No, that’s not the name of a new TV series. We should be so lucky. Instead, it’s a good description of the government’s approach to tobacco. Instead of letting adults make up their own minds about costs and benefits of risky choices (which includes…
Daily Analysis
Excellent Video Channeling Bastiat
Tom Palmer of the Altas Network has a very concise – yet quite devastating – video exposing the Keynesian fallacy that the destruction of wealth by calamaties such as earthquakes or terrorism is good for economic growth. Tom cites the work of Bastiat, who…
Is America Becoming a Nation of Moochers?
This story from the Daily Caller about colleges helping kids sign up for food stamps, got me completely depressed. It’s not so much that this is indicative of a bloated, out-of-control government, though it is. It’s more that this symbolizes how the social…
Great Moments in Government Waste and Stupidity.
This Associate Press story really bolsters my confidence in the public sector. I can’t wait for geniuses like this to be in charge of determining what health care procedures are acceptable: Fifteen phony products – including a gasoline-powered alarm clock…
Taxpayers vs. Bureaucrats, Part XX.
There’s been a bit of buzz about a recent story in Politico revealing a huge increase in the number of congressional staff receiving six-figure salaries. Some of the details are eye-openers, including a 39 percent increase in the past four years in the number of…
Taxpayers vs. Bureaucrats, Part XIX.
Here’s a story to warm the hearts of struggling taxpayers around the nation. Washington, DC, is one of the few spots in the nation where income is climbing. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Personal income in 42 states fell in 2009, the Commerce…
Great Moments from the IRS.
Everyone’s favorite bureaucracy really stepped in it recently, when they harassed a car wash owner for an upaid tax bill of (drumroll please) four cents. But since we’re talking about the Internal Revenue Service, the bureaucrats also tacked on an extra…
Government Corruption Watch, Part II.
Sleazy political behavior does not necessarily require a bag of money being handed to a poltician in a deserted parking garage. Sometimes it is blatantly visible. A good example is the European version of “cap-and-trade” climate legislation. While the…
Subsidized Viagra for Sex Offenders: A Fitting Conclusion to the Obamacare Nightmare.
I don’t seem to be as depressed as everyone else about Obamacare, in part because our system is already so distorted and controlled by government that (this is my rough guess, to be sure) all we did was move from a system that is 68 percent run by government to…
Regardless of the Problem, the European Political Elite Thinks More Centralization and Bigger Government Is always the Answer.
Greece is in trouble for a combination of reasons. Government spending is far too excessive, diverting resources from more efficient uses. The bureaucracy is too large and paid too much, resulting in a misallocation of labor. And tax rates are too high, further…