I’m baffled by stupid Republicans (sorry to be redundant). Some GOPers have agreed to put taxes on the table. Not surprisingly, Democrats are praising them for this preemptive surrender, patting these Republicans on the head for being good little lapdogs. (The…
Daily Analysis
Mitt Romney, Mitchell’s Golden Rule, and “Absolutely Essential” Government Spending
I’ve dinged Mitt Romney for his less-than-stellar record on healthcare, his weakness on Social Security reform, and his reprehensible support for ethanol subsidies, but I haven’t bothered to address his budget plan – in part because it seemed rather underwhelming….
The Real Problem With the “Christmas Tree Tax”
Yesterday evening, Heritage spotted a conspicuous entry in the day’s publication of the Federal Register, defining a new tax on Christmas trees, which would fund a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The story quickly blew up and went viral, and now the…
Taiwanese Banks Pulling Billions Out of US Over FATCA Legislation
As CF&P has consistently warned, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act passed last year is driving foreign investment out of the US, which means less capital investment for the economy and thus fewer jobs for Americans. A group of Taiwanese banks fed up with the…
The Deadly Impact of FDA Regulation
I recently commented on some astounding numbers showing that each regulatory bureaucrat destroys 100 jobs in the productive sector of the economy. That’s obviously terrible news. Heck, it would be awful if each bureaucrat caused the destruction of 2 private-sector…
Is Ireland’s Michael Higgins an Economic Illiterate or a Cynical Hack
I’ve always been proud of my Irish heritage, but now I’m having to reconsider. As is so often the case when something goes awry, the blame belongs to a politician (this Craig Ferguson joke is right on the mark). Michael Higgins, the President-Elect of Ireland, has…
Maybe Communism Isn’t So Bad After All
I’ve previously posted about the communist government of Cuba cutting taxes and the CEO of Coca-Cola saying that communist China has a more business-friendly climate than the United States. Having grown up during the Cold War, I still have a hard time believing my…
Who’s Winning the Race to Fiscal Destruction: Europe or the United States?
Even though the unwashed masses decided that I didn’t win my stimulus debate in New York City, I continue my fight for the hearts and minds of the American people. I’m now taking part in a debate for U.S. News & World Report on “Who Is Handling Its Debt Crisis…
A Supercommittee Tax-Hike Surrender Means Republicans Would Snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory
Commenting on Supercommittee deliberations last month, I asked whether Republicans will choose the real budgetary savings of a sequester or surrender to a tax hike. Well, it appears that the GOP likes being known as the Stupid Party and is seriously considering a plan…
A Lesson on the Laffer Curve for Barack Obama
One of my frustrating missions in life is to educate policy makers on the Laffer Curve. This means teaching folks on the left that tax policy affects incentives to earn and report taxable income. As such, I try to explain, this means it is wrong to assume a simplistic…


