Most Western nations have huge long-run fiscal problems because of unfavorable demographics and misguided entitlement programs. That’s the bad news. The good news is that dozens of nations have fully or partially shifted to mandatory private savings as a pro-growth…
Daily Analysis
Even John McCain Is Having Second Thoughts about the Wisdom of Drug Prohibition
What do John Stossel, Mona Charen, Gary Johnson, Pat Robertson, Cory Booker, and Richard Branson all have in common? And let’s add voters from the states of Colorado and Washington to this list. So what unites this unusual collection of people? They’ve all expressed…
Must-Read Article about Germany’s Green-Energy Disaster
I’ve written before that Obama’s Solyndra-style handouts have been a grotesque waste of tax dollars. I’ve argued that they destroy jobs rather than create jobs. I’ve gone on TV to explain why government intervention in energy creates a cesspool of cronyism. I’ve even…
Tax Havens and Tax Competition Are Crucial if We Want to Restrain Predatory Government
I’m very worried about America’s fiscal future. Simply stated, data from several sources (BIS, OECD, and IMF) indicates that we face a future Greek-style fiscal crisis unless policy makers implement genuine entitlement reform. Unfortunately, politicians have little…
Turning New York City into Detroit?
I recently speculated whether Detroit’s fiscal problems should be a warning sign for the crowd in Washington. The answer, of course, is yes, though it’s not a perfect analogy. The federal government is in deep trouble because of unsustainable entitlement programs…
Excellent Washington Post Editorial (Yes, Really) on School Choice
School choice should be a slam-dunk issue. There’s very powerful evidence that we can provide superior education for lower cost if we shift away from monopoly government schools to a system based on parental choice. Yet some leftists oppose this reform, even though…
What’s More Worrisome, Big Brother Monitoring Where You Drive or Big Brother Controlling How You Drive?
If you don’t like the NSA collecting and monitoring all your communications, you probably won’t be thrilled about new technologies that will give government power to monitor where you drive and control how you drive. Let’s look at a couple of options and then ponder…
Even Scandinavian Welfare States Realize Too Much Dependency and Too Many Handouts Are Destructive
We’re making a tiny bit of progress in the battle against the welfare state. No, policy hasn’t changed yet, but at least there’s growing recognition that maybe, just maybe, it’s not a good idea to pay people not to work. Particularly when you trap them in lives of…
Mark Steyn Correctly Worries about Obama’s Looming Syrian Adventure
I’ve already shared some analysis of Mark Steyn’s libertarian-leaning views on foreign policy, so it’s very timely to see what he just wrote about Syria. Here’s some of his new article in National Review. His humor is sharp, but he makes a very important point. The…
A Funny Look at How Obamacare Screws Young People
During the big-spending Bush years, economic and fiscal people inside the Administration often would sympathize with my complaints about bad policy, but say that there was nothing they could do since all the big decisions were being made by the political types in the…