The Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador (akin to a state governor in the U.S.) defended his decision to get surgery in America with the statement that it was “my heart, my choice, and my health.” This is an admirably libertarian statement, and the “my choice, and my health” part could be the rallying cry for […]

When even the Democratic mayor of an overwhelmingly Democratic (and pro-union) city is accusing government workers of being obstinate and unrealistic, that pretty much cements the argument that there are too many bureaucrats and that they are vastly overpaid. The Detroit News reports: Mayor Dave Bing today criticized leaders of the city’s largest union for […]

Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky may be the most unpopular man in Washington right now. And, as you may surmise, this means he is doing something admirable (envision Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and you’ll have the right context). Republicans and Democrats want to rush through a bill to spend more money on […]

The Taxpayers Alliance in London has an amusing video highlighting different ways the government has wasted money on global warming/climate change propaganda. Or maybe it’s only amusing because I’m American and my tax dollars weren’t being wasted on the projects in the video.

A new study from the University of Michigan Law School’s Empirical Legal Studies Center finds that it is more difficult today for politicians to impose excessive financial regulation because firms can migrate to jurisdictions with more pro-market policy. The author notes tht this is less true for institutions, such as big banks, that want government […]

I saw this very encouraging CNN story linked on Hotair.com. According to a new poll, a comfortable majority of Americans recognize that the federal government is an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary people. My only quibble is that we’re way past the threat stage. Between an oppressive tax system and a […]

To follow up on a previous post, here is a column by John Lott, which makes the very sensible point that shifting resources from the productive sector of the economy to the government necessarily will cause dislocation in the short run. There also would be inefficiency in the long run, but that’s a separate issue:  …the stimulus […]

This gem was linked on Instapundit. According to the UK-based Telegraph, European taxpayers are getting ripped off to the tune of about $300,000 so the European Commission can send comic books about heroic bureaucrats to schools across the continent. You can’t make this stuff up. They are normally painted as faceless, grey Eurocrats ridiculed for […]

Watch it here:    http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/4830692

There were many reasons to oppose last year’s so-called stimulus legislation. High on my list of reasons would be that the $800 billion spending bill was based on discredited Keynesian theory. Government spending diverts resources from the productive sector of the economy would be another good reason. Another one of my favorites is that the […]