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…
Daily Analysis
We Get Bad Analysis when Statists Write Economic History
When major changes occur, especially if they’re bad, people generally will try to understand what happened so they can avoid similar bad events in the future. This is why, when we’re looking at major economic events, it’s critical to realize that narratives matter….
Do You Want the Global Destruction of Financial Privacy to Enable Higher Tax Rates and Bigger Government?
It’s a bad idea when governments demand information on your bank accounts and investments so they can impose economically destructive double taxation. It’s a worse idea when they also demand the right to tax economic activity in other jurisdictions (otherwise known as…
Policy Makers Should Make the Tax System Better rather than Banning Corporate Inversions
One of the worst things about working in Washington is that it’s so easy to get frustrated about the fact-free nature of political debates. For instance, there’s now a big controversy about companies “re-domiciling” or “inverting” from the United States to lower-tax…
Great Moments in Government, from Banning Bake Sales to Limiting Mistresses
Michelle Obama wants the federal government to tell us what kind of food to eat. I actually wouldn’t object if she merely used a bully pulpit to encourage healthier eating. But the busy-body crowd in Washington has a hard time distinguishing between giving advice…
Great Moments in Government
You won’t know whether to laugh or cry after perusing these stories that will be added to our “great moments in government” collection. For instance, did you realize that American taxpayers were saddled with the responsibility to micro-manage agriculture in…
Krugman’s “Gotcha” Moment Leaves Something to Be Desired
I’ve had some fun over the years by pointing out that Paul Krugman has butchered numbers when writing about fiscal policy in nations such as France, Estonia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. So I shouldn’t be surprised that he wants to catch me making an error. But…
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…
OECD Rules Will Create Privacy Nightmare
I’ve argued repeatedly that efforts like FATCA and the OECD’s Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters pose a substantial threat to financial and taxpayer privacy. In an excellent commentary at The Daily Signal today,…
The Economic Future of China and Hong Kong
I’m currently in Asia, where I just finished a series of speeches about economic policy in China and Hong Kong. These two jurisdictions offer very powerful lessons about the importance of economic policy. Hong Kong is supposed to be Nirvana for libertarians. It holds…