One of my favorite Cato Institute publications is the Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors, which is produced by my colleague Chris Edwards. The report card uses variables such as the burden of government spending and the degree of class warfare tax policy…
Daily Analysis
How Corrupt Is Washington?
Regular readers know that Washington is a very sleazy city. Just as rats and cockroaches are attracted to a dumpster, con artists and fraudsters are attracted to big government. A bloated budget means many opportunities to get unearned wealth by being politically well…
The Problem Is Federally Subsidized School Lunches, Not Michelle Obama’s Healthy Food Initiative
Some people are grumbling that the First Lady has taken the joy out of school lunches. She’s identified with the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010,” which uses federal funding to coerce schools into providing meals with fewer calories. But I think this criticism…
A Sign of the Apocalypse? The French and Italians Are More Fiscally Conservative than Americans!
When I first saw this polling data, I thought we had some great news. After all, it shows that Americans – by a margin of more than 4-to-1 – want to reduce the burden of government spending. This comports with data from previous polls, including the recent survey…
Debunking Obama’s Flawed Assertions on Tax Deductions and Corporate Welfare
In a violation of the 8th Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, my brutal overseers at the Cato Institute required me to watch Wednesday’s debate (you can see what Cato scholars said by clicking here). But I will admit that it was good to…
The Laffer Curve Strikes Again: Revenues Falling in Spite of (or Perhaps Because of) Spain’s Punitive Corporate Tax Rate
I’ve shared evidence from around the world (England, Italy, the United States, and France) and from various states (Illinois, Oregon, Florida,Maryland, and New York) to argue that it is foolish to ignore the Laffer Curve. Not that it makes any difference. I’m slowly…
John Stossel Exposes the Fraud of Government Job Training Programs
There have been lots of studies showing that there’s no benefit to job training programs. People who sign up with these government schemes are not more likely to either get jobs or to earn more money. Heck, even the New York Times was forced to acknowledge that these…
France’s Fiscal Suicide
I try to be self aware, so I realize that I have the fiscal version of Tourette’s. Regardless of the question that is asked, I’m tempted to blurt out that the answer is to reduce the burden of government spending. But sometimes that’s exactly the right prescription,…
How Will Economic Freedom Fare in Honduras?
Would you want to live in a city with no income, sales or capital gains taxes? Well you can soon move to Honduras and get your chance: Small government and free-market capitalism are about to get put to the test in Honduras, where the government has agreed to let an…
It’s Wrong for Federal Tax Deductions to Encourage Bad Fiscal Policy by State and Local Governments
I have a handful of simple rules for good tax policy. Keep government small, since it’s impossible to have a reasonable tax system with a bloated welfare state. Keep tax rates low to minimize penalties against income, production, and wealth creation. Since capital…