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…
Daily Analysis
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…
Hell Has Officialy Frozen Over: French Support Spending Cuts by Overwhelming 4-1 Margin
I like the think I’m a reasonably savvy observer of public opinion and international economics, but every so often I’m stunned by some bit of data. Several years ago, for instance, I was very surprised to see that more than half of the French people would consider…
Another Example of Editorial-Page Fiction at the New York Times
Are there any fact checkers at the New York Times? Since they’ve allowed some glaring mistakes by Paul Krugman (see here and here), I guess the answer is no. But some mistakes are worse than others. Consider a recent column by David Stuckler of Oxford and Sanjay Basu…
Following in Geithner’s Footsteps, Treasury Secretary Lew Urges Bad Fiscal Policy in other Nations
Political insiders remember Tim Geithner for his role in promoting the bailout culture and crony capitalism in Washington. Comedians remember him for the laughable hypocrisy of urging higher taxes for others while cheating on his own tax return. But I mostly think of…
Huge Value-Added Tax Increases in Europe Show Why Washington Politicians Should Never Be Given a New Source of Tax Revenue
The most important, powerful, and relevant argument against the value-added tax in the short run is that we can balance the budget in just five years by capping spending so it grows at the rate of inflation, a very modest level of fiscal restraint. The most important,…
The United Kingdom Boldly Rejoins the Government Incompetence and Stupidity Contest
I periodically compare the actions of brainless politicians and bureaucrats in both the United States and the United Kingdom. One of the most bizarre examples I cited was from England. It showed how a local government decided to install the most pointless sign in the…
What Really Happened in Cyprus?
Did Cyprus become an economic basket case because it is a tax haven, as some leftists have implied? Did it get in trouble because the government overspent, which I have suggested? The answers to those questions are “no” and “to some degree.” The real problem, as I…
Debunking Krugman’s European Austerity Narrative
Statists are in a tough position. For years, they’ve been saying the United States should be more like Europe. And, as shown in these very funny cartoons by Michael Ramirez and Bob Gorrell, President Obama is a cheerleader for that effort. But now Europe’s welfare…