is seeking a bigger budget, as noted in the Tax Notes story excerpted below. Rather than impose a bigger burden on taxpayers, though, I…
Daily Analysis
Will Higher Tax Rates in 2011 Cause an Economic Collapse?
Art Laffer has a compelling column in the Wall Street Journal, where he makes the case that future tax rate increases will cause considerable economic damage because people have an incentive to maximize income this year to take advantage of current tax rates –…
Taxpayers vs. Bureaucrats, Part XXIX
This story from Philadelphia, which I saw on Reason’s Hit and Run blog, is one of the worst examples I’ve ever seen of government bureaucrats bilking taxpayers. The City Manager, who already receives an absurdly extravagent salary and hasn’t even…
The Problem Is Big Government, not Campaign Contributions
A Washington Post columnist is understandably disgusted that Congressman Jim Moran is a corrupt thief who swaps earmarks for campaign cash, but she draws the wrong conclusion. The problem is not campaign contributions. That’s just the symptom. The real problem…
Taxpayers vs. Bureaucrats, Part XXVIII
You might think I would be past the point of being surprised about excessive pay for bureaucrats, especially after narrating the new video for the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, but even I’m shocked by this New York Times story about bloated pay for…
The Parasites on the Left Are Making a Big Mistake by Stealing too Much
As I noted in this TV interview, that last thing a parasite should want is to kill its host animal. This is why leftists are making a big mistake by over-taxing, over-spending, and over-regulating. Simply stated, if they want to live as moochers, they need to make…
So Why Is Obama Considering another “Stimulus”?!?
Bigger government hurts growth by diverting resources from productive uses to political purposes. That’s common sense to most people. But it’s nice to find even academics at Harvard are confirming this relationship. Excerpted below is the abstract of a new…
The Rent Seekers Strike Back
Apologies to Star Wars fans for the title, but it seemed very fitting considering the profound amoral mentality of the lobbyists who have launched a public relations campaign to defend earmarks. The key part of the story is excerpted below for your reading pleasure,…
Another Deficit Hypocrite
Paul Volcker is a typical Washington insider who maintains his favorable connections by endorsing bigger government. In recent months, he’s been busy supporting a value-added tax. Now he is saying that it is absolutely critical to address the deficit….
Slash Government Spending to Boost Economy
The politicians in Washington and their enablers in the academy are wildly wrong about how to boost growth. They think more government spending is a key to prosperity, but this blog already has revealed that the Great Depression was made worse because of bigger…