I believe that protecting the environment is both a good thing and a legitimate function of government. But I’m rational. So while I want limits on pollution, such policies should be determined by cost-benefit analysis. Banning automobiles doubtlessly would reduce…
I’ve shared some interested rankings on tax policy, including a map from the Tax Foundation showing which states have the earliest and latest Tax Freedom Days. There’s also a depressing table showing that the United States “earns” a lowly 94th place in a ranking of…
I want to challenge supporters of intervention and big government. Here are two simple questions. I’ll be happy if I can get a semi-reasonable answer to either of them. 1. Can you name a nation that became rich with statist policies? Before you say Sweden, or…
People pay every single penny of tax that politicians impose on corporations. The investors that own companies obviously pay (more than one time!) when governments tax profits. The workers employed by companies obviously pay, both directly and indirectly, because of…
We know the welfare state is good news for people inside government. Lots of bureaucrats are required, after all, to oversee a plethora of redistribution programs. Walter Williams refers to these paper pushers as poverty pimps, and there’s even a ranking showing which…
I’m a big advocate of the Laffer Curve. Simply stated, it’s absurdly inaccurate to think that taxpayers and the economy are insensitive to changes in tax policy. Yet bureaucracies such as the Joint Committee on Taxation basically assume that the economy will be…
If you ask me about the most wasteful department in the federal government, I’ll state that there are lots of good choices, but if forced to identify the best candidate for elimination, I’ll go with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. If you ask me about…
Federal policies unquestionably deserve some blame for skyrocketing tuition costs. Washington subsidizes student borrowing, and colleges in turn raise prices to capture federal dollars. Higher prices put pressure on Washington to increase subsidies and the cycle…
People sometimes think I’m strange for being so focused on the economic harm that results from third-party payer. But bear with me and we’ll see why it’s a very important issue. If you’re not already familiar with the term, third-party payer exists when someone other…
It’s difficult to promote good economic policy when some policy makers have a deeply flawed grasp of history. This is why I’ve tried to educate people, for instance, that government intervention bears the blame for the 2008 financial crisis, not capitalism or…