Part of my job is to educate people about free markets and fiscal policy. In some cases, that means providing information and analysis to those already sympathetic to limited government. There are many people who like the idea of lower tax burdens, for instance, but…
Daily Analysis
Why Obama is Wrong to Brag About the Auto Bailout
In last night’s debate, President Obama once again bragged about pouring taxpayer dollars into GM and Chrysler, while chastising Mitt Romney for wanting to “let Detroit go bankrupt.” Presuming that Detroit in this context refers to the auto…
Is Secession a Good Idea?
I’m not talking about secession in the United States, where the issue is linked to the ugliness of slavery (though at least Walter Williams can write about the issue without the risk of being accused of closet racism). But what about Europe? I have a hard time…
My Critique of Biden’s Class Warfare…and a Very Compelling Argument from A Guy Who Escaped Communism
I talked a couple of days ago to Neil Cavuto about whether the Obama Administration is slightly modifying its class-warfare tax policy. As you can see, I’m not overly fixated on the parsing of Biden’s comments since I’m against higher tax rates for anyone. And my…
Arizona’s Antiquated Tax on Tangible Personal Property
Last week the Tax Foundation released report which provides a means for states to get away from a pernicious practice, one which many folks might be surprised to learn about. Most people think of property taxes as merely dealing with land and the structures on it,…
Will Obama Benefit from Bad Jobs Numbers that Look Good?
That’s a clunky title for this post, but I couldn’t think of any other way of expressing the potential political impact of a very muddled employment situation. Let’s start with the obvious. The White House is very happy about the recent numbers showing that the…
No Matter How Hard He Tries, Obama Will Never Be as Bad as FDR
I’ve explained on many occasions that Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal was bad news for the economy. And the same can be said of Herbert Hoover’s policies, since he also expanded the burden of federal spending, raised tax rates, and increased government intervention. So…
The Federalism Solution to the Medicaid Nightmare
This election season has seen lots of talk (and demagoguery) about whether investors, entrepreneurs, and small business owners should be hit with class-warfare tax policy. And there’s also been lots of debate about the best way of averting bankruptcy for Medicare,…
European Politicians Share Obama’s View of a “Balanced Approach”
President Obama supports higher taxes, but he usually claims he only wants higher tax rates on evil rich people as part of his class-warfare agenda. Heck, he promised back in 2008 that, “no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not…
Amusing California Satire by Walter Williams, but What if Gov. Brown Takes It Seriously?
I periodically mock the crazy statists of California. The state is almost surely doomed to suffer a Greek-style fiscal chaos. The only unknown is whether Illinois will beat the Golden State into default. The politicians in Sacramento impose very high taxes to fund a…