I’m frequently baffled at the stupidity of Republicans. When they took control of Congress back in 1994, for instance, they had unrestricted ability to get rid of the bureaucrats that generated bad economic analysis at both the Joint Committee on Taxation and…
Daily Analysis
Is France about to Change Course?
Greetings from Obamaland! Actually, that’s wrong in two respects. First, I’m actually in France. And even though I’ve joked that Obama wants to make America like France, technical accuracy requires me to admit that my real location is Paris, where I participated…
Assessing the New Ryan Budget
Congressman Paul Ryan, the Republican Chairman of the House Budget Committee, has unveiled the GOP’s latest budget plan. Is this proposal deserving of applause or criticism? The answer is yes and yes, with a bit of emphasis on the former. Let’s start with some…
Is Government Debt a Problem?
Based on what’s happened in Greece and other European nations, we know from real-world evidence that even nations from the developed world can spendthemselves into debt trouble. This has led to research that seeks to pinpoint when debt reaches a dangerous level….
Great Moments in Prohibition and the Drug War
Even though I’m personally a prude on the issue of drugs, that doesn’t stop me from opposing the Drug War, both for moral and practical reasons. After all, how can any sensible and decent person want laws that produce these outrageous results? The DEA trying…
Greetings from Obamaland…Oops, I Mean Greece
As much as I condemn American politicians for bad policy, things could be worse. We could be Greek citizens, which would be very depressing. Indeed, you’ll understand why I put Obamaland in the title after you read today’s column. Simply stated, Greece is a cesspool…
The Multi-Faceted Farce of Obamacare
I spoke yesterday to the Memphis Economics Club about America’s looming fiscal crisis, and I did my usual song-and-dance routine about potential Greek-style chaos in the absence of genuine entitlement reform. But I confess I was stumped when, after the speech, someone…
Great News for American Taxpayers: The IMF Loses (at Least Temporarily) a Bid to Fatten its Bailout Checkbook
When you support limited government and individual freedom, you don’t enjoy many victories. Particularly if you’re relying on the U.S. Senate. But it occasionally happens. The Senate held firm and stopped Obama from getting a fiscal cliff tax hikeat the end of 2010….
From France to New Jersey, High Tax Rates and Class Warfare Are Economic Poison
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, there was a widespread consensus that high tax rates were economically misguided. Many Democrats, for instance, supported the 1986 Tax Reform Act that lowered the top tax rate from 50 percent to 28 percent (albeit offset by increased…
Time for a Free-Market Postal System
It’s not often that I agree with the Washington Post, but a government-run monopoly is not the best way to get mail delivered. Moreover, it’s not often that I agree with the timid (andsometimes reprehensible) Tory-led government in the United Kingdom, but they just…


