John Podesta of the Center for American Progress had a column in Politico yesterday asserting that “closing the budget gap entirely on the spending side would require draconian programmatic cuts.” He went on to complain that there are some people who “refuse to look…
Daily Analysis
New Orwellian Tax Scheme in England Would Require all Paychecks Go Directly to the Tax Authority
Our tax system in America is an absurd nightmare, but at least we have some ability to monitor what is happening. We can’t get too aggressive (nobody wants the ogres at the IRS breathing down their necks), but at least we can adjust our withholding levels and control…
Obama Wants a 23.9% Capital Gains Tax, but the Rate Actually Will Be Much Higher Because of Inflation
Thanks to the Obamacare legislation, we already know there will be a new 3.9 percent payroll tax on all investment income earned by so-called rich taxpayers beginning in 2013. And the capital gains tax rate will jump to 20 percent next year if the President gets his…
Russian Government Announces 20 Percent Reduction in Number of Bureaucrats
I’ve already commented on Cuba’s surprising announcement to slash the number of government workers. And I’ve complained about the federal workforce expanding in the United States. This is not what one would expect when comparing policy developments in a communist…
Giving Cops Bad Incentives to Harass Victimless Behavior
The Washington Post has an interesting report about the huge amount of money that Fairfax County spends to go after gambling. The story cites critics who ask “why law enforcement spends valuable time and money on combating sports gambling. The answer is obvious – and…
The Recycling Scam
Jeff Jacoby analyzes the absurd tendency of local governments to coerce residents into costly – and inefficient – recycling programs. As a resident of Fairfascist…oops, I mean Fairfax…County in Virginia, I already am painfully aware of this bureaucratic impulse….
The Environmentalist Death Toll
National Review has a column reviewing a new book, 3 Billion and Counting, that dissects the harsh human cost of banning DDT. There are things that should be banned, of course, but such decisions should be based on sound science and cost-benefit analysis. Sadly,…
The “Tea Party’s Already Won”
That’s the title of an insightful column at Thehill.com, which points out that Tea Party activism has succeeded in shifting the debate from making government bigger to making government smaller. The columnist also is correct in explaining how the Tea Party, by…
Bureaucrats are Always Concocting New Schemes to Fleece Residents
This news report demonstrates the lengths to which bureaucrats will go to pick your pocket. It doesn’t matter if your taxes have already ostensibly paid for government services, many local governments are now double taxing for the use of emergency services, even if…
Idiotic Moments in Political Correctness
Imagine having your child suspended for two years because he took a toy gun to school. Sounds absurd, right? Well, it’s real life in Broward County, Florida. Samuel Burgos has fond memories of his friends at school, but he only gets to see them in pictures now. The…