I’m not normally in the business of making arguments for politicians, but Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan is getting some unfair criticism, and more than a few people are mischaracterizing the real tax burden Americans face. Fore example, on Meet the Press this weekend, David... »
Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme? Yes.
Rick Perry keeps saying Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme. It is almost as if he believes that social security is a fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. To be fair, that SEC... »
Thought Experiment: What is a Democrat’s Balanced Budget Amendment?
Mark Udall and other centrist (read as “not quite as insane”) Democrats announced today that they are working on a balanced budget amendment. That makes me wonder what a Reid-Pelosi balanced budget would look like. As you can imagine, a GOP balanced budget amendment... »
Both sides of Krugman’s mouth: Rating Agencies Just Can’t Win.
You may recall that, last April, Congress, Paul Krugman, and a lot of others were calling for the heads of the rating agencies. They blamed Moody’s and S&P for failing to tell investors the obvious: that sometimes people default on their mortgage. Krugman in... »
Wasserman-Schultz wants to increase spending on the backs of yet unborn children.
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Allen West are having a public spat. Allen West is claiming that, despite Obama’s endorsement, Wasserman Schultz’s history of lying and misrepresenting legislation means she is no lady. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is claiming that a bill that does not touch Social... »
9 Lies Liberals Tell About Taxes — UPDATE
David Cay Johnston’s article last week, 9 Things The Rich Don’t Want You To Know About Taxes, deserves a stronger rebuke, but I’m a busy man, so let’s just cut to chase: Conservatives (not read as “rich,” but principled) argue that most people don’t... »
Governing with Fear
It is ironic that the Democrats, for nearly all of his eight years in office, charged that President Bush governed by fear; raising the specter of terrorism for political gain. Of course, all politicians use a little fear to keep their cushy jobs, the... »
How to solve the energy crisis.
My wife had a very interesting observation last night. I was trying to explain why government mandates don’t work, and she said, “So Democrats are all about sticks, and Republicans are all about carrots.” It’s a remarkable insight from a foreigner, and probably more... »
ObamaCare will save us; just look at how successful the Credit CARD Act is.
Investors Business Daily has a great review of the 20 ways in which ObamaCare will take away your freedom. Most of the changes involve the new Democratic paternalism: we know better than the free market. Funny, the Democrats thought the same thing about credit... »
Small Change™: Obama budget freeze is like you buying store-brand rice crispies.
Obama is promising a budget freeze on non-discretionary, non-defense funding. This amounts to a “freeze” on $450 billion out of $3.6 trillion budget. That’s about 12.5%. So Obama is promising to “freeze” spending on 12.5% of the federal budget. (An idea he harshly criticized... »