One of the first things I learned when coming to Washington is that there is pervasive institutional dishonesty. A classic example is the way politicians have rigged the system so a “spending cut” takes place if the budget grows by, say, 6 percent instead of 8…
Daily Analysis
I Hope I’m Wrong, But Here’s Why Republicans Will Lose the Debt-Limit Fight
There are three reasons why I’m not very hopeful about the outcome of the debt-limit battle. 1. There is no unity in the GOP camp. Republicans have been all over the map during this fight. Some of them want a balanced budget amendment. Some want a one-for-one deal of…
Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, and Chevrolet…and the IRS
As a Yankees fan, it was particularly exciting that Derek Jeter became only the second player to get his 3000th hit with a home run. As a student of human nature, it was remarkable that the fan who caught the ball, Christian Lopez, returned it to Jeter instead of…
The Government Fraud Racket
With politicians like Barack Obama demanding higher taxes, this is a good moment to ask what we’re getting in exchange for the buckets of money we send to a federal overlords in Washington. The answer is disappointing, but not surprising. We get lots of waste, fraud…
Here’s More Evidence for Andrew Sullivan about Herbert Hoover’s Big-Government Statism
I had some fun at Andrew Sullivan’s expense a couple of weeks ago, mocking him for asserting that spending cuts today would be repeating the mistakes of Herbert Hoover. That was a rather odd thing for him to write since Hoover boosted the burden of government spending…
Even the Europeans Are Trying to Undo the Mistakes of Obama-Style Class Warfare
President Obama is stubbornly clinging to his ideological agenda of bigger government and class warfare. Wasteful programs magically become “investments” for growth, and higher tax rates get turned into “shared sacrifice.” Interestingly, we already know what…
With Terrible New Job Numbers, Can We Finally Say Obamanomics Has Failed?
Actually, Obamanomics already has failed. It didn’t work for Hoover and Roosevelt. It didn’t work for Bush. It isn’t working in Europe. And now it’s failing for Obama. It doesn’t matter what you call it or when the policies are imposed, expanding the size and scope of…
Bacon, Duct Tape, and the Free Market
It’s hard to imagine how we would get through life without necessities like bacon and duct tape. But have you ever thought about how the free market gives you so much for so little? Here’s a video that should be mandatory viewing in Washington. Too bad politicians…
Washington’s Never-Ending Scam of Fake Spending Cuts
There’s lots of talk in Washington about spending cuts, with almost everybody saying that there needs to be at least $2 trillion of cuts in exchange for hiking the debt limit. Since the federal budget is about $3.8 trillion and is riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse,…
More Disgusting Examples of Government Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
It gets my blood boiling that the crowd in Washington is talking about raising our taxes when the budget is so riddled with excess spending. Here are two stories that illustrate the waste, fraud, and abuse that is pervasive in the federal budget. Our first example is…