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…
Daily Analysis
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…
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…
I’m Willing to Go Along with President Obama’s “Balanced Approach” to Deficit Reduction, but Only if We Use Honest Math
The President has issued an ultimatum that more tax revenue must be part of budget negotiations. Indeed, he endlessly repeats his desire for a “balanced approach,” implying that as much as 50 percent of the deficit reduction in any agreement should come from higher…
If Truth-in-Labeling Is Important, the Housing Crisis Should Be Stamped: “Made in Washington”
If you want to understand how government intervention screws up markets and damages an economy, there are two new publications worth reading. First, pick up a copy of Reckless Endangerment, a new book by Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times, and Joshua Rosner, an…
Senator Rubio Slams Class Warfare
Obama waved the bloody flag of class warfare in his press conference this past week, though it’s not clear whether he was effective since he went out of his way to attack a provision for corporate jets that was part of his failed stimulus bill. In any event, Senator…
States Feel Tax Competition on Cigarettes
We fight to preserve tax competition among nations, but the principle’s effects exist within the US among the states, as well. George Scoville writes about the likely outcomes of a decision by Vermont to raise their cigarette taxes by $0.38 while New Hampshire…
CAP Leftists Have Accidental Encounter with the Laffer Curve, Learn Nothing
The big-government advocates at the Center for American Progress recently released a series of charts designed to prove America is a low-tax nation. I wish this was the case. The United States does have a lower overall tax burden than Europe, which is shown in one of…
The “Tax Expenditure” Con Job
e left is desperately trying to maneuver Republicans into going along with a tax increase. And they are smart to make this their top goal. After all, it will be very difficult – if not impossible – to increase the burden of government spending without more revenue…
Three Simple Rules to Keep Republicans from Being Seduced by Dishonest and Orwellian Word Games from the Left on Tax Reform and Tax Increases
Those who had the misfortune of seeing President Obama go after “tax breaks for corporate jets” as part of his press conference may be wondering why he was attacking a provision that was in his so-called stimulus and enacted by a Democratic-controlled Congress in…