I wrote the other day that Americans, regardless of all the bad policy we get from Washington, should be thankful we’re not stuck in a hellhole like Venezuela. But we also should be happy we’re not Europeans. This is a point I’ve made before, usually accompanied by…
Daily Analysis
The Miracle of Modern-Day Prosperity…and the Ideas and Policies that Made it Happen
Why are some nations rich and other nations poor? What has enabled some nations to escape poverty while others continue to languish? And if we want to help poor nations prosper, what’s the right recipe? Since I’m a public finance economist, I’m tempted to say a flat…
More Companies Escaping America’s Masochistic Corporate Tax System
Last August, I shared a list of companies that “re-domiciled” in other nations so they could escape America’s punitive “worldwide” tax system. This past April, I augmented that list with some commentary about whether Walgreen’s might become a Swiss-based company. And…
Mocking Bad Government in America…but Be Thankful We’re Not Venezuela (at least not yet)
I’ve written a couple of serious posts about the death panels at the VA’s government-run health facilities. I think it’s particularly important to understand that the problem has nothing to do with funding levels. Instead, it’s about the chronic inefficiency of…
The Corrupt, Dishonest, Venal, Despicable IRS
Some statements are so lame that they now serve only as punch lines. Nobody, after all, would ever claim to a teacher that “the dog ate my homework.” Moreover, surely few if any people ever actually assert to bill collectors that “the check is in the mail.” And I have…
Paul Martin: The Bill Clinton of Canada, Only Much Better
Imagine how weird it would be if the Cato Institute and Americans for Tax Reform praised Barack Obama for fiscal responsibility. And think how inconceivable it would be for the Heritage Foundation and the National Taxpayers Union to applaud Tim “Turbotax” Geithner for…
Another Great Moment in Government-Manufactured Human Rights
As part of my “great moments” in government series, I periodically share stories about really foolish regulations and really wasteful spending. And sometimes I’ll even have a story that combines dumb regulation and boondoggle spending. For instance, you won’t believe…
More Evidence for the Laffer Curve and Lower Corporate Tax Rates
When the new Tory-led government came to power in the United Kingdom, I was rather unimpressed. David Cameron positioned himself as a British version of George W. Bush, full of “compassionate conservative” ideas to expand the burden of government. But even worse than…
Spending Restraint Is Good Short-Run Policy and Good Long-Run Policy
Regular readers know that good fiscal policy takes place when government spending grows slower than the private economy. Nations that maintain this Golden Rule for extended periods of time shrink the relative burden of government spending, thus enabling more growth by…
Linear Thinking and the Rahn Curve: Responding to a Critic
There’s an old saying that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. That may be true if you’re in Hollywood and visibility is a key to long-run earnings. But in the world of public policy, you don’t want to be a punching bag. And that describes my role in a book…