With all the controversy over the failed and costly Obamacare program, it’s understandable that other entitlements aren’t getting much attention. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t serious problems with Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. Indeed, the…
Daily Analysis
The Trans-Atlantic Version of Great Moments in Government-Run Healthcare
When government suppresses the free market and takes over the healthcare sector, you get some really odd results. Consider these stories from Sweden: A man sewing up his own leg after getting frustrated with a long wait. The government denying a wheelchair to a…
America’s Built-In Greek Fiscal Future
I had a very bad lunch today. But not because of what I ate. My lunch was unpleasant because I moderated anoontime panel on Capitol Hill featuring Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and my Cato colleague Chris Edwards. And I should hasten to add that they were splendid…
Deconstructing the Initiative-Sapping, Taxpayer-Abusing Welfare State
I’ve written many times about America’s looming fiscal collapse, and I’ve also pontificated about America’s costly and failed welfare state. I even have speculated about when America reaches a tipping point, with too many people riding in the wagon of government…
Obamacare is Bad News for Your Wallet Today and Worse News for Your Wallet Tomorrow
I wrote a few weeks ago about the hidden economic damage of Obamacare, particularly the harm to the job market. Today, let’s get further depressed by looking at the ever-worsening fiscal damage of the law. Here’s some of what Chuck Blahous of Mercatus wrote about this…
Worried About Inequality? Then Focus on Helping the Poor, not Punishing the Rich
I haven’t spent much time writing about Thomas Piketty’s inequality book for the simple reason that my goal is economic liberty, not equality. That being said, I think that Piketty is fundamentally misguided even if the goal is helping the poor. Simply stated,…
Obamacare Could Cause Two Million additional Adults to Leave Labor Force and Become Trapped in Government Dependency
What’s the worst economic development during Obama’s reign? Some would say it’s the higher tax burden. Some would say it’s the wasteful faux stimulus. Others would say it’s the fiscal nightmare of Obamacare. And others would say it’s the loss of millions of…
More Obamacare Failure
If Obamacare is a success, as the White House and establishment media would like us to believe, then why is the Obama Administration so anxious to hide the numbers? After all, surely we haven’t set the bar so low that the Administration can claim victory simply…
Will Taxpayers Be Forced to Bail Out Union Pensions?
As a supporter of genuine capitalism, which means the right of contract and the absence of coercion, I don’t think there should be any policies that help or hinder unions. The government should simply be a neutral referee that enforces contracts and upholds the rule…
The Left’s Pro-Single Payer Health Care Graphic: Right Diagnosis, Wrong Prescription
The new leftist website, Vox, has an article by Sarah Kliff on Vermont’s experiment with a single-payer healthcare system. But I don’t really have much to say about what’s happening in the Green Mountain State, other than to declare that I much prefer healthcare…