In the grand scheme, I realize red-light cameras are not very important, but I was absolutely delighted to see that Houston voters approved a referendum to stop the city from using these devices. Red-light cameras should be called revenue cameras because local…
Daily Analysis
Ballot Initiatives Provide Underappreciated Election-Night Victories
Last week, I highlighted nine ballot initiatives that were worth watching because of their policy implications and/or their role is showing whether voters wanted more or less freedom. The results, by and large, are very encouraging. Let’s take a look at the results of…
The Highly-Anticipated Dan Mitchell Election Predictions
Actually, if you want good election predictions, don’t listen to me. I’m just an amateur without any special expertise. If you want real knowledge, I encourage you to visit these three sites: Realclearpolitics.com, which has good summaries of polling data and…
New Boss is Same as the Old Boss
One of the points made most frequently on this blog is that Obama’s big spending policies are essentially just an extension and elaboration on those from the Bush years. That is also the argument of this new video from Reason.tv:
Libertarian Porn
Several people have sent me the video embedded below. It’s more than one-hour long, so it’s not for the faint at heart. I categorize this video in a special new genre that I’ll call libertarian porn. This isn’t a negative (or positive) observation, but watch at least…
A Comedian Gives Us a Halloween Tax Video
A good lesson for all children, though I tried to indoctrinate my kids throughout the year by explaining that we couldn’t buy certain things because the government stole too much of our money.
Would You Rather Your Country Grow like France or Hong Kong?
A paper posted on the Social Science Research Network looks at nations that are prospering compared to those that are stagnating. Not surprisingly, limited government and free enterprise policies are associated with better economic performance. Here’s an excerpt from…
Should We Blame Obama, Rangel, and Baucus if People Die to Escape the Death Tax?
The death tax is a punitive levy that discourages saving and investment and causes substantial economic inefficiency. But it’s also an immoral tax that seizes assets from grieving families solely because someone dies. The good news is that this odious tax no longer…
Is Voting a Waste of Time?
The “good government” crowd tells us that voting is a “civic duty.” When I hear that type of nonsense, it makes me want to deliberately stay home. But I did actually vote today, in part to avoid lines on Tuesday and in part because I leave that morning for a speech in…
Is the FAIR Tax a Political Liability?
In the past 15 years, I’ve debated in favor of a national sales tax, testified before Congress on the merits of a national sales tax, gone on TV to advocate for the national sales tax, and spoken with dozens of reporters to explain why the national sales tax is a good…