The United States is suffering through the weakest economic expansion since the Great Depression, which is a damning indictment of Obamanomics. But that doesn’t mean the United States has the world’s worst-performing economy. Japan’s statist economy has been mired in…
Daily Analysis
Americans Are Far More Compassionate than “Socially Conscious” Europeans
When I’m in Europe giving speeches and participating in conferences, it’s quite common that folks on the left will attempt to discredit my views by asserting that Americans are selfish and greedy. Since I’m generally sympathetic to Ayn Rand’s writings, I don’t see…
The Moochers and Looters in France Are Running Out of Victims
The late, great Margaret Thatcher famously said that “Socialist governments…always run out of other people’s money” and “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” is an iconic line from Apocalypse Now. Thinking about the fiscal mess in Europe, I’m going to combine…
Stop the Presses, Europe’s Doing the Right Thing on Failed Banks!
The European Union has basically made the right decision on how to deal with insolvent banks. Here are some details from the EU Observer. Bank shareholders and creditors will be first in line to suffer losses if their bank gets into difficulties, according to draft…
By Global Standards, the Government Education Bureaucracy Gets the Most Money while Delivering Mediocre Results
I don’t write or speak about education very much, but, when asked, I explain that America has a very costly and inefficient government school monopoly. The strongest piece of evidence is an amazing chart put together by a Cato colleague. It shows that education…
Europe’s Politicians Learned the Wrong Lesson from Saint Augustine
In my never-ending crusade to push for the right kind of austerity, I appeared on RT to pontificate on the merits of limited government. We got to cover a lot of material, so here’s some augmenting material. 1. The right kind of “austerity” is less government…
Let’s Hope for Heavy Casualties on Both Sides in the War Between the IMF and European Commission
It is reported that Henry Kissinger, commenting on the Iran-Iraq war, said something to the effect that, “Too bad both sides can’t lose.” I imagine lots of people felt the same way when two of the world’s worst murderers, Hitler and Stalin, went to war in 1941. I have…
The European Parliament’s Pro-Tax Politicians Should Go After their Own Tax-Protected Salaries
What’s the most noxious example of hypocrisy from the political class? Is it left wingers from Obama’s cabinet utilizing tax havens while supporting higher taxes for the rest of us peasants? Or how about politicians who voted for Obamacare and are now trying to exempt…
UFOs, Faked Moon Landings, and Fiscal Policy
I was very pleased to report the other day that the people of France overwhelmingly favor spending cuts, even when they were asked a biased question that presupposed that Keynesian-style spending increases would “stimulate” the economy. Now I have some polling data…
Grim News from Greece about Grasping Government
I’m in Europe as part of a six-nation speaking tour, participating in the Free Market Road Show. My first speech was yesterday in Greece, which is infamous for a government that is insanely wasteful, even to the point of subsidizing pedophiles and requiring stool…