There’s an off-year election today in the United States. There are no contests for the White House or Congress, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any important choices being made. I say that notwithstanding the fact that the big races between politicians at the state…
Daily Analysis
Iceland, Switzerland, and the Golden Rule of Fiscal Policy
Being a glass-half-full kind of guy, I look for kernels of good news when examining economic policy around the world. I once even managed to find something to praise about French tax policy. And I can assure you that’s not a very easy task. I particularly try to find…
Mocking Obama
It’s been a touch month for President Obama. His beloved healthcare scheme is a slow-motion train wreck and he wasn’t able to trick Republicans into a tax hike as part of budget fights. So let’s pile on with some humor. We’ll start with some NSA-related material….
What America Can Learn from the Faroe Islands about Social Security Reform
I’m currently in the Faroe Islands, a relatively unknown and semi-autonomous part of Denmark located in the North Atlantic. Sort of like Greenland, but too small to appear on most maps. I’m in this chilly archipelago for a speech to the annual meeting of the Faroese…
Easy Money Is Creating the Conditions for a Bigger European Economic Crisis
At the beginning of the year, I was asked whether Europe’s fiscal crisis was over. Showing deep thought and characteristic maturity, my response was “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, are you ;@($&^#’% kidding me?” But I then shared specific reasons for pessimism, including the…
Do You Trust the IRS With All Your Financial Information?
This year has seen numerous scandals followed by public concern over the extent to which government agencies are violating their privacy rights. Much of the focus has been on the NSA and national security, but the bigger threat to domestic rights may ultimately come…
Keynesian Economics, Government Shutdowns, and Economic Growth
Keynesian economics is the perpetual motion machine of the left. You build a model that assumes government spending is good for the economy and you assume that there are zero costs when the government diverts money from the private sector. With that type of model, you…
If There’s a Grand Bargain, Taxpayers Should Get a Tax Cut rather than a Tax Hike
The Washington metropolitan area has become America’s wealthiest region because trillions of dollars are taken every year from the productive sector of the economy and then divvied up by the politicians, bureaucrats, lobbyists and interest groups that benefit from…
Ohio’s Cheerleader for Big Government, John “Barack” Kasich
We have another candidate for our “Republican Hall of Shame.” The governor of Ohio, John Kasich, is embracing Obamacare. Moreover, not only does he want bad healthcare policy, but he’s using third-world tactics and making morally reprehensible arguments. The Wall…
Libertarian Jesus
Most of my political humor is designed to mock statists. That’s true whether I’m sharing cartoons, videos, jokes, or one-liners. But I also enjoy clever left-wing humor, even when libertarians are the target. Here are examples that tickled my funny bone. A video…