Sometimes during speeches, when explaining why politicians shouldn’t double tax income that is saved and invested, I ask the audience whether it would make sense to harvest apples by cutting the branches off of trees filled with ripe fruit. In every audience (at least when I’m not talking to politicians), people instinctively understand that this […]
read more...There’s lots of talk in Washington about spending cuts, with almost everybody saying that there needs to be at least $2 trillion of cuts in exchange for hiking the debt limit. Since the federal budget is about $3.8 trillion and is riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse, this sounds like great news. But, as you […]
read more...Michelle Malkin hits the nail on the head, explaining that ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner is a wretched (but not unusual) example of the modern politician – a life spent mooching from the public, lining his pockets while making life harder for people in the productive sector of the economy. And every time people like Weiner (including […]
read more...I’m sure I will surrender to temptation and do a couple of posts with Weinergate jokes, but I want to begin on a higher note and make a serious point about Washington’s latest scandal. Big government means that politicians have a lot of power over the lives of ordinary people. This is bad for all […]
read more...Here’s a stomach-turning story from the Chicago Sun Times about how the political class uses special insider deals to get rich (or richer). What’s remarkable is that there may be nothing technically illegal in this story of crony capitalism and government contracts. But does anyone doubt that being the Mayor’s son was not a relevant […]
read more...I’ve been writing too much about the Ryan budget, the government shutdown, and other fiscal policy issues. Time for some wholesome politician bashing. But I’m not going to pick on the U.S. Congress, which is one of my favorite targets. Instead, we’re going to cross the ocean and mock the political elite of the European […]
read more...One of John Boehner’s first announcements after the GOP House takeover was that he would continue to fly commercial. This is in sharp contrast to Nancy Pelosi, who insisted on using luxury jets operated by the military. Boehner deserves praise for that decision, but he only gets two cheers rather than three since, like many […]
read more...The “good government” crowd tells us that voting is a “civic duty.” When I hear that type of nonsense, it makes me want to deliberately stay home. But I did actually vote today, in part to avoid lines on Tuesday and in part because I leave that morning for a speech in Florida. But why […]
read more...Here’s a great one-liner from Craig Ferguson, one of the late-night TV talk show hosts. Bedbugs were also found in government buildings in Washington D.C. I can’t believe they have to deal with those blood-sucking pests. Poor bedbugs. I’m not sure if he’s referring to politicians, bureaucrats, or both. Regardless, his jab is right on […]
read more...It seems that reports of Castro’s conversion were premature. While American politicians are learning from Castro how to tank an economy with reckless government intervention (not that there’s any other kind), Castro has apparently learned from our pols how to walk back an accidental utterance of the truth, otherwise known in political circles as a […]
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