MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'big government'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:55:30 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174597&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFiy1IQMguDM%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe White House has announced that it is nominating Alan Krueger, a professor at Princeton, to be the new Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. In a Freudian copy-editing slip, the Fox News story (at least as of 8:44 a.m.) says “Krueger’s job will be to provide policy prescriptions on ways to spur unemployment.” That’s obviously tailor-made for a joke about the Obama Administration not needing any help when it comes to stimulating joblessness. On a more serious note, though, I’m worried about Krueger’s sympathy for a value-added tax (VAT). Here’s what he wrote back in 2009. …a 5 percent consumption tax would raise approximately $500 billion a year, and fill a considerable hole in the budget outlook. In addition, a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174597 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:00:06 +0100 5174597 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5169527&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiJw-R41i5MA%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI’ve commented on the failure of Obamanomics, with special focus on how both banks and corporations are sitting on money because the investment climate is so grim. Not exactly flattering to the White House. Using Minneapolis Federal Reserve data, I’ve compared the current recovery with the expansion of the early 1980s. Once again, not good news for the Obama administration. And I’ve shared a couple of cartoons — here and here — that use humor to show the impact of bad public policy. But here’s a Bloomberg story that provides what may be the most damning evidence that the President’s big government agenda is a failure: U.S. regulators have asked some banks to take more deposits from large investors even if it’s unprofitable, and ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5169527 Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:09:27 +0100 5169527 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158943&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkYybUa_rHFo%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe Congressional Budget Office has just released the update to its Economic and Budget Outlook. There are several things from this new report that probably deserve commentary, including a new estimate that unemployment will “remain above 8 percent until 2014.” This certainly doesn’t reflect well on the Obama White House, which claimed that flushing $800 billion down the Washington rathole would prevent the joblessness rate from ever climbing above 8 percent. Not that I have any faith in CBO estimates. After all, those bureaucrats still embrace Keynesian economics. But this post is not about the backwards economics at CBO. Instead, I want to look at the new budget forecast and see what degree of fiscal discipline is necessary to get rid of red ink. Th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158943 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:34:41 +0100 5158943 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158949&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-rwtMJquWYA%2F By Daniel J. MitchellJust last week, I made fun of Paul Krugman after he publicly said that a fake threat from invading aliens would be good for the economy since the earth would waste a bunch of money on pointless defense outlays. Yesterday, there were rumors that Krugman stated that it would have been stimulative if the earthquake had been stronger and done more damage, but he exposed this as a prank (though it is understandable that many people — including me, I’m embarrassed to admit — initially assumed it was true since he did write that the 9-11 terrorist attacks boosted growth).  But while Krugman is owed an apology by whoever pulled that stunt, the real problem is that President Obama and his advisers actually take Keynesian alchemy seriously. And since Presid... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158949 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:44:30 +0100 5158949 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118610&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ffr7x6uGcJwg%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI wrote earlier this year about the connection between a morally corrupt welfare state and the riots in the United Kingdom. But what’s happening now is not just some left-wing punks engaging in political street theater. Instead, the UK is dealing with a bigger problem of societal decay caused in part by a government’s failure to fulfill one of its few legitimate functions: protection of property. To make matters worse, the political class has disarmed law-abiding people, thus exacerbating the risks. These two photos are a pretty good summary of what this means. On the left, we have Korean entrepreneurs using guns to defend themselves from murdering thugs during the 1992 LA riots. On the right, we have Turkish entrepreneurs reduced to using their fists (and some hid... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118610 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:31:49 +0100 5118610 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107490&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsIIy7QIG65A%2F By Daniel J. MitchellPresident Obama just spoke about the downgrade and his remarks were very disappointing. He uttered some empty platitudes, offered no plan, (amazingly) called for more government spending, and continued his advocacy of class-warfare taxation. So what does this mean? Other than expecting volatility, I have no idea what will happen in financial markets over the next few days. But I can opine about the downgrade, Obama’s unserious response, and what it means in terms of public policy over the next few years and into the future. Notwithstanding the President’s cavalier attitude, America is in trouble. But while the crisis is severe, we have some breathing room. Our fiscal crisis is akin to a very dangerous, but slow-developing cancer. It is not a car wreck with ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107490 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:59:48 +0100 5107490 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086149&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4iF1ARFK_3I%2F By Daniel J. MitchellWhile driving home last night, I had the miserable experience of listening to a financial journalist being interviewed about the anemic growth numbers that were just released. I wasn’t unhappy because the interview was biased to the left. From what I could tell, both the host and the guest were straight shooters. Indeed, they spent some time speculating that the economy’s weak performance was bad news for Obama. What irked me was the implicit Keynesian thinking in the interview. Both of them kept talking about how the economy would have been weaker in the absence of government spending, and they fretted that “austerity” in Washington could further slow the economy in the future. This was especially frustrating for me since I’ve spent years... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086149 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:13:51 +0100 5086149 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077651&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fk-GVclYFIbo%2F By Daniel J. MitchellIn 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 a moment or two of guilty pleasure as I read this CNBC story about the ongoing decay of the Motor City. Here are some excerpts: Detroit neighborhoods with more people and a better chance of survival will receive different levels of city services than more blighted areas under a plan unveiled Wednesday that some residents fear may pit them against each other for scarce resources. …[T]he boundaries of the 139-square-mile city aren’t ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077651 Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:12:19 +0100 5077651 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069441&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-ptqhNzL54Q%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI testified before the House Ways & Means Committee yesterday. As always, my trip inside the belly of the beast was an interesting adventure. The tax-writing committee was holding a hearing on the value-added tax. I was on a panel with five other witnesses, and all of the other people testifying were sympathetic to a VAT. But since I had truth on my side, that made it a fair fight (though it did cross my mind that it’s not a good sign when a Republican-controlled committee stacks the witnesses in favor of a European-style tax system). I made two points. First, a VAT is less destructive than the current income tax. As such, if we somehow repealed the 16th Amendment and replaced it with something ironclad that would prevent the income tax from ever again haunti... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069441 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:35:13 +0100 5069441 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050537&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtukJttLWUFI%2F The on-again, off-again “Gang of Six” has come back on the scene and is offering a “Bipartisan Plan to Reduce Our Nation’s Deficits.” The proposal is quite similar to the one put forth by the President’s Simpson-Bowles Commission, which isn’t too surprising since some of the same people are involved. At this stage, all I’ve seen is this summary (A BIPARTISAN PLAN TO REDUCE OUR NATIONS DEFICITS v7), so I reserve the right to modify my analysis as more details emerge (and since I fully expect the plan to look worse when additional information is available, the following is an optimistic assessment. The Good Unlike President Obama, the Gang of Six is not consumed by class-warfare resentment. The plan envisions that the top personal income tax rate will fall to no higher than ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050537 Tue, 19 Jul 2011 18:36:45 +0100 5050537 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036220&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FVKuTAMhLV_c%2F By Daniel J. MitchellIn my speeches, especially when talking about the fiscal crisis in Europe (or the future fiscal crisis in America), I often warn that the welfare state reaches a point of no return when the people riding in the welfare wagon begins to outnumber the people pulling the wagon. To be more specific, if more than 50 percent of the population is dependent on government (employed in the bureaucracy, living off welfare, receiving public pensions, etc.), it becomes difficult for taxpayers to form a majority coalition to fix the mess. This may explain why Greek politicians have resisted significant reforms, even though the nation faces a fiscal death spiral. But you don’t need me to explain this relationship. One of our Cato interns, Silvia Morandotti, used her artistic sk... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036220 Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:02:43 +0100 5036220 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028142&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FeqERmfPy4Hk%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe United States has been on a decade-long spending binge. Thanks to the profligate policies of both Bush and Obama, the burden of federal spending has climbed to about 25 percent of economic output, up from 18.2 percent of GDP when Bill Clinton left office. The political class tells us that more government is good for the economy since it an “investment” and/or a “stimulus.” The academic research, however, tells a different story. Here are some brief excerpts from a recent study by two Swedish economists, including a critically important observation about the impact of bigger government on economic performance. …most recent studies typically find a negative correlation between total government size and economic growth. …the most co... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028142 Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:36:25 +0100 5028142 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008155&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZM20phiwWic%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI’m not a big fan of the rating agencies. I’ve warned in TV interviews that they generally wait too long before downgrading profligate governments. So when the rating agencies finally catch up to everyone else and lower their outlook for failing welfare states such as Greece and Portugal, one would think that this would be seen as a useful – albeit late – warning sign. But European politicians are not very happy about this development. At the risk of mixing metaphors, they want everyone to keep their heads buried in the sand and to continue complimenting the emperor on his new clothes. Here are some excerpts from a BBC report. The European Commission has strongly criticised international credit ratings agencies following the downgrade of Portugal by Moody�... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008155 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:29:15 +0100 5008155 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4992662&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaF-AQlQNX1Y%2F By Daniel J. MitchellFor both political and policy reasons, the left is desperately trying to maneuver Republicans into going along with a tax increase. And they are smart to make this their top goal. After all, it will be very difficult – if not impossible – to increase the burden of government spending without more revenue coming to Washington. But how to make this happen? President Obama is mostly arguing in favor of class-warfare tax increases, but that’s a non-serious gambit driven by 2012 political considerations. Moreover, there’s presumably zero chance that Republicans would surrender to higher tax rates on work, saving, and investment. The real threat is back-door hikes resulting from the elimination and/or reduction of so-called tax breaks. The big spenders on the left a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4992662 Fri, 01 Jul 2011 02:12:15 +0100 4992662 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975841&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fm_tMpvIn4JY%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThis new video, based in large part on the good work of Michael Cannon, explains why Medicaid should be shifted to the states. As I note in the title of this post, it’s good federalism policy and good fiscal policy. But the video also explains that Medicaid reform is good health policy since it creates an opportunity to deal with the third-party payer problem. One of the key observations of the video is that Medicaid block grants would replicate the success of welfare reform. Getting rid of the federal welfare entitlement in the 1990s and shifting the program to the states was a very successful policy, saving billions of dollars for taxpayers and significantly reducing poverty. There is every reason to think ending the Medicaid entitlement will have similar positive... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975841 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:55:48 +0100 4975841 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934107&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9OkYj3oryb8%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI’ve explained before that one of the most damning pieces of evidence against Obamanomics is that the economy is suffering from sub-par growth, something that is particularly damning since normally one expects to see faster-than-average growth following an economic downturn. In a recent presentation, Robert Lucas of the University of Chicago included a couple of graphs that illustrate this phenomenon. This first chart shows the history of U.S. economic growth over the past 140 years. As you can see, the growth rate was remarkably constant over time, and there were always periods of rapid growth following economic downturns. Lucas, who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 1995, then looks at the data for the recent downturn and recovery. As you can see, we have been s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934107 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:43:32 +0100 4934107 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862516&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOPScn72xeE0%2F By Daniel J. MitchellOne of the biggest threats against global prosperity is the anti-tax competition project of a Paris-based international bureaucracy known as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD, acting at the behest of the European welfare states that dominate its membership, wants the power to tell nations (including the United States!) what is acceptable tax policy. I’ve previously explained why the OECD is a problematic institution – especially since American taxpayers are forced to squander about $100 million per year to support the parasitic bureaucracy. For all intents and purposes, high-tax nations want to create a global tax cartel, sort of an “OPEC for politicians.” This issue is increasingly important since politicians f... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862516 Tue, 24 May 2011 13:06:06 +0100 4862516 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828862&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIwlo5uy3QJk%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere’s a lot of buzz about a Wall Street Journal interview with Stanley Druckenmiller, in which he argues that a temporary delay in making payments on U.S. government debt (which technically would be a default) would be a small price to pay if it resulted in the long-term spending reforms that are needed to save America from becoming another Greece. One of the world’s most successful money managers, the lanky, sandy-haired Mr. Druckenmiller is so concerned about the government’s ability to pay for its future obligations that he’s willing to accept a temporary delay in the interest payments he’s owed on his U.S. Treasury bonds—if the result is a Washington deal to restrain runaway entitlement costs. “I think technical default would... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828862 Mon, 16 May 2011 13:48:30 +0100 4828862 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813256&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsGbxfO-7udg%2F By Tad DeHavenPostal Vision 2020 is a conference scheduled for June in Arlington, VA, that will discuss the U.S. Postal Service’s long-term prospects in our increasingly digitized world. Here’s how the Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe frames the gathering: As mail volume continues to plummet and more Americans use the Internet to pay bills and keep in touch, Google executives, social media experts and some of the most passionate tech evangelists are planning to meet in Crystal City in mid-June to sort out how to save and remake the nation’s mail delivery service. That sounds like a good group for discussing ideas on how to “remake the nation’s mail delivery service” given that the USPS is the antithesis of companies like Google. Creative, innovative, entrepreneurial, and compet... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813256 Tue, 10 May 2011 21:36:26 +0100 4813256 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4719883&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F34bI-IHWah4%2F By Daniel J. MitchellBy taking advantage of  “must-pass” pieces of legislation, Republicans have three chances this year to restrain the burden of government.  They didn’t do very well with the “CR fight” over appropriated spending for the rest of FY2011, which was their first opportunity. I was hoping for an extra-base hit off the fence, but the GOP was afraid of a government shutdown and negotiated from a position of weakness. As such, the best interpretation is that they eked out an infield single. The next chance to impose fiscal discipline will be the debt limit. Currently, the federal government “only” has the authority to borrow $14.3 trillion (including bookkeeping entries such as the IOUs in the Social Security Trust Fund). This is a ver... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4719883 Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:57:04 +0100 4719883 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4709188&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtZHrzH9jheE%2F By Daniel J. MitchellResponding to widespread criticism of his AWOL status on the budget fight, President Obama today unveiled a fiscal plan. It already is being criticized for its class warfare approach to tax policy, but the most disturbing feature may be a provision that punishes the American people with higher taxes if politicians overspend. Called a “debt failsafe trigger,” Obama’s scheme would automatically raise taxes if politicians spend too much. According to the talking points distributed by the White House, the automatic tax increase would take effect “if, by 2014, the projected ratio of debt-to-GDP is not stabilized and declining toward the end of the decade.” Let’s ponder what this means. If politicians in Washington spend too much and cause... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4709188 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:49:48 +0100 4709188 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676763&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTUO4cBW_7tQ%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThis Thursday, April 7, Senator Corker of Tennessee will be the opening speaker at the Cato Institute's conference on "The Economic Impact of Government Spending" (an event that is free and open to the public, so register here if you want to attend). The Senator will be discussing his proposal to cap and then gradually reduce the burden of government spending, measured as a share of gross domestic product. With federal outlays currently consuming about 25 percent of economic output, excessive federal spending is America's main fiscal problem. Corker's proposal would put federal spending on a 10-year glide path so that it eventually shrinks to 20.6 percent of GDP. This chart, from the Senator's upcoming presentation, shows that government will grow at a much slower pace... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676763 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:37:10 +0100 4676763 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653305&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fckf64u9fopA%2F By Daniel J. MitchellAccording to news reports, Democrats and Republicans are unlikely to reach any sort of budget agreement before April 8, when a short-term spending bill for the current fiscal year expires. Barring some new development, this could mean a shutdown of the non-essential parts of the government. This makes both sides very nervous. Democrats don't want the spending spigot turned off and are worried that voters might conclude that there's no reason to ever re-open departments such as Housing and Urban Development. Republicans, meanwhile, mostly worry that they might look unreasonable and get blamed if certain parts of the government are mothballed and voters can't get passports or visit national parks. Given this state of play, what's the best strategy for fiscal conservative... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653305 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:25:44 +0100 4653305 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4622227&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSIOeasC-sIk%2F By Daniel J. MitchellAmong advocates of limited government, there is growing unease about the fiscal fight in Washington. This is not because anything bad has happened. Indeed, Democrats thus far have been acquiescing -- at least on a temporary basis -- to conservative demands for $61 billion of spending cuts over the rest of the current fiscal year. This is remarkable after 10 years of endlessly expanding government. Here's what Jennifer Rubin wrote at her Right Turn blog. A senior Senate adviser wisecracked, “A month ago, they said they couldn’t possibly cut a dime. Then they said the $4 billion [in] cuts in the first CR were a non-starter. Now they’re bragging about cutting spending?” It is a remarkable turn of events and another sign that Reid was bested in this round of budget... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4622227 Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:34:28 +0100 4622227 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4610795&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8PneG7ZOVVw%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere's an interesting debate in the blogosphere about whether President George W. Bush was a conservative. Here's a good summary of the discussion, along with lots of links. (I especially like this analysis since it cites my work.) I've already explained that Bush was a statist rather than a conservative, and you can find additional commentary from me here, here, here, and here. Simply stated, any president who doubles the burden of federal spending in just eight years is disqualified from being a conservative — unless the term is stripped of any meaning and conservatives no longer care about limited government and constitutional constraints on Washington. But if you don't want to read the blog posts I linked above, this chart should make clear that Bush was a big ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4610795 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:55:13 +0100 4610795 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560251&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLizuL3o0-Bs%2F By Michael F. CannonIn a column for Kaiser Health News, Michael L. Millenson, President of Health Quality Advisors LLC, laments that conservatives in the U.S. House are approaching ObamaCare like, well, conservatives.  He cites comments by unnamed House GOP staffers at a recent conference: The Innovation Center at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services? "An innovation center at CMS is an oxymoron," responded a  Republican aide..."Though it's great for PhDs who come to Washington on the government tab." There was also no reason the government should pay for "so-called comparative effectiveness research," another said. "Everything's on the chopping block," said yet another. No government-funded comparative-effectiveness research?  The horror!  For my money, those staffers (and... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560251 Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:26:48 +0100 4560251 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4540559&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJqdfGOdXcp8%2F By Daniel J. MitchellA large number of Democrats voted with Republicans in the House yesterday to pass a two-week spending bill that includes $4 billion in cuts compared to what Obama requested. This is a modest victory for the GOP since they can truthfully claim that they are on target to impose the equivalent of $100 billion of cuts over a full fiscal year. And it appears the Senate will go along with the House proposal, as reported in today's Washington Post: The deal, which eliminates dozens of earmarks and a handful of little-known programs that President Obama has identified as unnecessary, sailed through the House on a 335 to 91 vote. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who initially resisted including any cuts in a short-term funding extension, predicted that it will pas... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4540559 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:37:42 +0100 4540559 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4507262&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FA4YRqrIWVIY%2F By Daniel J. MitchellAmerica faces a fiscal crisis. The burden of federal spending has doubled during the Bush-Obama years, a $2 trillion increase in just 10 years. But that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Because of demographic changes and poorly designed entitlement programs, the federal budget is going to consume larger and larger shares of America's economic output in coming decades. For all intents and purposes, the United States appears doomed to become a bankrupt welfare state like Greece. But we can save ourselves. A previous video showed how both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton achieved positive fiscal changes by limiting the growth of federal spending, with particular emphasis on reductions in the burden of domestic spending. This new video from the Center for Freedom an... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4507262 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:16:41 +0100 4507262 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4501576&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcVbgzYorgg0%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere will be several pivotal fiscal policy battles this year and the fight over the debt limit may be the most crucial. This is a "must-pass" piece of legislation, so it will be a rare opportunity for fiscal conservatives in the House to impose some much-needed spending restraint. But it's also a high-stakes game. If Obama (or Reid) refuses to accept the fiscal reforms approved by the House and there is a stalemate, the federal government ultimately would lose its ability to borrow from private credit markets. And while that notion has some appeal for many of us, it almost certainly would require more fiscal discipline than the political system is willing to accept (i.e., actual deep cuts rather than just restraining the growth of spending). In a bit of reckless demag... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4501576 Sun, 20 Feb 2011 16:08:49 +0100 4501576 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4482738&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMv71wpKQzWM%2F By Daniel J. MitchellFiscal policy wonks (like me, I'm forced to admit) sometimes miss the forest because we focus too much on individual trees. So while I think my posts on the spending and revenue sides of Obama's new budget contained lots of useful information, I didn't pay any attention to the elephant in the room (I'm really going overboard with metaphors, huh?). The most important number in Obama's budget is that he is proposing $5.7 trillion of spending in 2021, about $2 trillion more than is being spent this year, according to table S-1 of the budget. Here's everything you need to know about Obama's budget, in one chart. It's important to make three additional observations. First, Obama's budget is based on all sorts of optimistic assumptions and rosy scenarios, as explained by Br... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4482738 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:40:05 +0100 4482738 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4477698&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOKdeJvN1w8A%2F By Daniel J. MitchellPresident Obama's proposed budget for fiscal year 2012 has been released and there is lots of rhetoric in Washington about "budget cuts." At first glance, this seems warranted. According to the just-released fiscal blueprint, the federal government is spending about $3.8 trillion this year and the President is proposing to spending a bit more than $3.7 trillion next year. In other words, the White House is going beyond a budget freeze and is actually proposing to spend $90 billion less next year than is being spent this year. That certainly seems consistent with my proposal to solve America's fiscal problems by restraining the growth of spending. But you won't find a smile on my face. This new budget may be better than Obama's first two fiscal blueprints, but that's da... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4477698 Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:47:45 +0100 4477698 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4477705&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwJFsb7B85WQ%2F By Daniel J. MitchellPresident Obama unveiled his fiscal year 2012 budget today, and there's good news and bad news. The good news is that there's no major initiative such as the so-called stimulus scheme or the government-run healthcare proposal. The bad news, though, is that government is far too big and Obama's budget does nothing to address this problem. But perhaps the folks on Capitol Hill will be more responsible and actually try to save America from becoming a big-government, European-style welfare state. The solution may not be easy, but it is simple. Lawmakers merely need to restrain the growth of government spending so that it grows slower than the private economy. Actual spending cuts would be the best option, of course, but limiting the growth of spending is all that's needed ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4477705 Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:17:13 +0100 4477705 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4472946&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqBapCXmGzEg%2F By Daniel J. MitchellChalk up another victory -- at least on the rhetorical level -- for the Tea Party. President Obama will release his fiscal year 2012 budget tomorrow and he's apparently become a born-again fiscal conservative. Here are some excerpts from a Washington Post story: President Obama will respond to a Republican push for a drastic reduction in government spending by proposing sharp cuts of his own in a fiscal 2012 budget blueprint that aims to trim record federal deficits by $1.1 trillion over the next decade. ...two-thirds of the savings would come from spending cuts that are draconian by Democratic standards... When it lands Monday on Capitol Hill, Obama's plan will launch a bidding war with Republicans over how deeply and swiftly to cut, as the two parties seek a path to ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4472946 Sun, 13 Feb 2011 17:48:07 +0100 4472946 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445777&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FF-J4qTLWp2Y%2F By Daniel J. MitchellA new video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity gives four reasons why big government is bad fiscal policy. I particularly like the explanation of how government spending undermines growth by diverting labor and capital from the productive sector of the economy. Some cynics, though, say that it is futile to make arguments for good policy. They claim that politicians make bad fiscal decisions because of short-term considerations such as vote buying and raising campaign cash and that they don't care about the consequences. There's a lot of truth to this "public choice" analysis, but I don't think it explains everything. Maybe I'm an optimist, but I think we would have better fiscal policy if more lawmakers, journalists, academics, and others grasped the common-se... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445777 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:44:10 +0100 4445777 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445786&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSQe9ZSH2R2w%2F By Michael F. CannonFrom my latest Kaiser Health News op-ed: When 34 Senate Democrats joined all 47 Republicans last week to repeal ObamaCare's 1099 reporting requirement, their votes confirmed what their talking points still deny: ObamaCare will increase the deficit, no matter what the official cost projections say... This public-choice dynamic [of concentrated benefits and diffuse costs] is why the Congressional Budget Office, the chief Medicare actuary, and even the International Monetary Fund have discredited the idea that ObamaCare will reduce the deficit. It is one of the principal reasons why, as Thomas Jefferson wrote, "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground." In other words, the game is rigged in favor of bigger government. It als... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445786 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:22:35 +0100 4445786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4429001&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FeTTbx3E-cfM%2F By Daniel J. MitchellRonald Reagan would have been 100 years old on February 6, so let’s celebrate his life by comparing the success of his pro-market policies with the failure of Barack Obama’s policies (which are basically a continuation of George W. Bush’s policies, so this is not a partisan jab). The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis has a fascinating (at least for economic geeks) interactive webpage that allows readers to compare economic downturns and recoveries, both on the basis of output and employment. The results are remarkable. Reagan focused on reducing the burden of government and the economy responded. Obama (and Bush) tried the opposite approach, but spending, bailouts, and intervention have not worked. This first chart shows economic output. The employ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4429001 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:05:52 +0100 4429001 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4405756&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fi_fqsUVGRmQ%2F By Daniel J. MitchellMany of the politicians in Washington, including President Obama during his State of the Union address, piously tell us that there is no way to balance the budget without tax increases. Trying to get rid of red ink without higher taxes, they tell us, would require “savage” and “draconian” budget cuts. I would like to slash the budget and free up resources for private-sector growth, so that sounds good to me. But what’s the truth? The Congressional Budget Office has just released its 10-year projections for the budget, so I crunched the numbers to determine what it would take to balance the budget without tax hikes. Much to nobody’s surprise, the politicians are not telling the truth. The chart below shows that revenues are expected t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4405756 Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:00:32 +0100 4405756 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4382755&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSamESHnA_8M%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI’m not a big fan of central banks, and I definitely don’t like multilateral bureaucracies, so I almost feel guilty about publicizing two recent studies published by the European Central Bank. But when such an institution puts out research that unambiguously makes the case for smaller government, it’s time to sit up and take notice. And since these studies largely echo the findings of recent research by the International Monetary Fund, we may have reached a point where even the establishment finally understands that government is too big. The first study looks at real-world examples of debt reduction in 15 European nations and investigates the fiscal policies that worked and didn’t work. Entitled “Major Public Debt Reductions: Lessons From... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4382755 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:37:43 +0100 4382755 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4337916&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F5B9bA0hn2vw%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere is a very bizarre race happening in Illinois. The Governor and the leaders of the State Senate and General Assembly are trying to figure out how to ram through a massive tax increase, but they’re trying to make it happen before new state lawmakers take office tomorrow. The Democrats will still control the state legislature, but their scheme to fleece taxpayers would face much steeper odds because of GOP gains in last November’s elections. As a result, the Illinois version of a lame-duck session has become a nightmare, sort of a feeding frenzy of tax-crazed politicians. Here’s the Chicago Tribune‘s description of the massive tax hike being sought by the Democrats. The 3 percent rate now paid by individuals and families would rise to 5 perce... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4337916 Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:15:04 +0100 4337916 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4337919&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkHbk2m319fQ%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThanks to decades of reckless spending by European welfare states, the newspapers are filled with headlines about debt, default, contagion, and bankruptcy. We know that Greece and Ireland already have received direct bailouts, and other European welfare states are getting indirect bailouts from the European Central Bank, which is vying with the Federal Reserve in a contest to see which central bank can win the “Most Likely to Appease the Political Class” Award. But which nation will be the next domino to fall? Who will get the next direct bailout? Some people think total government debt is the key variable, and there’s been a lot of talk that debt levels of 90 percent of GDP represent some sort of fiscal Maginot Line. Once nations get above that level... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4337919 Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:53:45 +0100 4337919 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322491&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FB1rlY0rXtbM%2F By Daniel J. MitchellGrousing about the GOP’s timidity in the battle against big government will probably become an ongoing theme over the next few months. Two items don’t bode well for fiscal discipline. First, it appears that Republicans didn’t really mean it when they promised to cut $100 billion of so-called discretionary spending as part of their pledge. According to the New York Times, As they prepare to take power on Wednesday, Republican leaders are scaling back that number by as much as half, aides say, because the current fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, will be nearly half over before spending cuts could become law. This is hardly good news, particularly since the discretionary portion of the budget contains entire departments, such as Housing and Urban Devel... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322491 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:37:59 +0100 4322491 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4313989&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPremGoVsvgM%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe news is going from bad to worse for Ireland. The Irish Independent is reporting that the Swiss Central Bank no longer will accept Irish government bonds as collateral. The story also notes that one of the world’s largest bond firms, PIMCO, is no longer purchasing debt issued by the Irish government. And this is happening even though (or perhaps because?) Ireland received a big bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (and the IMF’s involvement means American taxpayers are picking up part of the tab). I’ve already commented on Ireland’s woes, and opined about similar problems afflicting the rest of Europe, but the continuing deterioration of the Emerald Isle deserves further analysis so that American policy makers h... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4313989 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:47:36 +0100 4313989 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4309592&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIougkQG-aIU%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe mid-term elections were a rejection of President Obama’s big-government agenda, but those results don’t necessarily mean better policy. We should not forget, after all, that Democrats rammed through Obamacare even after losing the special election to replace Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts (much to my dismay, my prediction from last January was correct). Similarly, GOP control of the House of Representatives does not automatically mean less government and more freedom. Heck, it doesn’t even guarantee that things won’t continue to move in the wrong direction. Here are three possible bad policies for 2011, most of which the Obama White House can implement by using executive power. 1. A back-door bailout of the states from the Federal Reserve &#82... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4309592 Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:02:34 +0100 4309592 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265680&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9OUF4u0l76g%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere’s a lot of attention being paid to yesterday’s landslide vote in the House to prevent a big tax increase next year. If you’re a glass-half-full optimist, you will be celebrating the good news for taxpayers. If you’re a glass-half-empty pessimist, you will be angry because the bill also contains provisions to increase the burden of government spending as well as some utterly corrupt tax loopholes added to the legislation so politicians could get campaign cash from special interest groups. If you want some unambiguously good news, however, ignore the tax deal and celebrate the fact that Senator Harry Reid had to give up his attempt to enact a pork-filled, $1 trillion-plus spending bill. This “omnibus appropriation” not only had a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265680 Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:09:25 +0100 4265680 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4253119&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlR0NxOqnxWQ%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere are plenty of reason to like and dislike the tax deal between President Obama and congressional leaders. On the plus side, we dodge a big tax increase for the next two years. We also replace a goofy and ineffective “make work pay” tax credit with a supply-side oriented reduction in the payroll tax rate (albeit only for one year, so there probably won’t be much economic benefit). On the negative side, the deal extends unemployment benefits, which has the perverse effect of subsidizing unemployment. The deal is also filled with all sorts of corrupt provisions for various interest groups such as ethanol producers. Then there are provisions such as the 35 percent death tax. Is this bad news, because it is an increase from zero percent this year? Or ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4253119 Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:20:07 +0100 4253119 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4251104&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlR0NxOqnxWQ%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere are plenty of reason to like and dislike the tax deal between President Obama and congressional leaders. On the plus side, we dodge a big tax increase for the next two years. We also replace a goofy and ineffective “make work pay” tax credit with a supply-side oriented reduction in the payroll tax rate (albeit only for one year, so there probably won’t be much economic benefit). On the negative side, the deal extends unemployment benefits, which has the perverse effect of subsidizing unemployment. The deal is also filled with all sorts of corrupt provisions for various interest groups such as ethanol producers. Then there are provisions such as the 35 percent death tax. Is this bad news, because it is an increase from zero percent this year? Or ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4251104 Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:20:07 +0100 4251104 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225222&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fi2k8vsZwsD0%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe fiscal disintegration of Europe is bad news, though I confess to a bit of malicious glee every time I read about welfare states such as Greece and Portugal getting to the point where they no longer have the ability to borrow enough money to finance their bloated public sectors (I have mixed feelings about Ireland since that nation at least has been a good example of low tax corporate tax rates, but I still think they should get punished for over-spending and bailouts). This I-told-you-so attitude is not very mature on my part, but one hopes that American politicians will learn the right lessons and something good will come from this mess. I have not written much about the topic in recent months, in part because I don’t have much to add to my original post a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225222 Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:51:28 +0100 4225222 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4190135&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsJ3FWjNyh7c%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI haven’t commented much on earmarks, but an oped in today’s Washington Post was has goaded me into action. A former Reagan Administration appointee (the Gipper must be spinning in his grave), who now makes a living by selling our money to the highest bidder, made several ridiculous assertions, including: …earmarks are largely irrelevant to balancing the budget. The $16.5 billion Congress spent on earmarks in fiscal year 2009 sounds like a lot, but leaves a minuscule footprint – about 1 percent of 2009′s $1.4 trillion deficit. Those seriously concerned about deficits should look elsewhere for meaningful spending reductions. …On Capitol Hill, party leaders must appeal to lawmakers’ interests as well as their principles to get th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4190135 Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:48:36 +0100 4190135 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175671&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fsg6VpRicAgY%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI’ve already commented on the proposal from the Chairmen of President Obama’s Fiscal Commission (including a very clever cartoon, if it’s okay to pat myself on the back). Now we have a similar proposal from the so-called Debt Reduction Task Force. Chaired by former Senator Pete Domenici and Clinton Administration Budget Director Alice Rivlin, the Task Force proposed a series of big tax increases to finance bigger government. I have five observations. 1. Notwithstanding a claim of $2.68 trillion of “spending cuts” during the 2012-2020 period, government gets a lot bigger during the decade. All of the supposed “cuts” are measured against an artificial baseline that assumes bigger government. In other words, the report is compl... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175671 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 21:51:16 +0100 4175671 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159222&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fzs-AIlTX99k%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI have many pet peeves, but one that causes me endless frustration is the Washington “spending cut” scam. This happens when politicians increase spending, but claim that they’re cutting spending because they previously had planned to make government even bigger. The proposal unveiled yesterday by the Co-Chairman of President Obama’s Fiscal Commission is a good example. If you read through their report, it sounds like there are lots of spending cuts. But they never explain that these supposed cuts are really just reductions in previously-planned increases. Here’s the bottom line. As shown in the graph, it is quite simple to balance the budget (and permanently extend all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts) if politicians simply limit spending gro... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159222 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:02:04 +0100 4159222 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118890&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQ4l5iBZWyZY%2F By Daniel J. MitchellWhile flipping through the radio on my way to pick my son up from school yesterday afternoon, I was dumbfounded to hear Congressman John Boehner talk about repealing Obama’s Medicare cuts on Sean Hannity’s show. I wasn’t shocked that Boehner was referring to non-existent cuts (Medicare spending is projected to jump from $519 billion in 2010 to $677 billion in 2015 according to the Congressional Budget Office). I’ve been dealing with Washington’s dishonest definition of “spending cuts” for decades, so I’m hardly fazed by that type of routine inaccuracy. But I was amazed that the presumptive future Speaker of the House went on a supposedly conservative talk radio show and said that increasing Medicare spending would be on... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118890 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:08:47 +0100 4118890 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097905&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmON0D8QzICM%2F By Daniel J. MitchellGallup just released a poll showing that 46 percent of Americans view the federal government as an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary Americans. My first reaction was to wonder why the number was so low. After all, we have a political elite that wants to do everything from control our health care to monitor our financial transactions. But a secondary set of numbers is even more remarkable. As seen in this chart, both Republicans and Democrats tend to view the federal government as a threat mostly when the White House is controlled by the other party. This complacency is very unfortunate. Republicans presumably want to limit government control over the economy, yet it was the Bush Administration that put in place policies such as Sarbanes-Oxley, th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097905 Thu, 21 Oct 2010 19:31:22 +0100 4097905 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4086255&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F378dCQZLq0s%2F By Daniel J. MitchellGovernor Mitch Daniels of Indiana has triggered a spat among policy wonks with his recent comments expressing sympathy for a value-added tax (VAT). Kevin Williamson of National Review is arguing that a VAT will probably be necessary because there is no hope of restraining spending. Ryan Ellis of Americans for Tax Reform jumped on Williamson for his “apostasy,” arguing that a VAT would be bad news for taxpayers. From a policy perspective, I’m very much against a VAT because it will finance bigger government, as explained in this video.   That being said, Kevin Williamson makes a good point when he says that some supply-siders have neglected the spending side of the fiscal ledger. And it certainly is true that Republicans don’t seem very intere... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4086255 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:29:47 +0100 4086255 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4077229&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8oECYYB9uY0%2F By Daniel J. MitchellTim Carney of the Washington Examiner is an expert on graft and sleaze inside the Beltway, and his column this morning is a perfect example. He shows how corrupt insiders in Alaska use something known as the “Rent-an-Eskimo” scam to pull in hundreds of millions of tax dollars from no-bid federal contracts. These insiders, meanwhile, steers big bucks to Washington lobbyists (almost all of whom worked for politicians like Lisa Murkowski), who then provide campaign cash to the corrupt officials who pass the laws that enable the circle of graft to continue. Here are some key passages from Tim’s column. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s write-in candidacy is being funded by $100,000 contributions from a handful of Alaska corporations that have been handsomely s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4077229 Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:48:17 +0100 4077229 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4065349&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbIcD9JzSKsI%2F By Michael F. CannonToday at the Cato Institute, Duke University Prof. Chris Conover presented his estimates of the economic losses that will be created by the taxes necessary to fund ObamaCare.  This chart is taken from his presentation: The Excess Burden of ObamaCare Here’s Conover’s full presentation (with comments by former Congressional Budget Office director Douglas Holtz-Eakin), as well as his Cato Policy Analysis, and his op-ed. A Hidden Cost of ObamaCare is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4065349 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 17:02:28 +0100 4065349 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4065351&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxqqGvCcfR_Y%2F By Michael F. CannonAt the Daily Caller, Duke University Prof. Chris Conover writes: There you are, about to sign the papers, when the car salesman offers to throw in a $1,000 options package. He knows those options will cost you a further $440 by reducing the performance of your new car’s engine, but he doesn’t tell you that. Sounds sleazy, right? Congress does it every day. Politicians love to rail against car dealers and mortgage lenders who surprise consumers with hidden costs. Yet Congress hides from voters a huge part of the cost of government: the hidden costs of taxes, which include lost income and jobs. Failing to account for these costs creates a bias in favor of bigger government and a less efficient tax code. Read the rest of Conover’s oped here, and his Cato... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4065351 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:58:43 +0100 4065351 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4055704&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FB2auZHKwH6A%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe Economist has a fascinating webpage that allows readers to look at all the world’s nations and compare them based on various measures of government debt (and for various years). The most economically relevant measure is public debt as a share of GDP, and you can see that the United States is not in great shape, though many nations have more accumulated red ink (especially Japan, where debt is much higher than it is even in Greece).  As faithful readers of this blog already understand, the real issue is the size of government, but this site is a good indicator of nations that finance their spending in a risky fashion. By the way, keep in mind that these figures do not include unfunded liabilities. For those who worry about debt, those are the truly shocking ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4055704 Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:13:32 +0100 4055704 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4045073&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Faf_jCffPcN0%2F By Daniel J. MitchellHere’s a chart from Veronique de Rugy’s new article on federal revenues vs. spending in The American. Amazing how the problem becomes obvious when you look at real numbers and don’t get trapped into using “baseline” math (as I explain in my latest video). By the way, find out when John Stossel’s program on Fox Business News airs in your area. Veronique is a guest this week talking about these issues. Do We Have a Problem of Too Much Spending or Too Little Revenue? is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4045073 Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:50:08 +0100 4045073 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4045077&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqREsqEo1vOs%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe new unemployment data have been released and they don’t paint a pretty picture — literally and figuratively. The figure below is all we need to know about the success of President Obama’s big-government policies. The lower, solid line is from a White House report in early 2009 and it shows the level of unemployment the Administration said we would experience if the so-called stimulus was adopted. The darker dots show the actual monthly unemployment rate. At what point will the beltway politicians concede that making government bigger is not a recipe for prosperity? They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. The Obama White House imposed an $800-billion plus faux stimulus... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4045077 Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:28:50 +0100 4045077 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4036631&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0DmXBgK2qaY%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI dislike taxes as much as the next person (and probably a lot more), but other policies matter as well, so if I had the choice of replacing current government policies with the ones that existed at the end of the Clinton years, I would gladly make that trade. Yes, it would mean higher tax rates, but it also would mean slashing government spending from 24 percent of GDP down to 18 percent of GDP. It would mean no sleazy TARP bailout, no Sarbanes-Oxley red tape, no expansion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and no added power and authority for the federal government. This is the argument that I made in this interview on CNBC, though my opponent tried to do his version of the Brezhnev Doctrine (what’s mine is mine, what’s yours is negotiable), so I concluded th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4036631 Tue, 05 Oct 2010 19:24:43 +0100 4036631 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4003244&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0rJN-rH7ys4%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere’s a wise old saying about “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” But perhaps we need a new saying along the lines of “don’t subsidize the foot that kicks you.” Here’s a good example: American taxpayers finance the biggest share of the budget for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is an international bureaucracy based in Paris. The OECD is not as costly as the United Nations, but it still soaks up about $100 million of American tax dollars each year. And what do we get in exchange for all this money? Sadly, the answer is lots of bad policy. The bureaucrats (who, by the way, get tax-free salaries) just released their “Economic Survey of the United States, 2010” and it contains ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4003244 Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:14:02 +0100 4003244 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4003246&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLjELq4jbnBY%2F By Daniel J. MitchellWarren Buffett once said that it wasn’t right for his secretary to have a higher tax rate than he faced, leading me to point out that he didn’t understand tax policy. The 15 percent tax rates on dividends and capital gains to which he presumably was referring represents double taxation, and when added to the tax that already was paid on the income he invested (and the tax that one imagines will be imposed on that same income when he dies), it is quite obvious that his effective marginal tax rates is much higher than anything his secretary pays. Though he is right that his secretary’s tax rate is much too high.    Well, it turns out that Warren Buffett also doesn’t understand much about other areas of fiscal policy. Like a lot of ultra-... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4003246 Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:03:40 +0100 4003246 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3993881&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FevdN6f_RRzU%2F By Daniel J. MitchellOur tax system in America is an absurd nightmare, but at least we have some ability to monitor what is happening. We can’t get too aggressive (nobody wants the ogres at the IRS breathing down their necks), but at least we can adjust our withholding levels and control what gets put on our annual tax returns. The serfs in the United Kingdom are in much worse shape. To a large degree, the tax authority (Inland Revenue) decides everyone’s tax liability, and taxpayers have no role other than to meekly acquiesce. But now the statists over in London have decided to go one step farther and have proposed to require employers to send all paychecks directly to the government. The politicians and bureaucrats that comprise the ruling class then would decide how much to... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3993881 Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:54:30 +0100 3993881 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3993887&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaWcB096JdVc%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI’ve already commented on Cuba’s surprising announcement to slash the number of government workers. And I’ve complained about the federal workforce expanding in the United States. This is not what one would expect when comparing policy developments in a communist nation and a (supposedly) capitalist nation. Well, Russia wisely is following the Cuban approach on this issue (I never thought I would type those words!) and plans to get rid of 100,000 bureaucrats over the next three years. Russia will cut its army of bureaucrats by more than 100,000 within the next three years, saving 43 billion rubles ($1.5 billion), Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Monday. “We assume more than 100,000 federal state civil jobs will be cut within three years. ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3993887 Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:34:51 +0100 3993887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3938320&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDvWRZG3OrAg%2F By Daniel J. MitchellLike a terrible remake of Groundhog Day, the White House has unveiled yet another so-called stimulus scheme. Actually, they have two new proposals to buy votes with our money. One plan is focused on more infrastructure spending, as reported by Politico. Seeking to bolster the sluggish economy, President Barack Obama is using a Labor Day appearance in Milwaukee to announce he will ask Congress for $50 billion to kick off a new infrastructure plan designed to expand and renew the nation’s roads, railways and runways. …The measures include the “establishment of an Infrastructure Bank to leverage federal dollars and focus on investments of national and regional significance that often fall through the cracks in the current siloed transportation programs,”... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3938320 Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:52:39 +0100 3938320 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3934476&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQ-W193aomag%2F By David Boaz“Three top Republican House members have written a book that repeatedly criticizes former GOP leaders as well as President Obama,” reports the Washington Post. “In ‘Young Guns,’ scheduled for release Sept. 14, Reps. Eric Cantor (Va.), Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) cast the Republican congressional leaders who preceded them as a group that “betrayed its principles” and was plagued by ‘failures from high-profile ethics lapses to the inability to rein in spending or even slow the growth of government.’” Good point! And one we’ve made several times at Cato. But how credible are the messengers? Once you ruin a brand, it can take a long time to restore it. And part of the solution is owning up to you... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3934476 Sat, 04 Sep 2010 21:16:50 +0100 3934476 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3924891&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FABtddZklDdE%2F This study jumps into a long-running chicken-or-egg debate in the academic literature about whether higher taxes lead to higher spending or whether higher spending leads to higher taxes. This causality debate is interesting, but I’m not sure it really matters. A VAT is a terrible idea if it triggers bigger government, and a VAT is a bad idea if it merely finances bigger government. But I suspect this study is correct. The key thing to remember is that Milton Friedman was right when he warned that “In the long run government will spend whatever the tax system will raise, plus as much more as it can get away with.” This means that a VAT will allow more government spending and no reduction in deficits and debt, which is exactly what we see in Europe (and as Jim Powell n... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3924891 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:38:58 +0100 3924891 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3907587&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiC5M7-NXd2s%2F By David BoazE. J. Dionne writes in the Washington Post today that many Republicans think the George W. Bush administration was “too ready to run up the deficit.” But, he says, That the deficit increased primarily because of two tax cuts and two wars was not part of most conservatives’ calculation because acknowledging this was ideologically inconvenient. That’s one explanation. Of course, spending did rise by more than a trillion dollars during Bush’s eight years, and it wasn’t all military spending. And as Michael Tanner writes today, “The Deficit Is a Symptom, Spending Is the Disease.” Traditionally, federal spending has run around 21 percent of GDP. But George W. Bush and (even more dramatically) Barack Obama have now driven federal spend... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3907587 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:21:00 +0100 3907587 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3899379&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMT_OKhxSwvs%2F In a very predictable editorial this morning, the New York Times pontificated in favor of higher taxes. Compared to Paul Krugman’s rant earlier in the week, which featured the laughable assertion that letting people keep more of the money they earn is akin to sending them a check from the government, the piece seemed rational. But that is damning with faint praise. There are several points in the editorial that deserve some unfriendly commentary. First, let’s give the editors credit for being somewhat honest about their bad intentions. Unlike other statists, they openly admit that they want higher taxes on the middle class, stating that “more Americans — and not just the rich — are going to have to pay more taxes.” This is a noteworthy admission, though it does... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3899379 Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:50:02 +0100 3899379 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3895870&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRl1g5JzgfnQ%2F I hope the title of this post is an exaggeration, but it’s certainly a logical conclusion based on what is written in the Congressional Budget Office’s updated Economic and Budget Outlook. The Capitol Hill bureaucracy basically has a deficit-über-alles view of fiscal policy. CBO’s long-run perspective, as shown by this excerpt, is that deficits reduce output by “crowding out” private capital and that anything that results in lower deficits (or larger surpluses) will improve economic performance — even if this means big increases in tax rates. CBO has also examined an alternative fiscal scenario reflecting several changes to current law that are widely expected to occur or that would modify some provisions of law that might be difficult to sustain for a ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3895870 Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:00:18 +0100 3895870 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3831345&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMOuHxxoY74g%2F By Daniel J. MitchellIf I was organized enough to send Christmas cards, I would take Richard Rahn off my list. I do one blog post to call attention to his Washington Times column and it seems like everybody in the world wants to jump down my throat. I already dismissed Paul Krugman’s rant and responded to Ezra Klein’s reasonable criticism. Now it’s time to address Derek Thompson’s critique on the Atlantic’s site. At the risk of re-stating someone else’s argument, Thompson’s central theme seems to be that there are many factors that determine economic performance and that it is unwise to make bold pronouncements about Policy A causing Result B. If that’s what Thompson is saying, I very much agree (and if it’s not what he’s trying... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3831345 Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:12:02 +0100 3831345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3822899&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDc5ya4UeZwE%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI seem to have touched a raw nerve with my post earlier today on my International Liberty blog,  comparing Reagan and Obama on how well the economy performed coming out of recession. Both Ezra Klein and Paul Krugman have denounced my analysis (actually, they denounced me approving of Richard Rahn’s analysis, but that’s a trivial detail). Krugman responded by asserting that Reaganomics was irrelevant (I’m not kidding) to what happened in the 1980s. Klein’s response was more substantive, so let’s focus on his argument. He begins by stating that the recent recession and the downturn of the early 1980s were different creatures. My argument was about how strongly the economy rebounded, however, not the length, severity, causes, and character... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3822899 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:53:36 +0100 3822899 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3812955&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FVM3_86BS7lA%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe federal government is capable of enormous waste, which obviously is bad news, but the worst forms of government spending are those that actually leverage bad things. Paying exorbitant salaries to federal bureaucrats is bad, for instance, but it’s even worse if they take their jobs seriously and promulgate new regulations and otherwise harass people in the productive sector of the economy. In a previous video on the economics of government spending, I called this the “negative multiplier” effect. One of the worst examples of a negative multiplier effect is the $100 million that taxpayers spend each year to subsidize the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is an international bureaucracy that publishes lots of i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3812955 Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:54:28 +0100 3812955 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3805808&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fb-R9QIBkkxQ%2F By Daniel J. MitchellWriting in the Wall Street Journal, Peter Ferrara of the Institute for Policy Innovation explains that Washington budget deals don’t work because politicians never follow through on promised spending cuts. This is a very relevant argument, since President Obama’s so-called Deficit Reduction Commission supposedly is considering a deal featuring $3 of spending cuts for every $1 of tax increases (disturbingly reminiscent of what was promised — but never delivered — as part of the infamous 1982 TEFRA budget scam). Washington’s traditional approach to balancing the budget is to negotiate an agreement on a package of benefit cuts and tax increases. President Obama’s deficit commission seems likely to recommend just this strategy in Decembe... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3805808 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:56:06 +0100 3805808 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3802367&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnSs3dwt1h2A%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe “appearance of impropriety” is often considered the Washington standard for corruption and misbehavior. With that in mind, alarm bells began ringing in my head when I read this Washington Times report about Jacob Lew, Obama’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget. A snippet: President Obama’s choice to be the government’s chief budget officer received a bonus of more than $900,000 from Citigroup Inc. last year — after the Wall Street firm for which he worked received a massive taxpayer bailout. The money was paid to Jacob Lew in January 2009, about two weeks before he joined the State Department as deputy secretary of state, according to a newly filed ethics form. The payout came on top of the already hefty $1.1 mi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3802367 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:05:46 +0100 3802367 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3784239&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FeyOkz-Lp6CU%2F By Daniel J. MitchellIn the future, dictionary publishers should get rid of their existing definitions for “hypocrisy” and replace them with a photo of Massachusetts Sen.ator John Kerry. He’s just been caught committing the horrible sin of saving his family more than $500,000 by domiciling his new yacht in Rhode Island (which is a tax haven for such luxuries) rather than his home state. Or at least Senator Kerry says that tax planning is a horrible sin when conducted by “Benedict Arnold” companies and facilitated by those wicked tax havens. But I guess that it’s not such a bad thing when Senator Kerry is protecting his wealth. For the rest of us peasants, it’s our job to meekly get in line and submit to whatever taxes Senator Kerry graciously dec... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3784239 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:16:36 +0100 3784239 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3780340&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fdi24ujeeNXI%2F By Neal McCluskeyOn NRO today, the Fordham Institute’s Chester Finn and Michael Petrilli take a little time to gloat about the continuing spread of national education standards. In addition, as is their wont, they furnish hollow pronouncements about the Common Core being good as far as standards go, and ”a big, modernized country on a competitive planet” needing national standards. Oh, and apparently having counted the opponents of national standards on “the right,” they note that there are just “a half-dozen libertarians who don’t much care for government to start with.” Now, there are more than six conservatives and libertarians who have fought national standards. But Finn and Petrilli are sadly correct that most conservatives haven&... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3780340 Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:19:09 +0100 3780340 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767061&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSbNMk718sbA%2F By David BoazLast week Washington Post columnist and former George W. Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson took one of his periodic potshots at libertarianism. Tom Palmer and I responded in the Post’s letters column. Since the published letter was shortened for space, here’s a more complete version: Michael Gerson, who wrote the words that created the George W. Bush administration and thus led to the sweeping Democratic victories in 2006 and 2008, once again warns Republicans to stick to big-government conservatism and avoid the siren song of small-government libertarianism. This time he describes libertarianism as “a scandal” because it “involves not only a retreat from Obamaism but a retreat from the most basic social commitments to the weak, the elderly an... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767061 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:31:13 +0100 3767061 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3746720&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyCGmWkRbIYY%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI like poking fun at French politicians for being hopeless statists, and I always assumed that French voters shared their collectivist sympathies. But according to new polling data reported by the Financial Times, there may be a Tea Party revolt brewing in France. Among major European nations, the French are most in favor of smaller government. Sacre Bleu! European governments have solid public support, at least for now, for the spending cuts they are making in an effort to boost economic recovery, according to the latest Financial Times/Harris opinion poll. …The poll’s results point to a fiscal conservatism among the European public that contrasts with the eagerness with which most governments ran up high deficits to protect jobs and living standards as the c... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3746720 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:06:21 +0100 3746720 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3718382&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsPvhQSrvB5M%2F By Daniel J. MitchellMany people assume that Europe is the land of high-tax welfare states and America is an outpost of laissez-faire capitalism. We should be so lucky. The burden of government in America is still lower than it is in the average European nation, but the United States is a lot closer to France than it is to Hong Kong — and the trend is not comforting. We recently endured the embarrassing spectacle of President Obama arguing with Europeans that they should increase the burden of government spending. Now we have a new report from the European Commission indicating that the average corporate tax rate in member nations of the European Union has plummeted to just 23.5 percent while the corporate tax rate in the U.S. has stagnated at 35 percent. In the past dozen years a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3718382 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:10:33 +0100 3718382 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714164&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8zpVAgMLikA%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThat’s the name of the website of Jack Dean, who is interviewed in this new Reason.tv video about how excessive pension promises to bureaucrats are creating a fiscal nightmare for state and local governments. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714164 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:45:15 +0100 3714164 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3710551&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FjxNZxtg2TVM%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere is considerable academic research on the growth-maximizing level of government spending. Based on a good bit of research, I’m fairly confident that Cato’s Richard Rahn was the first to popularize this concept, so we are going to make him famous (sort of like Art Laffer) in this new video explaining that there is a spending version of the Laffer Curve and that it shows how government is far too large and that this means less prosperity. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3710551 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:35:41 +0100 3710551 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3699478&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FrCtgUIFqPFQ%2F By Daniel J. MitchellBarack Obama and Angela Merkel are the two main characters in what is being portrayed as a fight between American “stimulus” and European “austerity” at the G-20 summit meeting in Canada. My immediate instinct is to cheer for the Europeans. After all, “austerity” presumably means cutting back on wasteful government spending. Obama’s definition of “stimulus,” by contrast, is borrowing money from China and distributing it to various Democratic-leaning special-interest groups.   But appearances can be deceiving. Austerity, in the European context, means budget balance rather than spending reduction. As such, David Cameron’s proposal to boost the U.K.’s value-added tax from 17.5 percent to 20 percent is su... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3699478 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:46:59 +0100 3699478 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3699484&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZHOlXlZEz70%2F By Daniel J. MitchellRegular readers of this blog know that big corporations often are enemies of free markets and individual liberty. So it is hardly suprising to know that the Business Roundtable, a lobby representing CEOs of major companies, supported the wasteful and ineffective stimulus program in 2009 and the bloated new health care entitlement in 2010. Big companies, after all, are quite proficient at working the system to obtain unearned wealth and to rig the rules against smaller competitors.   What is surprising, however, is that representatives of that organization now have the chutzpah to complain about a “hostile environment for investment and job creation.” Equally galling, the group has published a document called “Policy Burdens Inhibiting Economic Growt... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3699484 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:38:40 +0100 3699484 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3695545&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZHOlXlZEz70%2F By Daniel J. MitchellRegular readers of this blog know that big corporations often are enemies of free markets and individual liberty. So it is hardly suprising to know that the Business Roundtable, a lobby representing CEOs of major companies, supported the wasteful and ineffective stimulus program in 2009 and the bloated new health care entitlement in 2010. Big companies, after all, are quite proficient at working the system to obtain unearned wealth and to rig the rules against smaller competitors.   What is surprising, however, is that representatives of that organization now have the chutzpah to complain about a “hostile environment for investment and job creation.” Equally galling, the group has published a document called “Policy Burdens Inhibiting Economic Growt... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3695545 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:38:40 +0100 3695545 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3695550&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLpOi2PFO104%2F By Tad DeHavenDuring a recent CNBC debate on federal spending, I argued that government policies are creating uncertainty in the business community. Businesses are reluctant to invest or hire because they’re concerned that the president’s big government agenda will mean higher taxes and more onerous regulations. I mentioned that every business owner I’ve spoken with has expressed this concern. In fact, the owner of the TV studio I was in told me that he wants to hire more employees but is afraid he may have to turn around and fire them later on thanks to Washington. My debate opponent dismissed my argument on the basis that “you cannot conduct macroeconomic policy by anecdote.” Unfortunately, there is plenty of evidence to support my concern beyond what I’ve heard from folks in... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3695550 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:38:42 +0100 3695550 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3699485&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFLyk-xzuIJo%2F By Daniel J. MitchellAs the chart below indicates, the United Kingdom has a large budget deficit solely because government spending has increased to record levels (OECD data). Unfortunately, the new Tory-Liberal coalition government has decided that taxpayers should be punished for all the over-spending that occurred when the Labor government was in charge. The Telegraph reports that the top capital gains rate will jump to 28 percent, up from 18 percent (the new government foolishly thinks this will result in more revenue). But the biggest change is that the value-added tax will increase to 20 percent. According to Business Week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (the British equivalent of Treasury Secretary) actually bragged that the VAT increase was good since it would generate “13 ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3699485 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:03:37 +0100 3699485 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3690822&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFLyk-xzuIJo%2F By Daniel J. MitchellAs the chart below indicates, the United Kingdom has a large budget deficit solely because government spending has increased to record levels (OECD data). Unfortunately, the new Tory-Liberal coalition government has decided that taxpayers should be punished for all the over-spending that occurred when the Labor government was in charge. The Telegraph reports that the top capital gains rate will jump to 28 percent, up from 18 percent (the new government foolishly thinks this will result in more revenue). But the biggest change is that the value-added tax will increase to 20 percent. According to Business Week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (the British equivalent of Treasury Secretary) actually bragged that the VAT increase was good since it would generate “13 ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3690822 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:03:37 +0100 3690822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3671675&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FGPPqZb4kW8c%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe Center for Immigration Studies recently put out a study arguing that immigration has had negative effects on California. One of their measures was a comparison of how many people in the state were receiving some form of welfare compared to other states. I found that data (see Table 3 of the report) very interesting, but not because of the immigration debate (I’ll leave others to debate that topic). Instead, I wanted to get a better understanding of the variations in government dependency. Is there a greater willingness to sign up for income redistribution programs, all other things being equal, from one state to another? The “all other things being equal” caveat is very important, of course, since the comparison produced by CIS may simply be an in... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3671675 Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:49:58 +0100 3671675 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3641007&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FprM9rsYA3RU%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere’s an article today in the Wall Street Journal showing how already-established companies and their union allies will use the coercive power of government to thwart competition. The article specifically discusses efforts by less competitive supermarkets to block new Wal-Mart stores. Not that Wal-Mart can complain too vociferously. After all, this is the company that endorsed a key provision of Obamacare in hopes its hurting lower-cost competitors. The moral of the story is that whenever big business and big government get in bed together, you can be sure the outcome almost always is bad for taxpayers and consumers. A grocery chain with nine stores in the area had hired Saint Consulting Group to secretly run the antidevelopment campaign. Saint is a specialis... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3641007 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:48:50 +0100 3641007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3633443&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_oIAG9JbdRY%2F By Daniel J. MitchellIt’s rather symbolic of what’s wrong with Washington that a commission ostensibly created to promote deficit reduction is seeking a bigger budget, as noted in the Tax Notes story excerpted below. Rather than impose a bigger burden on taxpayers, though, I will generously suggest that they could easily fulfill their mandate by perusing Cato’s Downsizing Government website. And if they really want to do the right thing, they can always just look at Article I, Section VIII, of the Constitution and get rid of existing programs and activities that are not enumerated powers of the federal government. Saddled with a tight deadline and great expectations, members of President Obama’s deficit reduction commission say they may not have the resources necess... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3633443 Sun, 06 Jun 2010 13:47:11 +0100 3633443 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3625482&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ftm7cso7dmCk%2F By David BoazWhat is it with modern American liberals and taxes? Apparently they don’t just see taxes as a necessary evil, they actually like ‘em; they think, as Gail Collins puts it in the New York Times, that in a better world “little kids would dream of growing up to be really big taxpayers.” But you really see liberals’ taxophilia coming out when you read the reviews of the new movie Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe. If liberals don’t love taxes, they sure do hate tax protesters. Carlo Rotella, director of American Studies at Boston College, writes in the Boston Globe that this Robin Hood is “A big angry baby [who] fights back against taxes” and that the movie is “hamstrung by a shrill political agenda — endless fake-populist ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3625482 Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:07:47 +0100 3625482 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3610322&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhBsUQsiZdJc%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe Taxpayers Alliance has a brief but compelling video, entitled “How long do you work for the tax man?,” which shows how an ordinary worker in the United Kingdom spends more than one-half his day laboring for government. “What will they tax next?” is still the best policy video to come out of the U.K., in my humble opinion, but this one is very much worth watching — especially since America is becoming more like Europe with each passing day. What makes the video particularly depressing is that it only considers the tax burden. Regulations and government spending also are a burden on average workers, largely because of foregone economic growth. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3610322 Fri, 28 May 2010 19:12:05 +0100 3610322 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3581590&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0RDxs14JItQ%2F By Daniel J. MitchellDavid Ranson had a good column earlier this week in the Wall Street Journal explaining that federal tax revenues historically have hovered around 19 percent of gross domestic product, regardless whether tax rates are high or low. One reason for this relationship, as he explains, is that the Laffer Curve is a real-world constraint on class warfare tax policy. When politicians boost tax rates, that motivates taxpayers to earn and/or report less income to the IRS: The feds assume a relationship between the economy and tax revenue that is divorced from reality. Six decades of history have established one far-reaching fact that needs to be built into fiscal calculations: Increases in federal tax rates, particularly if targeted at the higher brackets, produce no additional r... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3581590 Thu, 20 May 2010 12:44:58 +0100 3581590 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3581597&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv6J_NeCBCNw%2F By Tad DeHavenIn his Kentucky Republican primary victory speech last night, Rand Paul took a well-placed shot at one of the more repulsive props used by Beltway politicians: “We have come to take our government back from the special interests who think that the federal government is their own personal ATM … from the politicians who bring us over-sized fake checks emblazoned with their signature as if it was their money to give.” The comment immediately brought to mind a C@L blog I wrote in 2008 that criticized the Senate Minority Leader from Kentucky, Republican Mitch McConnell, for being a hypocrite when it comes to big government spending.  I titled the post “The Bluegrass Porker” and included this picture: That fellow on the right holding the fake, over-sized... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3581597 Wed, 19 May 2010 15:58:46 +0100 3581597 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3577383&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkOhhFj1wo-k%2F By David BoazRand Paul’s landslide victory in the Kentucky Republican primary is being hailed as a big win for the Tea Party movement, a slap in the face to the Republican establishment, and maybe even as a harbinger of the rise of libertarian Republicanism. (Only 19 percent of Kentucky Republicans say they’re libertarians, but that’s got to be more than before the Rand Paul campaign.) It’s also a big loss for Washington neoconservatives, who warned in dire terms about the horrors of a Paul victory. Back in March, Jonathan Martin reported in Politico: Recognizing the threat, a well-connected former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney convened a conference call last week between Grayson and a group of leading national security conservatives to sound the alarm about ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3577383 Wed, 19 May 2010 00:24:05 +0100 3577383 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3563953&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3EvyfoWCfPY%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe chart below shows everything you need to know about why the United Kingdom is a fiscal disaster. Over the past 10 years, the burden of government spending has skyrocketed from 36.6 percent of GDP to more than 53 percent of GDP. Taxes, meanwhile, have remained largely unchanged, averaging about 40 percent of GDP. Since the OECD numbers show that the fiscal crisis in the U.K. is solely the result of a bloated public sector, the obvious solution is … you guessed it, higher taxes. David Cameron’s new coalition government has announced support for a higher capital gains tax and is signalling that this will be followed by an increase in the value-added tax. There are some proposals to curtail the growth of spending, including some pay cuts for Prime Minster C... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3563953 Thu, 13 May 2010 16:11:46 +0100 3563953 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3556071&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZNdhtdeFXT4%2F By Daniel J. MitchellVery rarely does one find a politician with the moral clarity to provide the blunt and necessary truth about a controversial issue, but that has finally happened. But this is a good news/bad news situation for American taxpayers. The good news is that a politician has proposed to slash both bureaucrat pay and public pensions and publicly stated that, “The state sector is like a fat man of 200kg sitting on the back of a 50kg little man who is the real economy.” The bad news is that this politician is the President of Romania. A caveat is probably appropriate at this stage. I have no idea whether Presdident Basescu actually is a genuine small-government proponent. Perhaps he is just an ordinary politician forced to do the right thing by extraordinary circumst... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3556071 Wed, 12 May 2010 12:42:25 +0100 3556071 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3552225&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtM60BMEHS_c%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI’m semi-impressed with the Europeans for choosing the hog-wild approach to bailouts. Not because it is good policy, but rather because it will be a useful demonstration of the old rule that bad policy begets more bad policy (which begets God knows what, but it won’t be pretty). The background is that many European nations have been over-spending, over-taxing, and over-regulating. This has created a poisonous combination of weak economies, pervasive dependency, and political corruption, with Greece being the nation farthest down the path to Krugman-topia. Europe’s political elite at first thought they could paper over the problems with a $140 billion Greek bailout. The ostensible motives were to stop contagion and to demonstrate “solidarity,&#82... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3552225 Mon, 10 May 2010 18:52:30 +0100 3552225 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3549290&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhVJq0fk1kyM%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI frequently argue that government spending is the problem, not budget deficits. Regardless of whether it is financed by taxing or borrowing, every penny of spending diverts resources from the productive sector of the economy. I narrated a video explaining why excessive spending is bad from a theoretical perspective. I did another looking at the empirical evidence for smaller government. And I had another video discussing why deficits are a symptom and the real problem is bloated budgets. Nonetheless, some people seem convinced that deficits and debt are the real problem. While I think that focus is a bit misguided, I certainly agree that there is something utterly immoral about spending today and imposing a fiscal burden on future taxpayers (especially since so much g... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3549290 Mon, 10 May 2010 14:27:15 +0100 3549290 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3526729&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FGl-Vi6sm0QU%2F This study also emphasizes that where people perceive the tax rate as too high, an increase in the (marginal) tax rate will lead to a decrease in tax revenue. It is worth noting the Schneider’s research also shows why Obama’s tax policy is very misguided. The President wants to boost the top tax rate by nearly five percentage points, and that’s on top of the big increase in the tax rate on saving and investment included in Obamacare. Based on Schneider’s research, we can expect America’s underground economy to expand. Shifting back to Greece, Schneider does not claim that tax rates are the only factor determining compliance. But his research indicates that more onerous enforcement regimes are unlikely to put much of a dent in tax evasion unless accompanied by ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3526729 Mon, 03 May 2010 12:41:10 +0100 3526729 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3526730&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoC3xsu_iCj4%2F By Michael F. CannonPresident Obama delivered a commencement speech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday. He called on all Americans “to maintain a basic level of civility in our public debate.”  Who could argue? Yet the president apparently believes that civility means protecting his policies from valid criticism. He instructed graduates that “the practice of listening to opposing views is essential for effective citizenship.”  Right again.  But the civics lesson rings hollow coming from a president who falsely claimed there was “no disagreement” over his massive “stimulus” bill, and that opponents of his health care takeover offered no proposals of their own. He explained, “what we should be asking is not whether... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3526730 Mon, 03 May 2010 12:37:37 +0100 3526730 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3519446&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWObKslpHUMs%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere’s an old joke that if you owe a bank $10,000, you have a problem, but if you owe a bank $10,000,000, the bank has a problem. The Greek government certainly seems to have that attitude. Short-sighted and corrupt politicians in Athens have spent their nation into a fiscal ditch and they now want to mooch from both the IMF and other European nations (especially Germany). The German Prime Minister (if only for political reasons) is talking tough, saying that Greece should do more to reduce subsidies and handouts. Why should Germans work until age 67, after all, so Greeks can enjoy overpaid government jobs and retire at age 61? So what is the response from the Greeks? Amazingly, one of the politicians had the gall to say his nation “cannot accept” fu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3519446 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:39:57 +0100 3519446 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515334&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNStlES3-I08%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI arrived in Madrid yesterday for a speech to the annual Convention of Independent Financial Advisors, and it is somehow fitting that Spain was downgraded by Standard and Poor’s as I entered the country. I’m not a fan of the bond-rating agencies, and the fact that it has taken so long for Spain to be downgraded simply reinforces my skepticism about their value. So let’s focus instead on identifying the sources of Spain’s fiscal crisis. If you look at the OECD’s fiscal database, you will see that Spain’s short-run problem is solely the result of a growth in the burden of government spending. Over the past seven years, the budget in Spain has skyrocketed from 38.4 percent of GDP to 47.2 percent of GDP. And since tax revenues have staye... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515334 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:52:43 +0100 3515334 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515337&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqIPxW_7tQLc%2F By John SamplesEd Morrissey kindly mentioned The Struggle to Limit Government and responds to the advice for Tea Partiers in my video. Morrissey says: I don’t think it’s accurate to say that some Tea Partiers “like” big government; it’s more like some aren’t enthusiastic about dismantling as much of the federal government as others, especially the more doctrinaire libertarians. In the video I noted that polls showed a majority of the people who identify with the Tea Party movement also thought the entitlement programs were worth their cost. My colleague, Jagadeesh Gokhale, has estimated that paying for current entitlements would require 9 percent of GNP in perpetuity. This is unlikely. Entitlements will have to be changed since too much has been promised. People who thi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515337 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:58:36 +0100 3515337 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3508168&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDVV1Wd82-ck%2F By Chris MoodyThe Tea Party movement may endure, but its endurance will be a testament to its ability to understand that cutting government means having a long-term focus, says John Samples, author of the Cato book The Struggle to Limit Government.  In a new video, Samples outlines an assessment of what Tea Partiers should do if they want to sustain an effort to cut government. He offers five pieces of advice for members of the Tea Party movement: 1. Republicans aren’t always your friends. 2. Some tea partiers like big government. 3. Democrats aren’t always your enemies. 4. Smaller government demands restraint abroad. 5. Leave social issues to the states. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3508168 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:57:12 +0100 3508168 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3499054&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FriNyFGnovr0%2F By Tad DeHavenSenate Budget Committee chairman Kent Conrad has released his budget plan for the next five years. The following are some thoughts on the proposal: Conrad proposes total federal spending for FY2011 equal to 25 percent of GDP, which would match the current fiscal year’s post-war record. Conrad says his proposal will cut spending as a share of the economy by 11 percent. This sounds okay until you realize that out-year spending would still be substantially above the norm at 22 percent of GDP. Conrad says his plan will cut the deficit as a share of the economy by 70 percent. But he’s starting from a Mount Everest-sized deficit of $1.4 trillion this year. Besides, his projected deficits for the next five years would add another $3.9 trillion to the debt. Conrad gets to ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3499054 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:08:11 +0100 3499054 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3490618&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8s6EC1W4Izk%2F By Daniel J. MitchellGloominess and despair are not uncommon traits among supporters of limited government — and with good reason. Government has grown rapidly in recent years and it is expected to get much bigger in the future. To make matters worse, it seems that the deck is stacked against reforms to restrain government. One problem is that 47 percent of Americans are exempt from paying income taxes, which presumably means they no longer have any incentive to resist big government. Mark Steyn recently wrote a very depressing column for National Review Online about this phenomenon, noting that, “By 2012, America could be holding the first federal election in which a majority of the population will be able to vote themselves more government lollipops paid for by the ever shrin... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3490618 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:48:45 +0100 3490618 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3475810&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fk9hYQOZJtso%2F By Daniel J. MitchellLike a good peasant, I have already filed an extension, so I am at least temporarily compliant with the friendly people at the IRS. But since it is tax day, perhaps a slight bit of criticism of the tax code is warranted. I have already posted my video on the flat tax and warned about the risks of adding a value-added tax on top of the income tax in another video. I also posted a very successful video narrated by a former Cato intern about the harsh compliance costs of the internal revenue code. So it is time to reach into the archives and post this classic video produced by Caleb Brown and Austin Bragg of the Cato Institute. P.S. Not that I would ever want to put my thumb on the scale of any contest, but I am defending the flat tax in an online debate for U.S. News &... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3475810 Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:56:51 +0100 3475810 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3460151&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fp-ta1-uWmjQ%2F This article by Veronique de Rugy is probably a good place to begin since it compares all Presidents and shows that Bush was a big spender compared to Reagan…and to Clinton. Chris Edwards has similar data, capturing all eight years of Bush’s tenure. But the most damning evidence comes from the OMB’s Historical Tables, which show that Reagan reduced both entitlements and domestic discretionary spending as a share of GDP during his two terms.  Bush (and I hope nobody is surprised) increased the burden of spending in both of these categories.That’s the spending side of the ledger. Let’s now turn to tax policy, where Thiessen writes: Bush enacted the largest tax cuts in history — and unlike my personal hero, Ronald Reagan, he never signed a major tax increa... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3460151 Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:39:32 +0100 3460151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3437685&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7fJ6priBSDg%2F By Daniel J. MitchellUnemployment in the heartland may be high and incomes may be stagnating in most of the nation, but Washington, DC, continues to be an oasis of prosperity as more of the nation’s resources get consumed by government. The latest evidence comes from the Washington Post, which reports on the federal government’s insatiable demand for more real estate. Evidence of the federal government’s growing influence on Washington area commercial real estate is illustrated in big deals it is working on both sides of the table: auctioning a 127,000-square-foot Bethesda building previously occupied by the National Institutes of Health and moving to snatch up vast spaces in buildings on the private market that have been vacant for months. The General Services Administra... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3437685 Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:22:39 +0100 3437685 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3416010&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFHf2p46l2Iw%2F By Daniel J. MitchellAmerica’s biggest fiscal challenge is excessive government spending. The public sector is far too large today and it is projected to get much bigger in coming decades. But the corrupt and punitive internal revenue code is second on the list of fiscal problems. This new video, narrated by yours truly, explains how a flat tax would work and why it would promote growth and fairness. Something to keep in mind with tax day in just a couple of weeks. There are two big hurdles that must be overcome to achieve tax reform. The first obstacle is that the class-warfare crowd wants the tax code to penalize success with high tax rates. That issue is addressed in the video in a couple of ways. I explain that fairness should be defined as treating all people equally, and I als... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3416010 Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:58:39 +0100 3416010 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370395&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FznpnOqIMtPM%2F By Daniel J. MitchellIn this new video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, a Swedish economics student makes three important points. Sweden became a rich nation in the late 1800s and first half of the 1900s by relying a free markets and small government.   Growth deteriorated beginning in the 1970s after the imposition of high tax rates and a big increase in the burden of government spending. For the last 20 years, Swedish lawmakers have been trying to restore prosperity by lowering tax rates and adopting pro-market policies. So if Swedes have learned from their mistakes and are now trying to reduce the size and scope of government, why are American politicians determined to repeat those mistakes? This is something to keep in mind with a looming vote on a giant expansion of ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370395 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:37:30 +0100 3370395 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3331272&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFoQ8oiiqrq0%2F By Daniel J. MitchellPresident Obama and many other politicians in Washington are big fans of pay-as-you-go budgeting, which means they want any new spending or tax relief offset (or “paid for”) with tax increases or spending cuts from other parts of the budget. Or at least that’s what they claim. But when Senator Bunning took them at their word and blocked a $10 billion spending bill because his colleagues were unwilling to make some tiny changes elsewhere, he was treated like a leper. Even his Republicans colleagues largely disapproved of his actions (so much for having learned any lessons from the drubbings they took at the polls in 2006 and 2008). Attacked from all sides, Bunning eventually relented in exchange for an offset vote (which was defeated, of course). What ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3331272 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:45:25 +0100 3331272 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3326967&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fw5QEdLg-b7g%2F By Daniel J. MitchellSenator Jim Bunning of Kentucky may be the most unpopular man in Washington right now. And, as you may surmise, this means he is doing something admirable (envision Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and you’ll have the right context). Republicans and Democrats want to rush through a bill to spend more money on everything from highways to healthcare to joblessness. Senator Bunning is simply saying that the new spending should be financed by reallocating some of the unspent money from the so-called stimulus. For this modest proposal, Bunning is being treated like a porcupine at a nudist camp, with both Republicans and Democrats expressing irritation that he is making it harder for them to buy votes with other people’s money. I am delighted that S... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3326967 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:35:56 +0100 3326967 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3294578&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtLqhcv2fpMk%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere were many reasons to oppose last year’s so-called stimulus legislation. But perhaps one of the most compelling reasons is that politicians and bureaucrats inevitably do really stupid things because the federal budget is a racket designed to funnel the maximum amount of money to powerful interest groups. Here’s a great example from a story linked on Kausfiles.com. A city in New Hampshire wanted to stick its snout in the trough in order to subsidize a water treatment plant, but eventually decided to reject the money because the local government’s out-of-pocket costs would increase – primarily thanks to corrupt rules designed to line the pockets of union bosses, but also because of protectionist requirements and a mind-boggling $100,000 of p... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3294578 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:35:34 +0100 3294578 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3287719&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOrHZNStS1Ds%2F By Daniel J. MitchellWhile admitting that spending restraint is the ideal approach, Tyler Cowen of Marginal Revolution asks whether a value-added tax (VAT) might be the most desirable of all realistic options for dealing with an unsustainable budget situation. Read his post for yourself, but I think a fair summary is that he is basically saying that a) there will be a crisis if we don’t do something about future deficits, b) a crisis will result in very bad policy, and c) if we support a VAT now, we will at least be able to extract concessions from the other side. I have no idea whether there will be a future crisis, but I think the rest of Tyler’s argument is wrong. But before explaining my position, let’s start by stating what I assume to be our mutual objective, which ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3287719 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:39:45 +0100 3287719 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3279956&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fy_O6FXCUE8o%2F By David BoazBruce Caldwell, editor of The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek and Director of the Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke University, writes in today’s Washington Post about the booming interest in Hayek: Friedrich Hayek, Nobel-prize winning economist and well-known proponent of free markets, is having a big month. He was last seen rap-debating with John Maynard Keynes in the viral video above, (in which Hayek is portrayed as the sober voice of reason while Keynes overindulges at a party at the Fed). His 1944 book, “The Road to Serfdom,” provided the theme for John Stossel’s Fox Business News program on Valentine’s Day. Hayek, who died in 1992, is also reemerging as a bestselling author. A new edition of Hayek’s seminal book, &#82... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3279956 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:12:25 +0100 3279956 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3266889&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fj5XsHa47BeU%2F By Daniel J. MitchellIf you want to get depressed or angry, the New York Times has an article celebrating the effort by politicians at all levels of government to lure more people into the food stamp program. New York City is running ads in foreign languagues asking people to stick their snouts in the public trough. The City is even signing up prisoners when they get out of jail. The state of New York, meanwhile, actually set up quotas for enrolling new recipients. And on the federal level, there apparently is a program that gives states “bonuses” for putting more people on the dole. No wonder one out of every eight Americans is receiving food stamps. By the way, this is not just the fault of Democrats. The ranking Republican on the Agriculture Committee is a big defender of th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3266889 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:04:46 +0100 3266889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3227720&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3sNsaUG-6i0%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe Office of Management and Budget has released the President’s FY2011 budget and the Congressional Budget Office has released its semi-annual Budget and Economic Outlook. Much of the coverage of these documents has focused on deficit numbers. This is not a trivial concern, particularly since the Bush-Obama policies of bigger government have dramatically boosted red ink. But the most important numbers in the budget documents are the estimates of what is happening to government spending. The good news is that burden of government spending is projected to decline over the next few years from about 25 percent of GDP to less than 23 percent of GDP. That’s the good news. The bad news is that federal government outlays only consumed 18.2 percent of economic out... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3227720 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:06:27 +0100 3227720 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3208336&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Frj_BJDzEg5o%2F By Daniel J. MitchellAs reported by the Wall Street Journal, the Obama Administration will propose a three-year freeze for a portion of the budget known as “non-defense discretionary” spending. Many critics will correctly note that this is like going on a drunken binge in Vegas and then temporarily joining Alcoholics Anonymous. Others will point out that more than 80 percent of the budget has been exempted, which also is an accurate criticism. Nonetheless, even a partial freeze would be a semi-meaningful achievement. But don’t get too excited yet. It is not clear whether the White House is proposing a genuine spending freeze, meaning “budget outlays” for these programs stay at $447 billion for three years, or a make-believe freeze that applies only to “b... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3208336 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:48:27 +0100 3208336 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3204840&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ff2PsNEkFQuA%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThis new video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity explains how last year’s so-called stimulus was a flop – and also reveals why politicians are pushing for another big-government spending bill. Interestingly, since last year’s stimulus was such a disaster, the redistributionists in Washington are calling their new proposal a “jobs bill.” But as I say in the video, this is akin to putting perfume on a hog. For further background, here is a video explaining why Keynesian economics is wrong and another predicting (in advance!) that last year’s stimulus would be a mistake. And just in case anyone actually wants the economy to grow faster, here’s one about policies that actually increase prosperity. (Source: Cato-at-liber... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3204840 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:11:28 +0100 3204840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171875&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxARilHuwfH0%2F By Chris Moody Nat Hentoff: If you’re looking for reform in Cuba, don’t rest your hopes on Raul Castro. Tim Carney, author of Obamanomics: How Barack Obama Is Bankrupting You and Enriching His Wall Street Friends, Corporate Lobbyists, and Union Bosses gives the inside scoop on why big government is good for big business. The Patriot Act: What should go, and what should stay? Dear Poor People- “Please remain poor.” Sincerely, Obamacare. Podcast: “Obamanomics in Health Care” featuring Tim Carney. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171875 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:36:53 +0100 3171875 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3145958&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZD-eVeJSTKk%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe late George Stigler, winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, is famous in part because of his work on “regulatory capture,” which occurs when interest groups use the coercive power of government to thwart competition and undeservedly line their own pockets. A perfect (and distasteful) example of this can be found in today’s Washington Post, which reports that the IRS plans to impose new regulations dictating who can prepare tax returns. Not surprisingly, the new rules have the support of big tax preparation shops such as H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt, which see this as an opportunity to squeeze smaller competitors out of the market. The IRS and the big firms claim more regulations are needed to protect consumers from shoddy work, but this is th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3145958 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:56:46 +0100 3145958 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3106721&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOJIqNAfpXes%2F By Daniel J. MitchellGerman politicians apparently have been hot on the trail of evil evaders who did not pay tax on coffee ordered over the Internet. To address this terrible crisis, the government spent 800,000 euro and tracked down 4000 dangerous criminals. Shockingly, a few cynics, including the folks at Reuters, are trying to diminish this triumph by pointing out that the government spent 30 times more than it collected: Germany spent more than 30 times as much collecting taxes on coffee beans ordered online from abroad than it received in the tax revenues, the accounting office said on Tuesday. Some 4,000 Germans who bought coffee over the Internet from other EU countries but failed to pay the coffee tax have been charged between a few cents to 10 euros ($14.81) in taxes and fees, sa... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3106721 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:20:10 +0100 3106721 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3104997&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJPUOod4bfg0%2F By Daniel J. MitchellPat Michaels and others are working heroically to save America from global central planning for purposes of combatting global warming (or climate change, or whatever they’re calling it now). But let’s also be thankful this holiday season for our Founding Fathers, who wisely created a system based on separation of powers. If the United States had a parliamentary system, there would be no hope of derailing some of the statist schemes being discusssed in DC, even if Pat worked 24 hours a day. The secretary of state, for instance, is issuing pronouncements about putting American tapxayers on the chopping block to help finance $100 billion per year of new “climate change” foreign aid. This money can only be squandered, however, if the House and Sen... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3104997 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:44:29 +0100 3104997 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3079319&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FO_tvrkpNPYg%2F By Daniel J. MitchellLegislation being considered on Capitol Hill would create a supposed deficit reduction commission. If politicians were bound by truth-in-advertising, this proposal would be called a tax increase commission. It creates a mechanism that will — at best — replicate the 1982 and 1990 budget summits, both of which were fiscal disasters from the perspective of those who favor limited government. The inevitable result of a “bipartisan” process is a 50/50 deal of “spending cuts” and “tax increases,” but the spending cuts are off the “baseline” (which assumes spending goes up), so even if the changes are real (and they rarely are), they are merely reductions in increases. The tax increases, meanwhile, are real and come ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3079319 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:40:03 +0100 3079319 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3075485&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FVt8wKpaQGQs%2F By Tim LynchYesterday, Michael Dreeben, the attorney representing the U.S. government, tried to defend the controversial “honest services” statute from a constitutional challenge in front of the Supreme Court.  When Dreeben informed the Court that the feds have essentially criminalized any ethical lapse in the workplace, Justice Breyer exclaimed, [T]here are 150 million workers in the United States.  I think possibly 140 [million] of them flunk your test. There it is.  Some of us have been trying to draw more attention to the dangerous trend of overcriminalization.  Judge Alex Kozinski co-authored an article in my book entitled “You’re (Probably) a Federal Criminal.”  And Cato adjunct scholar, Harvey Silverglate, calls his new book, Three Felonies a Da... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3075485 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:28:50 +0100 3075485 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2999503&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtD7llCcsjvk%2F “My critics say that I’m taking over every sector of the economy,” President Obama complained to George Stephanopoulos back in September. And I responded: Not every sector. Just health care energy local schools banks insurance companies automobile companies compensation at financial firms newspapers the internet And now check out the lead story in Sunday’s Washington Post: Federal Oversight of Subways Proposed The Obama administration will propose that the federal government take over safety regulation of the nation’s subway and light-rail systems, responding to what it says is haphazard and ineffective oversight by state agencies. Not everything. But more and more. So much that even the growing opposition can’t keep up with it all. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2999503 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:48:22 +0100 2999503 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2939276&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fw2gvp0KAmyY%2F Yesterday, I offered the Fordham Foundation’s Andy Smarick an answer to a burning question: What is the proper federal role in education? It was a question prompted by repeatedly mixed signals coming from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan about whether Washington will be a tough guy, coddler, or something in between when it comes to dealing with states and school districts.  And what was my answer? The proper federal role is no role, because the Constitution gives the feds no authority over American education. Not surprisingly, Smarick isn’t going for that. Unfortunately, his reasoning confirms my suspicions: Rather than offering a defense based even slightly on what the Constitution says, Smarick essentially asserts that the supreme law of the land is irrele... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2939276 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:35:55 +0100 2939276 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2876019&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFnqkMAr70nY%2F Speaking recently a Steamboat Institute conference, I explain that big government is America’s fiscal challenge, not whether the spending is financed with taxes or borrowing.   This issue is important because the statists are trying to create the conditions for a big tax hike. We got huge spending increases under Bush, and now Obama has picked up the baton and is racing in the same direction. Needless to say, the politicians don’t care about deficits when they are spending money. But when it is time to discuss tax policy, deficits suddenly become a giant threat to the economy and turning more of our money over to the political class is the only solution. The Q&A session also is interesting, as I pontificate about the financial crisis, Keynesian economics, the rule of law,... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2876019 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:20:30 +0100 2876019 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2803877&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9pPwTucFt0g%2F The ACORN scandal provides a good opportunity for citizens concerned about profligacy in Washington to explore some of the tools available to find out where their tax money goes. A good place to start your research is the Federal Audit Clearinghouse on the Census website. All groups receiving more than $500,000 a year from the government are required to file a report. Just type in “ACORN” as the entity and the system pops up the group’s filings. My assistant John Nelson summarized the federal programs and amounts received by ACORN in recent years: 2003 Housing Counseling Assistance $1,168,388 Community Development Block Grants $388,273 Home Investment Partnership $8,000 Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity $204,082 Fair Housing Initiatives Program $85,000 Total $1,85... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2803877 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:54:11 +0100 2803877 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2803885&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fe7l3bFEGGRA%2F This is from the Reagan administration’s deregulatory 1981 energy plan: “All Americans are involved in making energy policy. When individual choices are made with a maximum of personal understanding and a minimum of government restraints, the result is the most appropriate energy policy.” Many modern Republicans claim devotion to Ronald Reagan’s ideas, but they often seem to forget about the “minimum of government” thing. The following points are from Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell’s “More Energy, More Jobs” plan: “McDonnell was the chief sponsor of legislation creating the Virginia Hydrogen Energy Plan.” “McDonnell also supported grant programs for solar photovoltaic manufacturing, tax ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2803885 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:42:09 +0100 2803885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2800367&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCLSK4JSDpjQ%2F A front-page Washington Post story today notes that the cost of Obama-style health care reform will fall disproportionately on young adults. Younger workers are typically more healthy than the population at large, and a significant share of them quite rationally choose not to buy health insurance, as my colleague Mike Tanner explains in a recent op-ed. The major health care plans on the table in Washington would force them to buy coverage. As the Post story explains: Drafting young adults into any health-care reform package is crucial to paying for it. As low-cost additions to insurance pools, young adults would help dilute the expense of covering older, sicker people. Depending on how Congress requires insurers to price their policies, this group could even wind up paying disproportionate... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2800367 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:32:24 +0100 2800367 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2796408&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FslSQYwK3I5Q%2F Republicans made many big mistakes when they controlled Washington earlier this decade, so picking the most egregious error would be a challenge. But continued American involvement with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development would be high on the list. Instead of withdrawing from the OECD, Republicans actually increased the subsidy from American taxpayers to the Paris-based bureaucracy. So what do taxpayers get in return for shipping $100 million to the bureaucrats in Paris? Another international organization advocating for big government. The OECD, for example, is infamous for trying to undermine tax competition. It also has recommended higher taxes in America on countless occasions. And now it is suggesting that Iceland impose high tax increases – even thoug... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2796408 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:25:47 +0100 2796408 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2757731&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FixQzP3RhJ68%2F Will Afghanistan become Obama’s Vietnam? Why America’s experience in Bosnia and Iraq offers ample warning against taking the mission too far in Afghanistan. Will Japan remain pacifist? Paul Krugman claims a victory for Big Government, which he says “saved” the economy from an economic depression. Alan Reynolds debunks his claim and shows why bigger government  produces only bigger and longer recessions. Podcast: Johan Norberg explores the causes of the financial crisis. For more, don’t miss his new book, Financial Fiasco: How America’s Infatuation with Homeownership and Easy Money Created the Economic Crisis. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2757731 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:49:28 +0100 2757731 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2727081&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3YcjeyJ8c0k%2F One of the most disturbing things about the current health care debate is that some Republicans are positioning themselves as defenders of Big Government Medicare and against efforts to trim the program’s costs. Yet the taxpayer costs of Medicare are expected to more than double over the next decade (from $425 billion in 2009 to $871 billion in 2019), and the program will consume an increasing share of the nation’s economy for decades to come unless there are serious cuts and reforms. Even the Obama administration talks about “bending the cost curve” to slow the program’s growth. Yet Republican National Committee chairman, Michael Steele, takes to the Washington Post today to defend Medicare against any cuts, while at the same time criticizing the Democr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2727081 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:01:53 +0100 2727081 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2626111&cid=t_229438_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fet2rZE6HuxU%2F I’ve mentioned a blog partnership that I created with the website EMR and EHR. In fact, you’re certain to notice the striking similarities between the 2 websites. I expect over time that will change to some extent. Although, things have gone well here so why mess with something that’s working right? Well, I’m really happy to announce that Dr. Jeff has joined on with me and will be piloting the EMR and EHR blog. He’s a passionate guy with some strong opinions about EMR and I hope he doesn’t get shy now that he’ll be sharing those opinions about EMR in public. You can read more about Dr. Jeff on the EMR and EHR About us page. I’ll be posting occassionally on that blog too, but I expect to have a number of good blog “sparring” matche... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2626111 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:03:10 +0100 2626111 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2605946&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcElIjZRcwC0%2F Appearing on Fox News on Monday, Cato’s Daniel J. Mitchell explained why taxing the rich to pay for big government programs may make for a good sound bite on the campaign trail, but when there aren’t enough wealthy people to tax, the middle class ends up footing the bill. “When politicians are aiming at the rich, it’s the middle class that winds up getting hit in the crossfire,” Mitchell said. “They use ‘tax the rich’ as the rhetoric, but they always go after the ordinary people to get more money to fund their big government schemes.” Watch the whole thing: (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2605946 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:09:55 +0100 2605946 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2416804&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fzx1pgtruDqM%2F Try as they might, supporters of big government spending cannot make federal programs work very well. The Department of Energy, for example, has been plagued by mismanagement, cost overruns, and scandals for decades. Today, the Washington Post reports on the poor performance of DoE’s environmental clean-up programs. As I reviewed in the linked essay, these enormously costly programs have been plagued by mismanagement for at least 25 years. Last week, Lou Dobbs lambasted DOE’s National Ignition Facility in California for its huge cost overruns (Hat Tip: Harrison Moar). I summarize these costly projects and other DoE boondoggles here. With bipartisan support for increases to energy subsidies, we can expect a raft of bipartisan boondoggles developing over coming months and y... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2416804 Mon, 18 May 2009 14:02:55 +0100 2416804 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2353756&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fgo1_ifiSdus%2F Washington is riddled with both legal and illegal corruption, but why? Perhaps it is because government is too big and has too much power. The federal budget redistributes $3.5 trillion through more than 1,800 subsidy programs. The regulatory burden is $1.2 trillion and there have been 51,000 new regulations since 1995. And there are more than 70,000 pages of tax law and regulations. These are the reasons why Washington is a hornet’s nest of deal-making, influence-peddling, and back-scratching. In this new video, produced by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, I argue that reducing the size and scope of government is the only effective way to control Washington sleaze. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2353756 Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:44:48 +0100 2353756 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2263790&cid=t_229438_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fx1mOx1bzFQk%2F To receive this segment by email, subscribe to the Cato Weekly Dispatch. Obama Dips a Toe in the Educational Choice Pool After Congress voted to let the Washington D.C. voucher program expire, stripping 1,700 low-income children of the opportunity to attend private schools, President Obama said he will keep the program afloat in subsequent legislation. “It wouldn’t make sense to disrupt the education of those that are in that system,” said Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary. “And I think we’ll work with Congress to ensure that a disruption like that doesn’t take place.” Andrew J. Coulson, director of Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom, commented on Obama’s decision to continue to extend school choice benefits to underprivi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2263790 Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:46:22 +0100 2263790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2241123&cid=t_229438_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2009%2F03%2F05%2Ffood-for-thought%2F I suppose that this could be considered a mental illness posts……..when ya think about all the GObamas. I don’t know who wrote this or I would give them credit here. It was sent to me in my email. TPB Catching Wild Pigs… There was a Chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2241123 Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:57:52 +0100 2241123