When the monthly job numbers are released, most people focus on the unemployment rate. On many occasions, I’ve cited that number, usually to point out that the unemployment rate is far higher than the Obama Administration promised it would be if the so-called stimulus…
Daily Analysis
Paternalists Are Right…and Wrong
Whether they’re banning bake sales, federalizing school lunch menus, or criminalizing Big Gulps, the nanny-staters feel they have some special wisdom that gives them the right to tell other people how to live their lives. This irks libertarians since we value human…
According to Washington Post Exposé, People Who Utilize Tax Havens Are Far More Honest than Politicians
Using data stolen from service providers in the Cook Islands and the British Virgin Islands, the Washington Post published a supposed exposé of Americans who do business in so-called tax havens. Since I’m the self-appointed defender of low-tax jurisdictions in…
Debunking Krugman’s European Austerity Narrative
Statists are in a tough position. For years, they’ve been saying the United States should be more like Europe. And, as shown in these very funny cartoons by Michael Ramirez and Bob Gorrell, President Obama is a cheerleader for that effort. But now Europe’s welfare…
Early Details Show Obama Will Propose a Bait-and-Switch Budget Plan Containing Higher Taxes and More Spending
Are we about to see a new kinder-and-gentler Obama? Has the tax-and-spend President of the past four years been replaced by a fiscal moderate? That’s certainly the spin we’re getting from the White House about the President’s new budget. Let’s look at this theme,…
The Fuse Is Burning Brightly on France’s Fiscal Time Bomb
It’s been more than three weeks since I targeted French fiscal policy for abuse and more than one week since I wrote something negative about the French fiscal system. I must be slowing down as I get older, so it’s time of rectify this oversight. My fundamental…
What Can We Learn by Comparing the Employment Situation in Texas vs. California?
One of the great things about federalism, above and beyond the fact that it both constrains the power of governments and is faithful to the Constitution, is that is turns every state into an experiment. We can learn what works best (though the President seems…
Apparently Learning Nothing from the Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac Disaster, the Obama Administration Wants to Subsidize Banks to Make More Dodgy Loans
The Obama Administration is proposing to once again put the economy at risk by subsidizing banks to give mortgages to people with poor credit, even though we’re still dealing with the economic and fiscal damage caused by the last episode of government housing subsidie…
What’s the Right Point on the Laffer Curve?
Back in 2010, I wrote a post entitled “What’s the Ideal Point on the Laffer Curve?“ Except I didn’t answer my own question. I simply pointed out that revenue maximization was not the ideal outcome. I explained that policy makers instead should seek to maximize…
Being in Favor of Markets Is Not the Same of Being in Favor of Business
Folks, the pendulum is swinging in the right direction. In recent weeks, I’ve shared a bunch of examples to support my hypothesis that libertarians, small-government conservatives, and classical liberals are finally making some progress. This trend actually started…