Author Archive

"The debate over the impact of 'austerity' policies on economic well-being is raging once again, fueled in part by the discovery of errors in a much-cited study by Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff of how national indebtedness impacts economic growth. As in previous rounds, however, basic economics has taken a back seat to high-powered statistical examinations of national income accounts." (05/23/13)

"It stems from a sincere desire to expand liberty, and a misunderstanding of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This leads these folks to embrace the federal government as some kind of liberty enforcement squad. They take the basic restrictions on federal authority outlined in the Bill of Rights and insit the feds to use their power to ensure state and local governments adhere to them as well." (05/23/13)

"A federal crime wave is sweeping the nation, and prosecutors and G-men could not be happier about it. The Wall Street Journal reported that government 'forfeiture programs confiscated homes, cars, boats, and cash in more than 15,000 cases [in 2010]. The total take topped $2.5 billion, more than doubling in five years, Justice Department statistics show.'" (05/23/13)

"The United States Senate will likely soon consider ratification the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which fell six votes short of the 67 needed last December. The CPRD’s stated purpose is 'to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.'" (05/22/13)

"It seems to be an easy equation: if joblessness is decreasing and the economy is improving, there should be fewer people receiving government assistance, right? Not so. Why? Part of the reason is that the government is actively recruiting people for SNAP, part is America’s ever-increasing dependence on government to solve our problems, and part is crony capitalism. It’s a heady mix of money, entitlement, and big government." (05/22/13)

"Bruce Bartlett recently lamented in The New York Times that given the current state of economic affairs we need more Keynesian medicine to fix the US economy. According to Bartlett, the core insight of Keynesian economics is that there are very special economic circumstances in which the general rules of economics don’t apply and are in fact counterproductive." (05/23/13)

"The firestorm around the White House is only going to grow with the knowledge  that the administration targeted Fox News’ reporter James Rosen for doing  nothing more than being a reporter. Kirsten  Powers:  Turns out it’s a fairly swift sojourn from a president  pushing to 'delegitimize' a news organization to threatening criminal  prosecution for journalistic activity by a Fox News reporter, James Rosen, to  spying on Associated Press reporters." (05/23/13)

"My oldest brother, Thomas, was an engineer and was selected for Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society. I had a brother who was three or four years younger but he died at the age of four of spinal meningitis. It was a fulminant case and took him in just 24 hours. My next brother, Richard, also received an engineering degree, later went to law school and entered the bar." (05/23/13)

"Let’s have a discussion about how far one has to sail out into the ocean before he falls off the edge of the earth. Is it 50 miles? Maybe 150? Or is it more? Wouldn’t that make for an informative, intellectually stimulating debate? Well, no. It would be a stupid waste of time. Why? Because (brace yourself if you haven’t heard this yet) the earth is spherical (more or less); it doesn’t have an edge." (05/21/13)

"The scope of federal government spending and deficits is sobering. Yet the government’s reach extends well beyond the taxes Washington collects and its deficit spending and borrowing. Federal environmental, safety and health, and economic regulations cost hundreds of billions—perhaps trillions—of dollars every year over and above the costs of the official federal outlays that dominate the policy debate." (05/21/13)

"Polls have shown for years that Americans think the current federal income tax system is 'unfair.' And that was before the disgusting IRS targeting of conservatives, libertarians, tea party activists, Christians, and reporters the Obama administration doesn’t like. A large majority of the country favors a 'complete overhaul' of the system. Even former IRS Commissioner Shirley Peterson has said, 'we should repeal the Internal Revenue Code and start over.'" (05/21/13)

"Diane Tran is a 17-year-old honor student who was jailed for truancy in Texas. When a tearful Tran gave an interview for a local television station, the story went viral. Her parents had recently divorced, leaving Tran to support herself and her siblings by working two jobs in addition to attending school. Fury was unleashed on the truancy court justice, Lanny Moriarty, who made an example of Tran by fining her $100 and imprisoning her for 24 hours." (05/21/13)

"Chemophobic anti-pesticide groups are at it again. This time they’re attacking a widely used and safe new insecticide, but their assertions and real agendas are nothing new. Radical environmentalism rose to ascendancy on opposition to pesticides, specifically DDT." (05/21/13)

"In the barren wasteland of anti-nullification rhetoric, little sprouts of life occasionally spring up, providing hope for those of us who believe federal power should remain limited. Sometimes, support for state action to block unconstitutional acts springs up in the most unlikely of places." (05/19/13)

"What facts? That, contrary to Obama, government is not 'a system of ... tools to do big things and important things together that we could not possibly do alone' -- that’s what markets are -- when they’re allowed to work, free of interference by presumptuous, meddling politicians and the well-connected who seek their favors." (05/17/13)