Americans’ Taste for Big Government Sours

Over at the Washington Post Catherine Rampell highlights a problem that Democrats shouldn’t ignore on their aggressive path to pass a...

Trump's Tariffs Didn't Work. Biden's Won't Work Either.

Begging Permission to Buy and Sell Freely

The United States is known as the land of the free, but it has become a place where the government decides whom we are allowed to buy from and sell...

Joe Manchin Isn't the Fiscal Conservative We Need, but He's the Best We've Got

For Some Politicians, Enough Spending Will Never Be Enough

Back in 2005, I wrote that when it comes to spending, "Congressional Republicans Make French Socialists Look Like Ronald Reagan." Looking back now,...

If Democrats Truly Wanted To Level the Playing Field, They'd End Crony Corporate Handouts

Cronyism's Critics Continue to Miss the Point

How to best ensure substantial long-run economic growth should be a question on everyone's mind. Its benefits can't be overstated, and it's undeniable...

The Cost of the Biden Plan: A New Estimate

In a new study published by the Club for Growth Foundation, Dan Mitchell and Robert O’Quinn assess the macro-economic effects of President’s...

Blame Both Parties if the Federal Government Shuts Down in December

Debt Veronique de Rugy | 9.23.2021 1:05 PM The battle over the federal debt ceiling that's currently being fought by government officials and...

Who's Really at Fault if the Government Defaults?

The battle over the federal debt ceiling that's currently being fought by government officials and legislators is yet another example of the political...

Taxing the Rich Isn't Enough to Pay for Democrats' Welfare State. They'll Need To Soak the Middle Class Too.

Government Spending Veronique de Rugy | 9.16.2021 1:04 PM Democrats are ready to raise taxes. They want more revenue, in part to fund an...

Spending Gluttony Is Washington's Deadly Sin

Democrats are ready to raise taxes. They want more revenue, in part to fund an out-of-this-world amount of new spending. Some simply want to soak the...

Bad Reporting from the Wall Street Journal on the Ex-Im Bank

Last week, I commented elsewhere that NPR had a sloppy piece of reporting on Hurricane Ida and climate. This week, it’s the Wall Street...

When We Reject Immigrants, We Reject Trillions of Dollars in Wealth

Immigration Veronique de Rugy | 9.9.2021 2:13 PM Exactly 10 years ago, economist Michael Clemens published a paper in the prestigious Journal of...

Belated Happy Labor Day: Union Guy Gets a Seat on Ex-Im Board

I just realized that President Biden tapped Owen Herrnstadt to serve on the board of directors at the Export-Import Bank. Herrnstadt is chief of staff...

Immigration and the Trillion-Dollar Lottery

Exactly 10 years ago, economist Michael Clemens published a paper in the prestigious Journal of Economic Perspectives called "Economics and...

Bernie Sanders Is Wrong About Denmark. Tucker Carlson Is Wrong About Hungary.

Politics Veronique de Rugy | 9.2.2021 1:17 PM Ideologues at both political extremes, like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) on the left and Fox News...

Extending the Danish-Hungarian Empire

Ideologues at both political extremes, like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, on the left and Fox News host Tucker Carlson on the right, have recently...

More on the Limits of Woke Capitalism

The Washington Post reports: Apple and AbbVie, Facebook and Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble, and other top corporations made broad...

Let Afghan Refugees Work

Immigration Veronique de Rugy | 8.26.2021 10:42 AM Incompetence, political weakness, and fearmongering about foreigners in search of a new home...

Welcoming Immigrants Is a Good Start; We Must Recognize Them, Too

Incompetence, political weakness and fearmongering about foreigners in search of a new home has created a cruel immigration policy. But this...

When Government's Foolish Errands Turn Into Fiascoes

Another government failure, another outrage. This time the scandal is brought on by the less-than-orderly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan...

If Government Is Good at One Thing, It's Making a Crisis Worse

Government Veronique de Rugy | 8.19.2021 2:36 PM Another government failure, another outrage. This time the scandal is brought on by the...

When Government's Foolish Errands Turn Into Fiascoes

Another government failure, another outrage. This time the scandal is brought on by the less-than-orderly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan...

State Governments Didn't Need Coronavirus Bailouts. They Got Billions of Dollars Anyway.

Bailouts Veronique de Rugy | 8.12.2021 12:01 AM Warnings that state and local governments faced a fiscal calamity were predictably plentiful when...

The United Federal Administrative Units of America?

Warnings that state and local governments faced a fiscal calamity were predictably plentiful when it became clear in early 2020 that COVID-19 would...

When Government Spending Hurts the Most Vulnerable

Government Spending Veronique de Rugy | 7.22.2021 3:45 PM A lot of people don't care about the nation's growing debt. Some believe that low...

Why Spending Matters in Times of Inflation and High Debt

A lot of people don't care about the nation's growing debt. Some believe that low interest rates for the foreseeable future essentially means a free...

The Return of the Tax Gap Hype

Every policy wonk will tell you that after you live in Washington long enough, you start seeing the same issues reemerge on a regular basis. Common...

Want To Close the Tax Gap? Cut Taxes.

Taxes Veronique de Rugy | 7.15.2021 1:06 PM Every policy wonk will tell you that after you live in Washington long enough, you start seeing the...

The Return of the Tax Gap Hype

Every policy wonk will tell you that after you live in Washington long enough, you start seeing the same issues reemerge on a regular basis. Common...

The U.S. Has Strayed Far From Its Founding Ideals

Big Government Veronique de Rugy | 7.8.2021 3:02 AM Declaring their independence from British rule 245 years ago, the American colonists held...

Rediscovering the Promise of the American Founding

Declaring their independence from British rule 245 years ago, the American colonists held "these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created...

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Shows That Republicans Love Big Government Just as Much as Democrats

Infrastructure Veronique de Rugy | 7.1.2021 9:16 AM If you follow the news, you may be under the impression that nothing ever gets done in...

The Bill Will Come Due on Biden's Trillions

Economics Veronique de Rugy | From the August/September-2021 issue You know we have crossed a fiscal Rubicon when a presidential administration...

Let's Make a Deal -- to Abdicate Responsibility

If you follow the news, you may be under the impression that nothing ever gets done in Congress and that Democrats and Republicans can't agree on any...

Let's Make a Deal – to Abdicate Responsibility

If you follow the news, you may be under the impression that nothing ever gets done in Congress and that Democrats and Republicans can't agree on any...

Industrial Policy Meet the Real World

Industrial policy looks great on paper. The government simply has to identify an industry that needs support, prop it up with subsidies, loans, tax...

Entitlement Cornucopia

In an era when Republicans are missing in action when it comes to fighting big government, the Democrats are not wasting any time. Over at the Wall...

Special-Interest Politics Is a Lot of What Infrastructure Is About

Opinion polls show that increases in infrastructure spending are usually popular. I assume that’s because people have no clue about what are in the...

Democrats Are Considering a $6 Trillion Infrastructure Plan That Has Little to Do With Infrastructure

Infrastructure Veronique de Rugy | 6.24.2021 12:15 PM In the event that a group of U.S. senators cannot agree on committing enough money to a...

Infrastructure Insanity

In the event that a group of U.S. senators cannot agree on committing enough money to a bipartisan infrastructure plan, Democrats are reportedly...

Taxpayers Should Demand Their Airline Bailout Money Back

American Airlines has had to cancel hundreds of flights over the weekend. The mass cancelation will continue over the next few weeks. One of the main...

SBA Disaster-Loan Program Still A Disaster

The Wall Street Journal has a piece about the Small Business Administration disaster-loan program’s performance during the pandemic, and concludes...

The G7 Agrees To Create a Global Tax Cartel

Taxes Veronique de Rugy | 6.17.2021 12:23 PM For several decades now, politicians around the world have tried to curtail tax competition to make...

If You Can't Beat Them, Bully Them Into Joining You

For several decades now, politicians around the world have tried to curtail tax competition to make it easier for them to increase the tax burdens on...

Many Politicians Claim That Increased Spending Sparks Economic Growth. Here's Why That's Misleading.

Government Spending Veronique de Rugy | 6.10.2021 2:29 AM The scale and scope of government spending expansion in the last year are...

Demystifying the Magical Multiplier Myth

The scale and scope of government spending expansion in the last year are unprecedented. Because Uncle Sam doesn't have the money, lots of it went on...

The G-7’s Tax Cartel Is Bad News

Back during the tax-reform debate of 2017, I warned that while moving to a territorial tax system and lowering the corporate-income-tax rate was...

Moral Hazard: Airline Edition

Do you know what happens when the government bails out airlines each time there is a crisis? Moral hazard happens, meaning that airlines, their...