The 2012 Index of Economic Freedom has just been released. This is my favorite publication from the Heritage Foundation, and second only to the Economic Freedom of the World Index as a measure of global public policy. The news scores for 2012 are not pretty. We have bad news, we have worse news, and we […]
read more...Since starting this blog, I’ve cited several columns by Walter Williams (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), in large part because he’s so good at explaining economic concepts, but also because he’s very effective when demonstrating how big government undermines both freedom and […]
read more...The latest “Economics 101” video released today by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation (CF&P), narrated by Michelle Fields, explains that most politicians have learned the wrong lessons from the Great Depression. Entitled, “The New Deal Was A Failure: Hoover and FDR Prolonged the Great Depression with Big Government,” the video illuminates, through a timely economic history lesson, the dangers of President Obama’s insistence on following in the footsteps of FDR.
read more...This mini-documentary from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation explains how the statist policies of Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt lengthened and deepened the Great Depression. The video also briefly explains how reductions in the burden of government spending helped the economy recover from a deep recession after World War I and to grow after World War II.
read more...I’m glad that China has taken some steps away from communism. According to Economic Freedom of the World, China was one of 10-worst nations for economic liberty back in 1980 and they’ve since climbed to 92nd place out of 141 nations. I’ve even offered a small bit of praise for China’s shift to a more […]
read more...I’ve always been proud of my Irish heritage, but now I’m having to reconsider. As is so often the case when something goes awry, the blame belongs to a politician (this Craig Ferguson joke is right on the mark). Michael Higgins, the President-Elect of Ireland, has lived a very comfortable life sucking on the government […]
read more...The folks from the Koch Institute put together a great video a couple of months ago looking at why some nations are rich and others are poor. That video looked at the relationship between economic freedom and various indices that measure quality of life. Not surprisingly, free markets and small government lead to better results. […]
read more...What nation is a role model for economic reformers? I’ve certainly cited Hong Kong as an example, but I’ve also explained that we can learn lessons – at least on certain issues – from nations such as Sweden, Australia, Canada, and the Baltics. Today, let’s talk about the curious case of Denmark, which is a […]
read more...The so-called War on Poverty has failed. Making government bigger and creating more federal redistribution programs has been bad news for taxpayers. But the welfare state also has been a disaster for the less fortunate, creating a flypaper effect that makes it difficult for people to lead independent and self-reliant lives. This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation video shows how the poverty rate was falling after World War II — but then stagnated once the federal government got involved.
read more...The latest “Economics 101” video released today by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation (CF&P), narrated by Hadley Heath of the Independent Women’s Forum, calls for restoring economic freedom to reduce poverty. Entitled, “Free Markets, Not Redistribution, Is Best Way to Reduce Poverty,” the video puts poverty in perspective and shows how government redistribution programs perpetuate rather than alleviate the problem.
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