The statists are making a big issue out of income inequality, hoping to convince ordinary Americans that redistribution is their only hope for a better life. I’ve explained with a pizza analogy that this is horribly misguided because it falsely assumes the economy is a fixed pie. Simply stated, it doesn’t make sense – or […]
read more...There’s been a lot of discussion about Mitt Romney’s appeal – or lack thereof – among supporters of limited government. To put it mildly, many libertarians and conservatives are underwhelmed by his less-than-stellar record on healthcare, his weakness on Social Security reform, his anemic list of proposed budget savings, and his reprehensible support for ethanol […]
read more...More than two years ago, I explained in a TV interview that the looters and moochers should be careful that they don’t kill the geese that lay the golden eggs. After all, parasites need a healthy host. The collapse of Europe’s welfare states should be a wake-up call for these people, but that hasn’t stopped […]
read more...It isn’t fair to compare and contrast the views of a distinguished economist with the envious ramblings of a career politician/community activist. But it’s also not right for the government to use coercion to impose bad policy, so I don’t feel guilty about sharing this excerpt from a recent Walter Williams column. President Barack Obama, […]
read more...Appearances can be deceiving. I saw an article with a blaring headline that warmed my heart: “France’s Sarkozy Eyes Welfare Rethink, Fraud Clampdown.” Could it be, I thought, that the political elite finally realized that the welfare state was the wrong model? Had they finally realized, as demonstrated by these cartoons, that it was foolish […]
read more...I am automatically suspicious of the veracity of anything I see online, so I don’t necessarily believe this is a real receipt. But it could be, and that’s what’s disturbing. There are very few restrictions on the use of food stamps, so there’s nothing to stop a recipient from buying porterhouse steaks and lobster. So […]
read more...Here’s an absolutely horrifying video of President Franklin Roosevelt promoting a “Second Bill of Rights” based on coercive redistribution. At first, I was going to post it and contrast it with this superb Reagan video and compare how one President’s policies kept America mired in a depression while the other implemented policies that triggered an […]
read more...After any news appearance, I torment myself by watching the clip and telling myself I should have said something differently or raised a different point. But I’m actually happy with this appearance on Fox Business News because I (hopefully) explained the difference between wealth that is honestly accumulated and loot that is obtained through government […]
read more...I’ve posted several times about the dangers of creating too much government dependency, including a set of cartoons that illustrates how small welfare states inevitably erode social capital and create big welfare states. So you will understand that I am utterly depressed by this new chart from the Wall Street Journal showing that nearly half […]
read more...I recently posted an excellent video showing how the War on Poverty has been a disaster for both taxpayers and poor people. Let’s now look at a specific example of the income-redistribution racket. Professor Thomas Sowell has a superb column, which begins by noting that the left tried to build support for more income redistribution […]
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