Category: Economics
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Ode to the Welfare State (1949)
A tip of the hat, and greetings of the season to Bill Keezer for this:
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I, Pencil
Watch it, then send it to your liberal friends.
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Could the USA Go the Way of Detroit?
Why not, given the incorrigible stupidity of reactionary liberals? Krauthammer: But Detroit is an object lesson not just for other cities. Not even the almighty federal government is immune to Stein’s Law. Reactionary liberalism simply cannot countenance serious reform of the iconic social welfare programs of the 20th century. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are…
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Victor Davis Hanson on Generation Screwed
Here. Are the Obaminations of the current administration inadvertently building a libertarian-leaning youth movement that will unseat both the RINOs and the leftists? One can hope. Many young people voted for Obama because they think him 'cool.' Well, he is one cool dude, no doubt about it, except that the criterion of cool is not…
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Guns and Pensions
Thomas Sowell talks sense.
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Fiscal Irresponsibility as Politically Rational: The Fiscal Prisoners’ Dilemma
Glenn Hubbard and Tim Kane, Regaining America's Balance. Excerpt: There are two paths toward reducing deficits and debts of the magnitude we face: raising taxes or cutting spending. A balanced compromise would involve some amount of both, but the two political parties face strong electoral incentives to do neither. If Republicans push for reduced spending,…
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Bad Economic Reasoning About the National Debt
When I study the writings of professional economists I sometime have to shake my shaggy philosopher's head. Try this passage on for size: $16 trillion is the amount of Treasury debt outstanding at the moment. The more relevant figure is the amount of debt the federal government owes to people and institutions other than itself.…
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It’s the Welfare State, Stupid
When one reads a piece by Robert Samuleson, one feels oneself in the presence of a clear, penetrating, and honest intellect: By all means, let's avoid the "fiscal cliff": the $500 billion in tax increases and federal spending cuts scheduled for early 2013 that, if they occurred, might trigger a recession. But let's recognize that…
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Why We are Headed for a Fiscal Cliff
A short video. It explains the difference between discretionary and mandatory spending and why not even mandatory spending is covered by tax revenues. Mandatory spending comprises the entitlements and the interest on the national debt. A balanced budget is not possible given the way the government is currently structured. A re-design is needed. It must…
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Does Government Create Jobs?
In their last presidential debate, President Obama strangely agreed with Governor Romney when the latter said that "Government does not create jobs." But of course government does create jobs. There are all sorts of government jobs. That perfectly obvious point was underscored in a recent NYT op-ed piece. So both the president and the governor…
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Left, Right, and Debt
A reader writes, " I enjoy your philosophical and theological views, but unfortunately disagree with your political and economic views. I recommend large doses of Paul Krugman, beginning with Nobody Understands Debt. " I got a kick out of that because I should think that the febrile Krugman is absolutely the last person to convince me of anything. I…
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Obama: Fiscally Clueless
Here. You say the Republicans are not much better? I don't disagree. But think of it this way. A jackass and an elephant are heading for a cliff, a fall from which will be fatal. The jackass, being a jackass, is moving faster towards disaster. The elephant is moving slower. You must choose to ride…
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The Fallacy of Redistribution
Thomas Sowell: The history of the 20th century is full of examples of countries that set out to redistribute wealth and ended up redistributing poverty. The communist nations were a classic example, but by no means the only example. In theory, confiscating the wealth of the more successful people ought to make the rest of…