Life is filled with risk. We can deal with that two ways. The first option is to allow people to make educated choices, thus promoting individual responsibility. The second option is to have politicians micro-manage our decisions, thus promoting passivity. Not…
Daily Analysis
In Symbol of Government Stupidity, the Nanny State Meets the Quota Cops
Here’s the kind of story that makes me fear for the future of the nation. It is a disturbing example of both government stupidity and soft tyranny. The police may not be ticketing for smoking in the parks, but they are still ticketing parker visitors for crimes…
What Caused the Financial Crisis: Private Greed and Criminality or Government Stupidity and Incompetence?
Here are two superb articles on the financial crisis. First, from Peter Wallison at the American Enterprise Institute, we have a piece on the role of government housing subsidies. Since he warned, in advance, that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were ticking time bombs,…
Robert Murphy of San Francisco Is a Despicable Thief
I’ve never met Robert Murphy, but he is a reprehensible person. I don’t know if he’s as bad as Michael Wolfensohn, but he’s definitely a sorry excuse for a human being. For all I know, Mr. Murphy goes to church every day, volunteers at a homeless shelter, reads books…
Just How Many Jobs Can Firing One Bureaucrat Create?
I mentioned the other day a claim from CEI that regulatory burdens cost the economy nearly $2 trillion in 2008. The Phoenix Center also recently produced a policy bulletin examining the costs of the regulatory state (Hat-tip: Big Government). In quantifying the…
Regulatory Burdens Cost Economy Almost $2 Trillion
There are thousands of examples of the burdens placed on the economy and ordinary citizens, who see costs soar in response to excessive government regulations. A recent report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute called Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual…
The Federal Milk Police Are Protecting Us, Praise the Lord!
I don’t know whether to be amused, disgusted, or angry, but any politician who says we need higher taxes is crazy so long as the federal government is squandering even one penny on sting operations designed to interfere with the freedom of consenting adults to busy…
Senator Rubio, Representative Posey, and other Lawmakers Fighting to Stop IRS Proposal that Would Drive Investment from U.S. Economy
There hasn’t been much good economic news in recent years, but one bright spot for the economy is that the United States is a haven for foreign investors and this has helped attract more than $10 trillion to American capital markets according to Commerce Department…
The Boundless Stupidity of State Governments
I’m an over-protective parent. Even now, with my kids ranging between 18 and 23, I will try to herd them together while skiing so I can follow them down the slopes and watch for potential injuries. And I never got them a jungle gym when they were young, even though I…
How Government Condemned Us to Dirty Clothes by Mandating Sub-Standard Washing Machines
Sam Kazman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute has a withering critique of dumb government policies that have taken away our freedom to buy low-cost and effective washing machines and instead forced us to buy expensive machines that don’t do a good job of cleaning…