As I explained in this set of videos, we desperately need to reform entitlement programs. But not in the wrong way, with price fixing and means testing. Good reform means personal retirement accounts for Social Security. It means vouchers for Medicare. And it…
Daily Analysis
New Unemployment Numbers Are Good News for the White House, but the Silver Cloud Has a Dark Lining
The White House doubtlessly is happy that the unemployment rate has dropped to 8.5 percent, in part because the President is much more likely to get reelected if voters think the economy is heading in the right direction. My political predictions have a mixed track…
New Studies Show the Middle Class Is Held Back by Government-Distorted Healthcare, not Income Inequality
I did a debate on income inequality for PBS, but haven’t written much about the issue because I think it is a misguided diversion. One frustrating aspect of this debate is that folks on the left genuinely seem to think the economy is a fixed pie and that rich people…
Walter Williams on the Moral Difference Between Markets and Statism
Since starting this blog, I’ve cited several columns by Walter Williams (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), in large part because he’s so good at explaining economic concepts, but also because he’s…
Mitt Romney, the Value-Added Tax, and America’s European Future
My Iowa caucus predictions from yesterday were hopelessly wrong, probably because I was picking with my heart rather than my head. As I noted a couple of weeks ago, Mitt Romney’s openness to a value-added tax makes him a dangerously flawed candidate, and I hoped Iowa…
Spain’s New Government Has Already Betrayed Taxpayers
Late last year, Spanish voters kicked out a socialist government and elected a new government led by the supposedly conservative People’s Party. Is that translating into smaller government and more freedom? Doesn’t look that way. It seems that Spanish right-of-center…
The Never-Ending Battle Between the U.S. and U.K. for Stupidest Government Policy
In June of last year, I posted several examples of idiotic government policy from both the United States and United Kingdom and asked which nation had the dumbest bureaucrats and politicians. Since then, we have found new examples of brain-dead government and…
The Long-Awaited Dan Mitchell 2012 Predictions
Last January, I identified five things that worried me for 2011. Here’s what had me concerned, along with some ex post facto analysis about whether I was right to fret: 1. A back-door bailout of the states from the Federal Reserve – Thankfully, I was way off base with…
Another Horror Story about Government-Run Healthcare that Can’t Possibly Be True According to Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman has told us that awful stories about government-run healthcare in Britain “are false.” I guess this means that the media must be dominated by conservative liars, since we keep getting reports about substandard care and needless deaths…
Government Insiders Rip Off Taxpayers…Again
I’ve written many times about politicians and bureaucrats screwing taxpayers with lavish compensation packages, but this story from Philadelphia is jaw dropping. Councilwoman Marian B. Tasco is retiring Friday, but only so she can collect a $478,057 pension check and…