Detroit’s bankruptcy was created by decades of fiscal irresponsibility. Politicians ruined the economy with high taxes to finance their lavish spending and depleted the tax base. Given this track record, you would think the city would take a more responsible stance during its bankruptcy process. As CF&P President Andrew Quinlan highlighted in a recent op-ed […]

This article appeared in The Washington Times.

In an interview last week about Detroit’s bankruptcy, I explained that the city got in trouble because of growing dependency and an ever-rising burden of government spending. I also warned that the federal government faces the same challenge. Washington is in trouble mostly because of poorly designed entitlement programs rather than excessive compensation for a […]

About two weeks ago, while making an important point about the Laffer Curve, here’s what I wrote about the fiscal disaster in Detroit. Detroit’s problems are the completely predictable result of excessive government. Just as statism explains the problems of Greece. And the problems of California. And the problems of Cyprus. And the problems of […]

In a perverse way, I’m glad that there are places such as Greece and Illinois. These profligate jurisdictions are useful examples of the dangers of bloated government and reckless statism. There also are some cities that serve as reverse role models. Detroit is a miserable case study of big government run amok, so I enjoyed […]