The 2016 Dream Ticket

I’ve shared a bit of Anthony Weiner humor (see here and here), but this dream ticket poster wins the prize.

And it’s not even as risque as this Romney humor, this Schwarzenegger humor, this environmental humor, this t-shirt, or this debt limit video.

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Cartoonists v. the IRS

Call me perverse, but I’m enjoying this IRS scandal. It’s good to see them suffer a tiny fraction of the agony they impose on the American people.

I’ve already shared a couple of cartoons on the topic, and I also posted a photo from my newest sports hero that captures how most of us feel about the least-favorite part of the federal behemoth.

Now let’s enjoy some additional cartoons. Let’s start with one from Michael Ramirez, which appropriately mocks Obama for saying we shouldn’t fear the government.

Here’s Henry Payne’s contribution, which reminds me that the IRS actually expects us to believe they didn’t engage in political bias.

And Ken Catalino suggests that the federal government treats Americans with the same suspicion and hostility accorded to terrorists.

Though we should be happy that we’re not being targeted for drone attack. At least not yet.

Speaking of targeting, here’s another Catalino cartoon that recreates a meeting at the IRS.

I like this Glenn Foden cartoon, if for no other reason that it would be nice to see taxpayers march on Washington to slay the IRS monster.

Here’s another Foden cartoon, which I like because it has the same theme as this Jerry Holbert cartoon, showing big government as a destructive and malicious force.

These two Eric Allie cartoons (here and here) have a more charitable interpretation, implying that the damage is unintentional.

Here’s another gem from Ramirez, winner of my cartoonist contest.

Lisa Benson weighs in with a cartoon on the army of drones. Sort of like this very good Glenn McCoy cartoon.

Here’s another cartoon from Henry Payne, showing Obama’s faux scolding of the IRS.

Last but not least, this Chuck Asay cartoon may be the best of the bunch. When we get in trouble with the IRS (even if we’ve done nothing wrong), we’re guilty ’til we prove ourselves innocent.

Too bad we can’t exercise our rights, just like the IRS hack who just pleaded the fifth and refused to answer questions about her role in the scandal.

Now that I’ve shared all these cartoons, let’s remember that we should assign some of the blame to politicians.

And I’m not referring to the President and the culture of corruption and Chicago-style sleaze that seems to be engulfing the Obama Administration.

I’m talking about the constant legislative tinkering and the 74,000 pages of Byzantine complexity that has been created in the 100 years since the income tax was created.

However, there are many reasons why the IRS bureaucracy deserves scorn.

• It has thieving employees.
• It has incompetent employees.
• It has thuggish employees.
• It has brainless employees.
• It has protectionist employees.
• It has wasteful employees.
• And it has victimizing employees.

So let’s pass the flat tax, but never forget that a disproportionate share of bad people seem drawn to government.

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First-Rate Economic Analysis in a Political Cartoon

I woke up this morning in Albania, after a string of speeches for the Free Market Road Show. One of my topics was the terrible jobs outlook for young people.

I sought to give audiences some basic understanding of economics, most notably telling them that businesses won’t create jobs unless the total revenue generated by workers is greater than the total cost of employing those workers.

But I also explained that people don’t have much incentive to find jobs unless they can enjoy better lives while working than they can enjoy while not working. In other words, they may not bother accepting jobs if there’s no significant increase in their living standards.

In other words, you can’t give people lots of handouts and then expect them to be aggressive job seekers.

I should have shared this Robert Gorrell cartoon. It makes the point in a much simpler fashion.

This cartoon is quite similar to this Chuck Asay gem, and also has the same theme as this excellent Wizard of Id parody (which tied for 5th-place in the political cartoonist contest).

I did share these two amazing charts (here and here), so the audiences did get some powerful data showing that the welfare state is dramatically undermining incentives to provide labor to the market.

P.S. At least one honest liberal has recognized the danger of government-created dependency.

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Very Funny but Very Un-PC British Video on Welfare and Immigration

I’ve shared this bit of political incorrect terrorism humor from England, as well as this somewhat un-PC bit of tax humor.

But perhaps motivated by the scandal of giving welfare to terrorists, this new video is the most amusing thing I’ve seen from across the ocean.

I almost didn’t post this because it singles out immigrants from the developing world, but since I’ve shared horror stories from home-grown moochers in the U.K., as well as examples of scroungers from Europe who are robbing British taxpayers, I think I’ve covered all the bases.

But in the spirit of inclusiveness, here are other satirical videos worth sharing.

My all-time favorite video satire is from Iowahawk, featuring the Pelosimobile.

And I’ve always thought this left-wing attack against libertarianism is very funny.

And this Tim Hawkins video on the government Candyman is great, as is another version of the song.

Speaking of Tim Hawkins, his home-schooling video is superb.

This spoof of the Chevy Volt also is extremely well done.

Last but not least, here are two brutal Obama teleprompter videos.

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Get Ready to Be Reamed

With so many scandals percolating, there are lots of good cartoons being produced.

But I think this Chip Bok gem deserves special praise.

It manages to weave together both the costly Obamacare boondoggle with the reprehensible politicization of the IRS.

So BOHICA, my friends.

If you want other Chip Bok cartoons, click here, here, here, here, here, here (my favorite), here and here.

And for cartoons that mix the IRS and Obamacare, click here, here, and here.

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My New Sports Hero, Evan Mathis

When I was a little kid, my sports idol was Mickey Mantle.

When I went to college, Herschel Walker was my guy.

Now, I may have to add Evan Mathis to that distinguished list.

Who is Evan Mathis, you ask?

Well, he’s an offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles who played in college for the Crimson Tide of Alabama.

Since I’m a Georgia Bulldog, I wouldn’t normally hold someone from ‘Bama in high esteem – especially since I haven’t stopped sulking since the SEC Championship Game. but when someone does something that merits high praise, I’m willing to be ecumenical.

And Evan Mathis passes that test, as explained by NBC Sports.

Already the least popular of the federal governmental agencies, the IRS has taken a significant hit in recent days amid news confirming longstanding beliefs that the U.S. tax department exercised its discretion to conduct audits and generally give folks a hard time with politics in mind. Like most if not all Americans, Eagles offensive lineman Evan Mathis doesn’t like it.  Unlike most if not all Americans, Mathis has opted to make his views known, in an entertaining way. Mathis posted on Instagram a photo of himself in the universal standing pee position by an IRS sign, with the message “Audit this.”

So what message was Mathis trying to send? It’s unclear, but there are many reasons why the IRS deserves scorn.

• It has thieving employees.
• It has incompetent employees.
• It has thuggish employees.
• It has brainless employees.
• It has protectionist employees.
• It has wasteful employees.
• And it has victimizing employees.

No wonder I thanked President Obama for unleashing this new scandal and reminding many new people that they should listen to those “voices” who warn about unchecked power in Washington.

P.S. I’m not sure how I’ll react when the IRS resorts to the novel tax-collection tactic that’s being tried in Pakistan.

P.P.S. Maybe Mathis can become a national spokesman for tax reform after he retires from football.

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Mocking a Rogue’s Gallery of Statists: Biden, Soros, Edwards, and Napolitano

I explained just a couple of days ago that it’s a good idea to mock politicians, both for the humor value and to deny them the approval they crave.

Well, a friend just sent me some posters, and four of them are very good.

Several years ago, I shared a couple of funny videos mocking Obama for relying on a teleprompter. Well, here’s a poster of John Edwards and Joe Biden enjoying a private joke on the same topic.

If you like Obama teleprompter humor, I also suggest you click here and here.

George Soros isn’t very popular on the right. If you’re one of the people who don’t like him, I strongly recommend you watch this debate he had with Richard Epstein.

But if you don’t want to deal with intellectual arguments, here’s a very amusing poster.

By the way, Soros actually is against misguided intervention – at least when it affects him.

Let’s now turn our attention to America’s national punchline. You can click here for a good Biden joke, which has the same theme as this poster.

You may also enjoy this satirical video about Biden’s home-defense advice.

Last but not least, you may recall my concern about the downside of amnesty. Well, this poster shows why I’m a bit worried.

Reminds me of one of these very good Jay Leno jokes.

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Little Johnny and the Election

I believe mockery is a very useful way of dealing with the political crowd.

They may over-tax, over-spend, and over-regulate, but at least we can deny them the public affection they so desperately crave.

This is why I like sharing anti-politician humor. Even if, on occasion, it means some PG-13 jokes like the meeting between Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, and some ranchers.

Or the little girl expressing her opinion of Obamanomics, this prostitute risking her reputation by hanging out with the wrong type of person, or this mistaken anatomy episode.

And here’s one featuring “Little Johnny,” the foul-mouthed kid who inevitably says something inappropriate to his class.

Speaking of Little Johnny, here’s  a new joke.

Actually, it was probably new last November, but I only saw it recently

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A teacher goes around her class asking each of the kids what they need at home?

Joey says “A computer.”

The teacher replies, “That would be very useful.”

Kimmy says “A new lawn mower.” and gets a similar response.

Little Johnny pops up and says “At my house we don’t need nothing!”

The teacher asks him to think again carefully, as everybody needs something.

Little Johnny replies, “No I’m sure. When Obama was re-elected, I remember my Dad saying, ‘Well, that’s the last f**king thing we need.’”

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By the way, as you can see from this joke (warning, probably R-rated instead of PG), it’s not as if Little Johnny’s dad had many options.

Here are some additional jokes that also are a bit crude, but acceptable (in my mind) because they target politicians.

• The link between physics and Obama.
• Some sado-masochism on Capitol Hill.
• A bonding moment between Bill Clinton and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
• This not-safe-for-work Obamacare joke.
• The three-part jobs legacy.
• Another risqué Obamacare joke.

Last but not least, I can’t resist sharing the joke about the rabbi and the IRS.

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Let’s Fix the Real Obesity Problem in Washington

Whenever someone proposes that we need more intervention from the federal government, I always go to the Constitution and check Article I, Section VIII.

This is because I’m old fashioned and I actually think the Founding Fathers weren’t joking when they granted only a few enumerated powers to the federal government.

And when I check that list, I don’t see anything about steroid investigations, housing, or disaster relief. Nor do I see anything about childhood obesity.

Which is what makes this cartoon from Ken Catalino amusing. At least in a morbid way.

I would have labeled the guy “Washington” instead of “Congress,” but that’s nitpicking. The point I’m trying to make is that we have a bloated federal government that is sapping the economy’s vitality and undermining social capital.

We should be trying to rein in that behemoth, not allowing it to get involved in other areas of life.

This doesn’t mean we don’t have a problem with overweight children. It simply means that it’s absurd to think the answer will come from a bunch of politicians and bureaucrats in Washington.

P.S. I very much enjoy cartoon that portray Washington as a flat slob. For other examples, see here, here,here, here, here and here.

P.P.S. Here’s another Ken Catalino cartoon that I like, even though it perpetuates an inaccurate portrayal of Robin Hood as a redistributionist.

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A Charming and Intimate Look at the Relationship between Politicians and Lobbyists

As a general rule, I don’t like lobbyists.

Yes, a few of them behave honorably, seeking to protect their clients from bad tax and regulatory policy, but most of them are in the business of seeking special favors. And as government gets bigger, the opportunities for this type of corruption expand.

This lucrative “industry” also helps explain why Washington is now the richest metropolitan area in the country.

And it goes without saying that I also don’t like politicians (including Republicans!).

So if I have a chance to simultaneously mock both lobbyists and politicians, you know I’m unable to resist. With that in mind, here’s a cartoon (I assume from the New Yorker) that showed up in my inbox.

Though, to be fair, sometimes the relationship is reversed, with politicians holding the whip hand and extorting money from lobbyists.

Anyhow, if you like anti-politician jokes, here’s some additional material.

You can read about how these men and women spend their time screwing us and wasting our money.

And we have some examples of what people in Montana, Louisiana, Nevada, and Wyoming think about big-spending politicians.

This little girl is rather blunt about our political masters, while a blind rabbit thinks he has found a politician.

And  here are a couple of good images capturing the relationship between politicians and taxpayers, and here is a somewhat off-color Little Johnny joke.

Last but not least, let’s not forgot to include this joke by doctors about the crowd in Washington.

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Cartoonists Go to War against Obamacare

After the Supreme Court’s politically motivated decision to approve Obamacare, I shared a bunch of depressing (but funny) cartoons, including a few focusing on added power for the IRS.

That was a miserable point in time.

Five Justices on the Supreme Court basically said the Constitution didn’t limit the federal government, even though that’s exactly what our Founding Fathers were trying to do when they put together the document! And they gave the green light to a costly expansion of the welfare state.

Oh, and that decision was handed down on my birthday. What a kick in the gut.

Since that time, though, I’ve become a bit more optimistic.

I’m feeling hopeful because Obamacare is turning out to be a disaster. But why is that a reason for optimism?!?

Well, as I recently wrote, this creates an opportunity to help people understand that big government is the problem in health care.

Obamacare was enacted in 2010, and it was perceived to be a paradigm-shifting change in the healthcare system, even though it was just another layer of bad policy on top of lots of other bad policy. …But because people think we’ve had a paradigm shift and government now is in charge (pay attention, since this is my key argument), they will be much more likely to blame “Obamacare” and “government” for all the warts and inefficiencies of the healthcare system. This means the public will be more receptive to pro-market policies, such as Obamacare repeal, tax reforms to reduce over-insurance, as well as the Medicaid and Medicare reforms in the Ryan budget.

Here are some new cartoons that illustrate the law’s growing unpopularity.

We’ll start with this contribution from Eric Allie.

For obvious reasons, it sort of reminds me of this Jerry Holbert cartoon.

Our next cartoon is from Henry Payne.

And here’s one from Chuck Asay, our runner-up from the cartoon contest.

What makes the Asay cartoon so appropriate is that people who supported the law will now have to defend every bad thing that happens.

Speaking of which, a prominent Democrat recently warned that Obamacare was turning into a “train wreck,” and Steven Kelley turned that comment into a very good cartoon.

Let’s close with another Henry Payne cartoon.

A very relevant cartoon since the job market remains far below its potential. Something else that defenders of the law will have to justify.

If you haven’t exhausted your interest in anti-Obamacare cartoons, you can enjoy some others here, here, here, and here.

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Even Libertarians Have Fantasies

I’ve shared two personal fantasies on this site, but I must be a policy wonk because they involved a vision of a  politician telling a voter to grow up and an imagined interaction between the Governor of Texas and the United Nations.

Not exactly steamy stuff, I realize.

And even when I posted a video about libertarian porn, it involved zero nudity.

So I think I’m being very bold in sharing this libertarian fantasy.

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This morning my friend lucked out and was able to buy several cases of ammo.

“Libertarians are hot”

On the way home he stopped at the gas station where a drop-dead gorgeous blonde was filling up her car at the next pump.

She looked at the ammo in the back of my pickup truck and said in a very sexy voice, “I’m a big believer in barter. Would you be interested in trading sex for ammo?”

He thought a few seconds and asked, “What kinda ammo ya got?”

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Too bad this has never happened to me.

Unfortunately, libertarians usually are the target of jokes, though I admit some of them are very amusing.

For instance, a video portraying Somalia as a libertarian paradise.

Then we have two cartoons, one on libertarian ice fishing and the other showing libertarian lifeguards.

And this image showing 24 types of libertarians.

Last but not least, this montage of how the world views libertarians.

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Laughing at Obama’s Fumbled Attempt to Extort More Taxes with FAA Flight Delays

You don’t enjoy many victories when you fight for liberty, so I’m not averse to spiking the football on those rare occasions when we win.

That’s why I shared this very funny cartoon last week to celebrate Obama’s belly flop on gun control.

Now we have another cartoon, this one by Henry Payne, mocking the Administration’s shameful effort to force a tax increase by deliberately making air travel less convenient.

No wonder the President is behaving in such a petulant fashion. The sequester is an embarrassing defeat for Obama and other proponents of bigger government.

He thought he could bully Republicans into a class-warfare tax hike. Now he’s resorting to pathetic gimmicks.

And he lost on that issue now that Congress has made explicit that the FAA has authority to reallocate funds.

Let’s not just spike the football. Let’s do a dance in the end zone.

 

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Are You Happy that Your Tax Dollars Subsidized the Tsarnaev Family?

The bad news is that there are despicable and evil people seeking to kill innocents.

The worse news is that some of these pathetic excuses for protoplasm are subsidized by taxpayers.

It’s happened in France, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

And we now know that the Tsarnaev family was on he dole as well.

Which makes this cartoon funny, but at the same time not funny at all.

I used to think it was outrageous that the welfare state funded bad behavior (as illustrated by this humorous poster), as well as general laziness and moral depravity.

But there should be a special wing of the Moocher Hall of Fame for taxpayer-subsidized terrorists.

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It’s Always the Right Time to Mock Politicians

I last shared political jokes from the late-night talk shows in late February, so let’s rectify that oversight.

Here are my favorites, courtesy of the folks at News-Max.

Jay Leno

• All five living presidents will gather for the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library. President Obama says he hopes he can pick up some ideas for when he builds his. It’s going to be called the “Blame George W. Bush Presidential Library.”
• Last night President Obama hosted Republican senators for dinner at the White House. The president said he had to do without salt, pepper, and butter — because as you know, the Republicans refuse to pass anything.
• North Korean officials reportedly are planning a cyberattack on the U.S. in an effort to bring our economy to a halt. Nice try, guys. You’re five years too late.
• According to The Wall Street Journal’s website, Anthony Weiner may run for mayor of New York City. Their website said that Mr. Weiner didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. Hey, Anthony Weiner didn’t email or text you back? Consider yourself lucky!
• The acting president of Venezuela has put a curse on voters who don’t vote for him in next week’s election. Today Mitt Romney said, “You can do that?”
• That shows you the difference between our two countries. See, over here in America we’re cursed no matter who we vote for.
• Former President George Bush has invited President Obama to the opening of his presidential library later this month. President Obama said he’s looking forward to going through the library to see if there was anything else he could blame Bush for.
• The Associated Press, the largest newsgathering outlet in the world, will no longer use the term “illegal immigrant.” That is out. They will now use the phrase “undocumented Democrat.”
• Legendary singer Dionne Warwick filed for bankruptcy, claiming she has only $25,000 in assets but owes more than $10 million in unpaid taxes. She owes 400 times what she has. She could end up serving three years — as the White House budget director.
• A 28-year-old woman from Serbia has a rare brain condition where she sees everything upside down. The good news? She’s now been given a job at the White House as President Obama’s economic adviser.
• The U.S. Senate is now fighting to keep open the Senate barber shop. It loses $350,000 a year. Do you know what that makes it? The most successful government program ever. It’s losing only $350,000 a year.
• The island nation of Cyprus is now considering a 10 percent tax on every individual savings account in that country. They’ll take 10 percent of your money right out of the bank. To which President Obama said: “You can do that?”
• We’re learning more about the dead Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. It seems he amassed about $2 billion in a personal fortune while president — and he was a socialist. Imagine how rich he could have been if he didn’t believe in redistribution of wealth.
• Former Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico revealed that while in office he fathered a child with the daughter of another senator, who was a friend of his. He cheated on his wife with the daughter of another senator and they had a baby. When did the Senate become “The Jerry Springer Show”?
• Domenici is defending himself by saying that he is no better or worse than the next guy. And he’s right, because you know who the next guy was? John Edwards.
• Over the weekend, President Obama played golf with Tiger Woods. Tiger said the president was a very good golfer for a guy who plays only five days a week.
• Actually, you know what the president’s handicap is? He doesn’t understand economics.

Speaking of golf, the President has decided to change the rules of the game.

David Letterman

• Former Congressman Anthony Weiner is back on Twitter. That’s like giving Lindsay Lohan the keys to the minibar.
• The White House has now put together a website for kids. It’s a website to teach kids how to manage a budget responsibly. The website is called Irony.gov.
• Last year there was some trouble at the White House’s Easter egg hunt. One kid looking for eggs turned up Obama’s birth certificate.
• The average American works six months a year for the government. Think about that. Government employees don’t even work six months a year for the government.

By the way, it’s good to see Anthony Weiner back in the news.  I shared some good jokes about him way back in 2011. And Dave Barry also had some amusing references to the weasel in one of his year-end reviews.

Conan

• A new poll shows that 64 percent of New Jersey residents don’t care about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s weight. That’s mostly because Chris Christie IS 64 percent of New Jersey.
• The former mayor of Detroit has been convicted of racketeering and extortion charges. The sentence is pretty hard. He has to serve another term as mayor of Detroit.

Craig Ferguson

• Today France legalized same-sex marriage. The next step is legalizing same-sex mistresses.

Jimmy Fallon

• This week on the “Today” show, Chelsea Clinton said she’s open to running for political office one day. When she heard that, Sasha Obama was like, “Cool. How does secretary of state sound?”
• There’s this trend now of politicians cutting their salaries by 5 percent because of budget cuts — except for Vice President Joe Biden. He won’t do it. Though in fairness, it’ll take Biden at least a month to figure out what 5 percent of his salary is.
• This week, President Obama announced a $100 million initiative to map the human brain. Joe Biden said, “You can map mine for a lot less.”
• Yesterday President Obama shot baskets at the White House and made only two shots out of 22. Even Dick Cheney was like, “That guy needs to learn how to shoot.”
• President Obama went only two for 22. It’s tough times for Obama — one minute, he’s asking Congress to raise the debt ceiling; the next, he’s asking them to lower the hoop.
• Yesterday former CIA director David Petraeus apologized for having an affair with his biographer. He said he hopes this begins a new chapter in his life. It got awkward when he said, “Any of you ladies want to write it?”
• The guy who plays Satan on the History Channel’s “The Bible” looks like President Obama. Even Rush Limbaugh was outraged. He was like, “How can you do that to Satan?”
• There are reports that Joe Biden will handle more foreign policy matters during President Obama’s second term. Though you know it’s bad when world leaders are like, “Can you just send Dennis Rodman instead?”
• In an effort to reduce its debt, the U.S. Postal Service is launching its own line of clothing and accessories. They come in “one size embarrasses all.”

Jimmy Kimmel

• Public Policy Polling asked a group of 1,200 registered voters, and 13 percent said they believe Obama is the Antichrist and another 13 percent were not sure. I feel if he were the Antichrist, he would be getting more legislation passed.

If you want to peruse previous editions of these one-liners, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

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How the Welfare State Erodes Social Capital, as Illustrated by a Chuck Asay Cartoon

I’m a big fan of Chuck Asay’s political cartoons. My favorite is his nothing-left-to-steal masterpiece.

And his tractor cartoon and his regime-uncertainty cartoon are brilliant indictments of Obamanomics.

Here’s another classic. It shows the impact of the welfare state on incentives for work, self reliance, and independence.

In six cartoon frames, he cleverly explains the economics of labor supply in a welfare state. Heck, there are many economists who could learn something from Asay’s work.

With gems like this, no wonder he came in second place in my political cartoonist contest.

This unsigned Wizard-of-Id parody has the same basic message about labor supply and handouts, and here’s a chart with some staggering real-world evidence of how the welfare state discourages people from productive behavior.

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Laughing at Obama’s Belly Flop on Gun Control

I’ve shared serious articles on gun control, featuring scholars such as John Lott and David Kopel.

I also posted testimonials from gun experts and an honest liberal.

But I haven’t specifically criticized Obama’s agenda.

And I’ve shared lots of gun control humor, such as this IQ test that I posted for liberals and criminals, this very effective neighborhood watch group, and several amusing videos linked at the end of this post. I’ve also shared clever pro-Second Amendment posters here, here, here, here, here, and here, and some amusing images of t-shirts and bumper stickers on gun control here, here, here, and here.

But with the possible exception of this poster, none of this humor has focused on Obama.

So let’s rectify this oversight, starting with the VFW sign that appeared in my inbox yesterday. Looks real, though I make no guarantees about its provenance.

Then we have a very good Lisa Benson cartoon celebrating President Obama’s legislative acumen on gun control.

By the way, my all-time favorite gun joke is the one explaining the difference between liberals, conservatives, and Texans.

Though the Alabama tan definitely gets honorable mention for obvious reasons.

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False Alarm: The Libertarian Revolution Has Not Begun

I just saw a headline that made me think that libertarian fantasies somehow had turned into reality.

As you can see, 24 IRS employees were just arrested for stealing. But what about the other 105,976 bureaucrats at the Internal Revenue Service who seize our money under the implied threat of violence?

Shouldn’t they be arrested for stealing from us as well?

But then my bubble burst. The story has nothing to do with the injustice of the internal revenue code and the shakedown of American taxpayers.

It turns out that these IRS bureaucrats were busted for getting unauthorized government handouts.

…authorities say Internal Revenue Service employees in Tennessee were stealing unemployment and other benefits while fully employed. On Thursday, 13 of those employees were indicted on federal charges that they lied to get unemployment, food stamps, welfare and housing vouchers. An additional 11 have been indicted on state charges of theft greater than $1,000.

In other words, these “public servants” were guilty of a form of triple dipping.

1. They took money from taxpayers as part of their excessive compensation packages.
2. Their day job was to then enforce a coercive and reprehensible tax system that took money from taxpayers
3. And they then bilked taxpayers yet again by mooching from various handout programs.

I’m actually surprised that they got arrested. Based on Keynesian economics, they should get medals for “stimulating” the economy.

P.S. All humor aside, non-anarchist libertarians face an interesting mental challenge. Many of them view the tax system as a form of theft. And there’s no question that it is enforced – ultimately – at the point of a gun. But with the exception of anarcho-capitalists, libertarians support the kind of limited government envisioned by the Founding Fathers. So how do you justify the taxes needed to finance that limited public sector? Most people would justify tax systems if they’re the result of a democratic process, but libertarians believe in rights rather than untrammeled majoritarianism. So how can they rationalize taxation? I freely confess that I don’t have the right answer. As I’ve noted before, I’m a practical libertarian, not the theoretical type. My job is to somehow figure out how we can shrink the federal government back to 3 percent of economic output. After that, the theoretical libertarians can figure out the thorny issues.

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Some Good Cartoons if You’re Suffering from Post-Tax Return Traumatic Stress Disorder

For the past 30 or so years, I’ve done my own taxes by hand. I thought this was a good approach because it would help me better understand the practical challenges of the tax code.

Dan Mitchell has dropped out of this contest

But it’s time to confess that I broke down and used Turbotax for yesterday’s tax return.

It’s not that my financial affairs are complicated. I basically get my Cato salary and a bit of income from speeches and articles. But even that became too much of a challenge. The tipping point was the form for Health Savings Accounts. The IRS is yelling at me for how I filled out this form in past years, and I fear that I will be perpetually in their cross hairs without relying on a computer program to avoid mistakes.

To help me deal with yesterday’s traumatic experience, I’m sharing some very good cartoons.

We’ll start with one from Gary Varvel.

Sort of the visual version of this letter-to-the-editor.

Our next cartoon, which may be my favorite of the group, is from Glenn McCoy.

By the way, if you don’t think the IRS is capable of thuggery, read this horrifying story.

I don’t know Paul Fell’s work, but this next cartoon is a very good introduction.

This is the second time the grim reaper has appeared in a cartoon. The first time involved the death tax.

Last but not least, we have a Chip Bok cartoon about tax code complexity.

As a bonus, it also features the complexity of Obamacare. If you like cartoons that mix the IRS and Obamacare, check out this classic from Glenn McCoy and this gem by Gary Varvel.

If you still need to be cheered up, here’s some more IRS humor to brighten your day, including the IRS version of the quadratic formula, a new Obama 1040 form, a list of tax day tips from David Letterman, a cartoon ofhow GPS would work if operated by the IRS, an IRS-designed pencil sharpener, a sale on 1040-form toilet paper (a real product), and two songs about the tax agency (here and here),  and a PG-13 joke about a Rabbi and an IRS agent.

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I’ve Obtained a Secret Pre-Release Copy of Obama’s Budget

The President is supposed to release his FY2014 budget tomorrow, more than two months later than required by law.

Based on what it’s rumored to contain, I’ve already explained that nobody should be tricked into thinking that Obama is moving to the center. Though he may not be as far to the left as Senate Democrats.

Not that it would be easy to get to the left of that plan, as cartoonists have ably illustrated.

Anyhow, much of Washington is buzzing about what might be in the President’s proposal.

Well, time to sate your curiosity. I have a leaked copy of the budget for your enjoyment.

We won’t see actual numbers until tomorrow, but I’m guessing that I’ll be sharing something very similar to the analysis I provided last year and the year before.

P.S. If you enjoy political humor, the Glenn McCoy cartoon in this post is a pretty good summary of what Obama will say in his budget message.

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Since the Sequester Has Been in Place for More than One Month, Shouldn’t We All Be Dead from Plane Crashes and Tainted Meat?

Let’s take a moment and enjoy how Obama made himself a laughingstock because of his anti-sequester hysteria.

In spite of his hyperbolic rhetoric, nothing bad has happened. Schools are still open, planes are still flying, and supermarkets aren’t poisoning us with tainted food.

I’ve already shared some very funny cartoons on this topic, which can be viewed here, here, here, here, and here.

Lower down in this post, we have a couple of additional cartoons that deserve a few chuckles, but I also want to share this interview to help make an important policy point about the need to reduce the burden of government spending.

Actually, the sequester was a double victory. Not only did we trim the growth of spending, we also avoided the tax hike that Obama wanted as a replacement.

No wonder he’s so unhappy!

This first cartoon, from Chip Bok, captures his sullen mood.

The second cartoon, by Jerry Holbert, has the same these, showing that the American people have learned to ignore Obama’s demagoguery.

Now the question is what comes next?

I wrote yesterday that Obama is likely to offer a bait-and-switch budget designed to impose more taxes and more spending.

It’s possible, though, that it won’t be as far to the left as the budget approved by the Senate (as cartoonists have ably illustrated).

In any event, there is no possible compromise with the House-approved budget. Or, to be more specific, there’s no possible compromise that would be good for the nation, so we’re looking at stalemate for the near future.

But stalemate is a lot better than moving in the wrong direction.

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Pick Your Favorite April Fool’s Day Prank

Even though I appreciate clever humor, I’ve never shared any April Fool’s Day jokes.

• Looking back in my archives, I didn’t post anything on April 1, 2009.
• I did post a joke about the IRS on April 1, 2010, but it had nothing to do with April Fool’s Day.
• In 2011, I posted about Paul Krugman’s misreading of budget data from the United Kingdom. That should have been an April Fool’s joke, but he was serious.
• I also shared some horrifying stories about the welfare state on April 1, 2012. I wish they were April Fool’s jokes, but they’re sadly true.

Indeed, the only time I even referenced April Fool’s Day came on the following day, when I stated that America’s high corporate tax rate meant that every day was April Fool’s Day for American companies.

So it’s time for me to remedy my oversights by sharing four good examples of April Fool’s Day humor.

Our first contribution is from Senator Ted Cruz. He takes a jab at President Obama for the budget-busting Obamacare legislation.

Our next contribution comes from Americans for Tax Reform. They’ve issued a press release announcing that America’s leading crony capitalist will voluntarily subject himself to the higher taxes he advocates for other Americans.

As you can see from this video, don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen.

Then we have some mockery of Chris Matthews from the Media Research Center. There are a bunch of absurd, yet mostly believable, quotes.

Since I’m a fan of entitlement reform, here’s the one I’m highlighting.

But the most implausible April Fool’s Day joke comes from CNS.

America’s Spender-in-Chief wants to be a role model of fiscal rectitude.

Hey, maybe the President can give every teenager an unlimited credit card and tell them that more spending is good for the economy according to Keynesian economics. Though I’m not sure whether who that joke will hurt the most, the kids, the parents, the economy, or the nation?

Feel free to add any good April Fool’s Day humor in the comments section.

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Obamacare May Be a Joke, but We’re Paying a Heavy Price for some Amusing Cartoons

I’m not sure why political cartoonists have been revisiting the issue of Obamacare in recent days, but I’ve been enjoying their humor.

I shared three funny cartoons a couple of days ago, adding to my collection of Obamacare humor (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).

Now let’s enjoy three more, beginning with this gem from Lisa Benson.

Though we shouldn’t laugh at this cartoon. As we saw with both Medicaid and Medicare, entitlement programs routinely cost far more than original projections.

If you somehow think Obamacare might be different, watch this video.

Gary Varvel hits a different part of Obamacare, noting that the President’s promise of lower premiums is an utter fantasy.

And Michael Ramirez looks at the big picture.

I want to close with an optimistic point about the prospect of changing this terrible law.

Thanks to government programs and other forms of regulation and intervention, we had a bad healthcare system before Obamacare.

And even though it was government that was causing the system to malfunction, many people blamed the free market. And the President took advantage of that misunderstanding to push he legislation.

So now we have Obamacare, which has made the system a bit more statist.

But most people think Obamacare was much bigger than it actually was, with some actually thinking we used to have a free market!

Anyway, this flawed perception works to our advantage since it will now be possible to blame any bad news in the healthcare world on  Obamacare.

As such, I expect that Obamacare will remain unpopular.

The real question will be whether reformers will rally behind proposals to not just repeal Obamacare, but to actually restore a free market.

If you want to understand what needs to happen, I encourage you to watch two short videos, one from Reason TV and the other from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity.

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Some Much-Needed Humor about the Bunny and the Politician

Time for some well-intentioned humor targeting our political masters.

These are the men and women who spend their time screwing us and wasting our money.

We already have some examples of what people in Montana, Louisiana, Nevada, and Wyoming think about big-spending politicians.

This little girl is more blunt.

And  here are a couple of good images capturing the relationship between politicians and taxpayers, and here is a somewhat off-color Little Johnny joke.

And let’s not forgot to include this joke by doctors about the crowd in Washington.

So with all that as warm-up material, here’s the latest political joke to reach my inbox.

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One morning a blind bunny was hopping down the bunny trail and tripped over a large snake and fell, ‘kerplop’, right on his twitchy little nose.

‘Oh please excuse me,’ said the bunny. ‘I didn’t mean to trip over you, but I’m blind and can’t see.’

‘That’s perfectly all right,’ replied the snake. ‘To be sure, it was my fault. I didn’t mean to trip you, but I’m blind too, and I didn’t see you coming. By the way, what kind of animal are you?’

‘Well, I really don’t know,’ said the bunny. ‘I’m blind, and I’ve never seen myself. Maybe you could examine me and find out.’

So the snake felt the bunny all over, and he said, ‘Well, you’re soft, and cuddly, and you have long silky ears, and a little fluffy tail and a dear twitchy little nose. You must be a bunny rabbit!’

The bunny said, ‘I can’t thank you enough. But by the way, what kind of animal are you?’

The snake replied that he didn’t know either, and the bunny agreed to examine him, and when the bunny was finished, the snake asked, ‘Well, what kind of an animal am I?’

The bunny had felt the snake all over, and he replied, ‘You’re cold, you’re slippery, and you haven’t got any balls…  You must be a POLITICIAN’.

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By the way, while I appreciate the spirit of this joke, I must protest on behalf of reptiles everywhere.

Adam and Harriet

My kids have had snakes for a dozen-plus years and they actually make very good, low-maintenance pets.

Here is my youngest, back in 2001, with his cuddly pet named Harriet. Sadly, Harriet went to the great snake cage in the sky a couple of years ago, but she was always a hit with the neighbors.

P.S. You can read some good Dave Barry satire about politicians here and here.

P.P.S. Here’s another good joke, but remember that we should be thankful that we don’t get all the government we pay for.

P.P.P.S. And if you want humor specifically targeting Obama, you’ll enjoy this Pope message, this Pennsylvania joke, this Reagan-Obama comparison, this Bush-Obama comparison, this sign, this video satire, and this bumper sticker.

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An Obamacare Chart to Make You Cry…Balanced by Obamacare Cartoons to Make You Laugh

I’ve shared a nightmarish flowchart to show the Byzantine complexity of America’s healthcare system under Obamacare. Sort of makes you wonder whether the healthcare system will now be more complicated than the internal revenue code.

But some people may be skeptical because this flowchart was prepared by Republicans from the Joint Economic Committee.

Well, here’s a flowchart from the pro-Obamacare Washington Post, and it shows how just one small piece of the law will require complicated gymnastics.

It’s hard to feel anything but misery about this situation. The Obamacare taxes largely took effect earlier this year and a big chunk of the Obamacare spending starts next year.

So let’s with a great cartoon from Henry Payne showing the Secretary of Health and Human Service force-feeding Obamacare to states.

I would have replaced “states” with “patients,” but you get the point. We’re being saddled with a one-size-fits-all monstrosity that will cripple what little is left of a functioning marketplace for health care and health insurance.

Next we have a Lisa Benson cartoon, showing the very unhealthy meal we’re expected to digest. Where’s Mayor Bloomberg when we actually need him?!?

Both Benson and Payne were part of the political cartoonist contest, so you can see their best work by clicking here.

Last but not least, here’s Steven Breen’s take on the third birthday of Obamacare. As you can see, there’s not a lot to celebrate.

Indeed, this is a good opportunity to share my video explaining why Obamacare will be a budget buster.

P.S. Lawmakers did repeal one of Obamacare’s tax provisions, a 1099 reporting rule that would have buried everyone under a blizzard of paperwork (here’s the cartoon version of that issue). And the Democratic-controlled Senate recently voted 79-20 to repeal the medical devices tax. So there are small reasons for optimism. And I think the bulk of Obamacare spending could be repealed as part of a Medicaid block grant if and when Washington is controlled by lawmakers who are serious about addressing the entitlement crisis.

P.P.S. If you want to enjoy some more Obamacare humor, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

P.P.P.S. If you want to know how to restore a functioning market-based healthcare system, this video from Reason TV is must watching.

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Even Cartoonists Understand that You Shouldn’t Postpone Reforms Until the Fiscal Crisis Has Started

I’m a bit of a nag on getting people to realize that deficits are not the nation’s main fiscal problem. Government borrowing isn’t desirable, to be sure, but our real concern should be a government that is too big and spending too much.

I even created a Bob Dole Award to chastise people who mistakenly focus on red ink when they should be worried about the overall burden of government spending.

But I may have to give myself the award because I very much enjoyed these two cartoons.

Here’s one from Jerry Holbert, showing Obama blithely unconcerned about the looming debt catastrophe.

Except it’s really an entitlement problem, which is why I would have given the zombies names like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

And this Ken Catalino cartoon sort of makes the same point, but focusing specifically on the fiscal boondoggle known as Obamacare.

For those who don’t get the “mint” reference, it comes from a disgustingly amusing scene in a Monty Python movie.

And since I’ve already linked to scenes in another Monty Python movie, that gives you an idea of the type of humor I appreciate.

But the serious point to this post is that we will face a fiscal crisis at some point if government isn’t put on a diet.

Waiting for the crises to actually occur is a recipe for wretched consequences, as we can see from Greece, Italy, Spain, etc.

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An Inside Look at Left-Wing Social Science Gun Research

In a presumably futile effort to change their minds by learning how they think, I periodically try to figure out the left-wing mind.

Why, for instance, do some people believe in Keynesian economics, when it is premised on the fanciful notion that you can increase “spending power” by taking money out of the economy’s left pocket and putting it in the economy’s right pocket?

I actually think part of the problem is that folks on the left focus on how income is spent rather than how it’s earned, so I sometimes try to get them to understand that economic growth occurs when we produce more rather than consume more. My hope is that they’ll better understand how the economy works if they look at the issue from this perspective.

But I’m getting off track. I don’t want to get too serious because the purpose of this post is to share this satirical look at the how leftists rationalize their anti-gun biases.

Let’s take a look at two cities that are quite similar in terms of demographics and income. But they have very different murder rates. Your job is to pretend you’re a leftist and come up with an explanation.

To be fair, we can’t rule out cold weather as a possible explanation given this limited set of data.

For what it’s worth, however, scholars who actually do real research, like David Kopel and John Lott, reach different conclusions.

Returning to satire, the Houston-Chicago comparison reminds me of this IQ test for criminals and liberals.

And since we’re having some fun with our liberal friends, let’s close with this comparison of liberals, conservatives, and Texans.

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Cartoonists React to the Senate Democratic Budget

I didn’t take Patty Murray’s budget very seriously. Indeed, I would have completely ignored the plan by Senate Democrats if it wasn’t for the fact that I felt compelled to debunk her mythology about the 1990s.

America’s political cartoonists are similarly underwhelmed.

Here’s Lisa Benson’s analysis.

A great cartoon because it recognizes that the problem is bloated government, not red ink.

Steve Breen also is not impressed.

As you can imagine, this might be my favorite of the group because I’m a sucker for cartoons portraying government as an obese slob (see here, here, here, and here).

Last but not least, thisJerry Holbert cartoon also is worth sharing.

Again, this cartoon correctly focuses on the main problems of punitive taxation and excessive spending, not the lesser symptom of too much borrowing.

It will be very interesting to see what we get (from both a substance perspective and humor perspective) when the White House finally decides to issue its budget.

That budget was legally required back on the first Monday in February. Based on what we saw last year and the year before that, I’m not holding my breath expecting anything more than another tax-and-spend blueprint.

And as this Michael Ramirez cartoon illustrates, we know where that will lead. Or take a look at this Glenn Foden cartoon. Different theme, but same restult.

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More Amusing Gun Control Posters

Since I shared a pro-Second Amendment t-shirt the other day, let’s have an encore and enjoy this poster on gun control.

I’m not sure, though, whether it’s the most compelling message in the world. I remember years ago being a spectator to an abortion argument, with the pro-choice person asserting that “if you don’t like an abortion, don’t have one,” which seemed somewhat persuasive, but then the pro-life person countered by asking whether it would make sense to assert “if you don’t like robbery, don’t commit one.”

But I almost never venture into the abortion debate (the only exceptions being here and here), and I’m not going to change my pattern today.

My only point is that the poster is snarky and mocking, which is the type of humor I often enjoy, so I had to share it.

We do have a second image, and this one is unambiguously clever and compelling.

Very similar message to the first image in this post.

And if these two images don’t give you enough anti-gun control humor, feel free to click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

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A T-Shirt for Constitution Lovers

I’ve shared some powerful (and amusing) pro-Second Amendment posters here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. And some clever  images of t-shirts and bumper stickers on gun control here, here, here, here, and here.

Here’s another good one for the collection, and I gather you can actually buy one for yourself if this website is legit.

Here are some additional examples of Second Amendment humor, and you can enjoy some Chuck Asay cartoons here and here.

By the way, if you want some practical information on gun control, I strongly recommend the famous Larry Correia article. And for wisdom on the issue of so-called assault weapons, John Lott is the oracle.

And you can read the confessions of two honest liberals here and here.

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