I’ve written before about the heavy costs of regulation, including these rather sobering statistics. Or, to be more accurate, here are some staggering numbers. Americans spend 8.8 billion hours every year filling out government forms. The economy-wide cost of…
Daily Analysis
Assuming You’re Intellectually Lazy, there’s a Very Strong Argument for Command-and-Control Regulation
Even though I’m a fiscal policy economist, I often get hit with questions on other topics. This frequently happens when I’m overseas and I’m put in the position of defending every nuance of free market policy. I don’t mind pontificating on other issues, but I get…
For Financial Markets, Regulation Is the Problem, not the Solution
This past Monday, I took part in a panel discussion about the financial crisis at the European Resource Bank in Brussels. One of my main points was that people in private markets always make mistakes, but that this is a healthy and necessary process so long as there…
Another Dismal Assessment of Obamanomics: United States Drops to 7th in WEF’s Global Competitiveness Index
Every year, I look forward to the annual releases of both Economic Freedom of the World and the Index of Economic Freedom. With their comprehensive rankings, these two publications enable interested parties to compare nations and see which countries are moving in the…
Fed Critics Should Worry About More Than Easy Money and Inflation
If people are criticizing the Federal Reserve, it’s overwhelmingly likely that they are focused on the central bank’s poor conduct of monetary policy. And there’s plenty to criticize, as documented in this video featuring Professor George Selgin. I also have a video,…
Obama’s Right – in a Perverse Way – about Government Playing an Important Role for Small Businesses
President Obama recently got himself in a bit of hot water with his “you didn’t build that” remark, which trivialized the hard work of entrepreneurs. But he is right – in a perverse way – about government playing a big role in the life of small businesses. Thanks to a…
So-Called Paycheck Fairness Act Would Allow Government to Second-Guess Private Markets
Back in 2010, I cited the superb work of Christina Hoff Summers as she explained that we should let markets determine wages rather than giving that power to a bunch of bean-counting bureaucrats. She wrote that article because leftists at the time were pushing a…
North Carolina’s Attempted Censorship Shows How State Governments also Are a Threat to Liberty
I spend much of my time focusing on the dangers of a bloated federal government. And if you’ve ever paid attention to the name of this blog, you know I have a special interest in monitoring the ill-advised actions of foreign governments. But that doesn’t mean I have a…
No Matter How Hard Obama Tries, He’ll Never Make America more Statist than France
One of my first blog posts, back in 2009, featured Veronique de Rugy in a video, warning that America should not adopt the statist policies that caused so much damage in her home country of France. Sadly (but predictably), the politicians in Washington ignored…
Great Moments in Government Regulations: Special Accommodations for Pee-Shy Employees
Regulation is a hidden tax that in many cases raises the cost of creating jobs and generating wealth. Here are some staggering numbers. Americans spend 8.8 billion hours every year filling out government forms. The economy-wide cost of regulation is now $1.75…