With all the controversy over the failed and costly Obamacare program, it’s understandable that other entitlements aren’t getting much attention. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t serious problems with Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. Indeed, the annual Social Security Trustees Report was released a few days ago and the updated numbers for the government-run retirement program are rather sobering. Thanks in part to sloppy journalism, many […]

I had a very bad lunch today. But not because of what I ate. My lunch was unpleasant because I moderated anoontime panel on Capitol Hill featuring Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and my Cato colleague Chris Edwards. And I should hasten to add that they were splendid company. The unpleasant part of the lunch was […]

As much as I condemn American politicians for bad policy, things could be worse. We could be Greek citizens, which would be very depressing. Indeed, you’ll understand why I put Obamaland in the title after you read today’s column. Simply stated, Greece is a cesspool of statism. The people seem to be wonderful (at least outside […]

Back in 2010, I shared a video that predicted a catastrophic end to the welfare state. I said it was an example of “Libertarian Porn” because: …it is designed for the dark enjoyment of people who think the government is destroying the nation. If you don’t like bloated government and statist intervention and you think that the […]

When I give speeches around the country, I often get asked whether it’s time to give up. More specifically, has America reached a tipping point, with too many people riding in the wagon of government dependency and too few people creating wealth and pulling the wagon in the right direction? These questions don’t surprise me, […]

Every so often, when the temptation is too great, I’ll comment on something written by Paul Krugman. When he botched his analysis of Estonia, for instance, I joined that nation’s President in correcting some egregious errors. And I periodically remind people that Krugman was wildly wrong to deny the scandalous shortcomings of the government-run health […]

At the beginning of the year, I was asked whether Europe’s fiscal crisis was over. Showing deep thought and characteristic maturity, my response was “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, are you ;@($&^#’% kidding me?” But I then shared specific reasons for pessimism, including the fact that many European nations had the wrong response to the fiscal crisis. With a […]

We have an amazing man-bites-dog story today. Let’s begin with some background information. A member of the European Commission recently warned that: “Tax increases imposed by the Socialist-led government in France have reached a “fatal level”…[and] that a series of tax hikes since the Socialists took power 14 months ago – including €33bn in new […]

As illustrated by this chart, economists are lousy forecasters. To be more specific, economists are no better than fortune tellers when trying to make short-run macroeconomic forecasts. Heck, if we actually knew what was going to happen over the next 12 months, we’d all be billionaires. But we can (on occasion) make sensible predictions about […]