People are getting increasingly agitated about being spied on by government. The snoops at the National Security Agency have gotten the most attention, and those bureaucrats are in the challenging position of trying to justify massive invasions of our privacy when…
Daily Analysis
Are Americans Getting Tired of Big Government?
A new Reason-Rupe poll finds Americans increasingly tired of government banning everything they like. The federal government recently proposed rules that would effectively ban trans fats, but 71 percent of Americans say they should be allowed to buy foods with trans…
Another Great Moment in Local Government
It’s no secret that I have very little faith in the competence and good will of government. I focus primarily on the fecklessness of Washington, but I also can’t resist highlighting malfeasance and stupidity by local governments, state governments, and foreign…
Will Regulators Kill Bitcoin?
Bitcoin, a digital cryptocurrency, is a potentially disruptive technology offering both social and economic gains. While the technology that has revolutionized peer-to-peer payments is growing in popularity, it is nevertheless vulnerable to being stamped out by…
Great Moments in State Government
Back in 2010, I shared parts of a Dave Barry column that mocked the government for bizarre examples of stupid law enforcement. Barry was specifically making fun of OSHA bureaucrats for fining a company for the horrible transgression of saving a worker when a trench…
Special Employment Rights for Crooks: Our Tax Dollars at Work
As an economist with a boring personality (sorry to be redundant), I sometimes focus on numbers. And when contemplating the cost of regulation and red tape, there are some numbers that should frighten all of us. Americans spend 8.8 billion hours every year filling out…
Obama’s Hidden $236 Billion Tax Hike
Obama imposed a big tax hike last year. But I’m not talking about the fiscal cliff and the President’s class-warfare trophy of higher tax rates on those evil rich people. That happened this year. Instead, I’m referring to the increase in the regulatory burden. Here…
Havoc Wreaked By FATCA Spreads
As the rest of the world is forced to deal with imperialist US tax policy, Americans and the US economy are continuing to suffer the consequences. We’ve already written about how FATCA is causing Americans being dropped from banks in Switzerland, Taiwanese banks…
While Much of America Suffers with Stagnation, Washington’s Political Class Is Having a Very Merry Christmas
In large part because of an excessive burden of government, the American economy is suffering European-style stagnation, with even the Washington Post now confessing that growth far below the long-run trend. This helps explain why job creation has been so dismal in…
Giving Control of the Internet to the United Nations Would Be Like “Handing a Stradivarius to a Gorilla”
The United Nations may be useful as a forum for world leaders, but it is not a productive place to develop policy. The international bureaucracy compulsively supports statist initiatives that would reduce individual liberty and expand the burden of government. Global…