Reckless spending increases under both Bush and Obama have resulted in unprecedented deficits, which is the reason for boosting the nation’s debt limit by an astounding $1.8 trillion. Government borrowing has become such a big issue that some politicians are
German 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,
We’ve learned that Keynesianism does not make sense and that Obama’s so-called stimulus was misguided. In the final installment of this three-part series, let’s discuss the policies that actually would improve economic performance. As this video explains, both Economic Freedom
President Obama claimed a $787 billion Keynesian spending bill would keep the joblessness rate at 8 percent or below, so it’s no surprise that the White House is feeling defensive now that the unemployment rate is 10 percent. The supposedly
The White House recently began claiming that the “Recovery Act” had “created or saved” 640,000-plus jobs. This was a political mistake, since the “jobs saved” measure allows for creative accounting. But the White House also erred by providing (supposed) details,
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), the government-run healthcare plans in the House and Senate will reduce budget deficits. To use a technical phrase, this is utter nonsense. A giant new entitlement program
In this new video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Eline van den Broek of the Netherlands needs only about four minutes to explain why government-run healthcare in Europe is a mistake and why the problems in the U.S.
KPMG has released its annual global survey of corporate tax systems. For the 10th-consecutive year, the average corporate tax rate fell, and it is now down to 25.5 percent (just 23.2 percent in the European Union!). In the United States,
The past nine years have been discouraging, with Bush and Obama both being big-government interventionists. But it’s nice to know that the other side still has a hard time imposing higher taxes. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page celebrates the
If government-run healthcare is approved, it is very likely that politicians will then look for a new revenue source to finance all the new spending that inevitably will follow. Unfortunately, that means a value-added tax (VAT) will be high on
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
It seems New York politicians are running into a slight problem with the Laffer Curve. According to an AP report, the state’s 100 richest taxpayers have paid $1 billion less than expected following a big tax hike. The story notes
…Until the politicians figure out a way of imposing a national sales tax. More specifically, the crowd in Washington is salivating at the idea of adding a value-added tax (a European-style national sales tax) on top of the income tax.
On Wednesday, a video was posted explaining the theoretical reasons why excessive government spending hurts growth. Just in time for the weekend, here is the second installment in the two-part series. Using cross-country data and citing scholarly research, the video
Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal has an excellent column today discussing new poll data showing that Americans think, on average, that 50 percent of the federal budget is wasted. As Steve explains, these numbers are very encouraging since
By overturning the rock and letting America witness the corruption at ACORN, Hannah and James have performed an incredibly valuable service. The rest of us now have an obligation to take the next steps. Shutting off the federal spigot to
