At a basic level, my attitude on patriotism is captured by this t-shirt. And hold the snarky comments. My view is not influenced by the woman modeling it. Or, if you want something with more substance, this Penn & Teller routine is very instructive. But this…
Daily Analysis
What Matters More to Republicans, Defending Taxpayers or Expanding Government?
Yesterday, I unloaded on supposed conservatives who are toying with a tax increase to enable more government spending. Why would they take that route in the “Supercommittee” deliberations, I wondered, when they can deliver a guaranteed victory for taxpayers by holding…
Would You Rather Have Bailouts or Real Capitalism?
arlier this month, I took part in an online debate for U.S. News & World Report about whether Europe or the United States was in deeper fiscal trouble. I wrote that Europe faced a bigger mess, though I warned that the United States was making the same mistakes of…
Some “Conservative” Members of the Stupid Party Push for Tax Increases to Enable Bigger Government
What would you do if you saw somebody standing at the top of a skyscraper, about to jump? Would you avert your eyes in horror? Would you watch in dismay as they plummeted to the ground? These are similar to the thoughts that are going through my mind as I watch…
Five Lessons for America from the European Fiscal Crisis
I’ve written about the fiscal implosion in Europe and warned that America faces the same fate if we don’t reform poorly designed entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. But this new video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, narrated by an Italian…
The French Government’s Moral Depravity and Self-Imposed Fiscal Suicide
Appearances can be deceiving. I saw an article with a blaring headline that warmed my heart: “France’s Sarkozy Eyes Welfare Rethink, Fraud Clampdown.” Could it be, I thought, that the political elite finally realized that the welfare state was the wrong model? Had…
More Chicago-Style Corrupt Crony Capitalism
I’ve already commented on some of the sleazy behavior that infects Chicago politics. Now we have a jaw-dropping example of what’s wrong with the state of Illinois, as explained by Bill McGurn of the Wall Street Journal. Soon the Illinois state legislature will meet in…
Alan Blinder’s Accidental Case for the Flat Tax
Alan Blinder has a distinguished resume. He’s a professor at Princeton and he served as Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve. So I was interested to see he authored an attack on the flat tax – and I was happy after I read his column. Why? Well, because his arguments…
How Government Can Turn Heaven into Hell
One of the sacrifices I make for liberty is traveling to foreign lands. Previous hardship duty includes trips to Monaco, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Switzerland, and Anguilla. I’m currently in Antigua, which is a remarkably beautiful island. But nice places nonetheless…
A Painful Example of Obamacare’s Tax Complexity
As this image illustrates, the internal revenue code is a nightmare of complexity. And this chart shows how Obamacare is turning the health care system into a Byzantine nightmare. So what happens when you mix bad tax policy and bad health care policy? Well, you get…