When the new Tory-led government came to power in the United Kingdom, I was rather unimpressed. David Cameron positioned himself as a British version of George W. Bush, full of “compassionate conservative” ideas to expand the burden of government. But even worse than…
Daily Analysis
Spending Restraint Is Good Short-Run Policy and Good Long-Run Policy
Regular readers know that good fiscal policy takes place when government spending grows slower than the private economy. Nations that maintain this Golden Rule for extended periods of time shrink the relative burden of government spending, thus enabling more growth by…
Corporate Tax in Japan, Benefits for American Veterans, and Overweight British Kids
The title of this post sounds like the beginning of a strange joke, but it’s actually because we’re covering three issues today. Our first topic is corporate taxation. More specifically, we’re looking at a nation that seems to be learning that it’s foolish the have a…
France Wipes Out on the Laffer Curve
If you appreciate the common-sense notion of the Laffer Curve, you’re in for a treat. Today’s column will discuss the revelation that Francois Hollande’s class-warfare tax hikes have not raised nearly as much money as predicted. And after the recent evidence about the…
Will Chile’s Politicians Ruin the Latin Tiger?
here aren’t any nations with pure libertarian economic policy, but there are a handful of jurisdictions that deserve praise, either because they have comparatively low levels of statism or because they have made big strides in the right direction. Hong Kong and…
A Taxapalooza: More Taxpayer-Subsidized Agitation for Class Warfare by the OECD
I’ve already written about how the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is heavily subsidized by American taxpayers, is advocating for bigger government. I’m especially irked that the OECD has gotten in bed with nutjobs from…
Like Father, Like Son: Thanks in Part to a Disastrous Tax-Hike Deal, the First President Bush Was a Statist
The establishment fervently believes that more money should come to Washington so that politicians have greater ability to buy votes. That’s why statists from both parties are so viscerally hostile to Grover Norquist’s no-tax-hike pledge. They view it as an obstacle…
Repeal the Gas Tax…and Get Rid of the Department of Transportation
More than three years ago, I wrote that the Department of Transportation should be dismantled for the simple reason that we’ll get better roads at lower cost with the federalist approach of returning responsibility to state and local governments. I echoed those…
The Growing Threat of a Wealth Tax
Allister Heath, the superb economic writer from London, recently warned that governments are undermining incentives to save. And not just because of high tax rates and double taxation of savings. Allister says people are worried about outright confiscation resulting…
Corporate Tax, Media Bias, and Gary Becker (with a Cameo Appearance by Warren Buffett)
Perhaps there is an occasional exception, but when someone in a public policy debate mentions a “race to the bottom,” they always seem to favor bigger government and punitive taxation. Here are a few examples: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,…