Economic Policy
“The Penny Plan” to Eliminate the Federal Deficit
photo credit: Robert Couse-Baker We all know that Uncle Sam’s trillion plus dollar budget deficits are unsustainable. Debt is now larger than Gross Domestic Product and we are well on our way to Greece-level debt (and that excludes our “off the book debt,” see sidebar for our true debt levels . . . around $77 [...]
Jon Stewart Nails TARP
I’m generally not a Jon Stewart fan, though I admit he can be very funny even when he doesn’t know what he is talking about. However, this one may just be his best ever as he exposes the dark side of the federal government’s role in the banking bailout. A must watch . . .
Unions Win: Right-to-Work Fails in New Hampshire
photo credit: pweiskel08 Just moments ago, the New Hampshire House attempted to override Gov. Lynch’s veto on Right-to-Work. Unfortunately, the veto override failed 240-139, a mere 14 votes shy of the needed two-thirds. However, the supermajority vote in the Senate and near-supermajority vote in House shows that there is very strong support in New Hampshire for [...]
Illinois Policymakers say: “The deal is, they take three months of grocery money in exchange for chips and a sandwich”
photo credit: Ewan-M In a saga that falls into the category, “you just can’t make this stuff up” . . . Illinois policymakers recently enacted one of, if not the largest, tax hike in state history only to find themselves faced with threats of companies leaving the state. The response, give away special tax breaks [...]
What do the Tea Party and the Local Food Movement Have in Common?
photo credit: Fibonacci Blue The fight against excessive government regulation! From the Maine Tea Party: On Wednesday, November 9, Dan Brown, owner of Gravelwood Farm in Blue Hill, Maine, was served notice that he is being sued by the State of Maine for selling food and milk without State licenses. Blue Hill is one of five [...]
Making the Occupy People Go Away
As I sat reading the latest Economist magazine and all of the injustices spouted off by the Occupy folks, I wondered if we all are as helpless as they portray us to be. In their worldview, we are all pawns of the “wealthiest 1 percent.” Sorry, but I don’t believe that. We (the collective “we”) [...]
Oklahoma’s Improved Economic Performance Suggests Right to Work Is Working
My latest study for the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs finds that critics of Oklahoma’s right-to-work law are wrong. From the study: On September 25, 2001, Oklahoma voters went to the polls and passed a constitutional amendment—Right to Work (RTW)—which gave workers the choice to join or financially support a union. This made Oklahoma the [...]
Welfare Spending by State
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released a report on welfare by state called the “Public Assistance Receipt in the Past 12 Months for Households: 2009 and 2010″ (pdf) More specifically: Public assistance income provides cash payments to poor families and includes General Assistance and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), which replaced Aid to Families [...]
Obamacare, Religion and Liberty
photo credit: Andrew Aliferis Admittedly I’m a little late to this party, but it is a very important issue. Apparently, Obamacare is now mandating that all insurance plans must include coverage for contraception and sterilization. This, of course, violates many religious sensibilities, especially for Catholics (disclaimer: I am Catholic). From the United States Conference of [...]
State Debt Loads are Soaring
We all know that Uncle Sam is drowning in red ink–if you need a humorous reminder check out Remy’s “Raise the Debt Ceiling.” Well, it turns out that states are not in much better shape. According to a new study by Harvard Economist Jeffrey Miron, for the Mercatus Center, states will reach dangerous debt levels [...]
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