Another Victim of Government Thuggery

I like small government and low tax rates because I’m an economist. But I’m a libertarian for a different reason. I don’t want government to have a lot of power because I don’t trust politicians and bureaucrats to treat people decently. This is not just a theoretical concern. I have an entire page dedicated to […]

Read Full Post »

Nauseating Government Thuggery

It’s hard to pick the worst government policy since there are so many options. Death tax – The IRS penalizing saving and investment by grabbing money just because someone dies. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – Government entities that helped give us the 2008 financial crisis. OECD subsidies – American tax dollars flowing to a […]

Read Full Post »

Government Thuggery: A Continuing Series

Hard-core libertarians sometimes point out that thieves and tax bureaucracies have a lot in common. Both use the threat of force and punishment to take money from unwilling victims. There’s a lot of truth to that comparison. I give money to the IRS every year for the same reason that I would hand over my […]

Read Full Post »

Another Victim of Government Thuggery

Even though I think economic growth is very important for human flourishing and strongly support the laissez-faire policies that will generate more prosperity, I’m mostly a libertarian because of moral reasons. Simply stated, I hate when government bullies people like Jerry Johnson. As explained in the video, Jerry is a victim of asset forfeiture, a […]

Read Full Post »

Occupational Licensing, Government Thuggery, and Greed-Fueled Cronyism

What word best describes the actions of government? Would it be greed? How about thuggery? Or cronyism? Writing for Reason, Eric Boehm has a story showing that “all of the above” may be the right answer. At first it seems like a story about government greed. When Mats Järlström’s wife got snagged by one of […]

Read Full Post »

Another Nauseating Example of Government Thuggery

According to Gallup, Americans now identify “government” as the most important problem facing the United States. That doesn’t surprise. Gallup also found last year that big government is considered a far greater danger to the nation that big business or big labor. Moreover, a poll from NPR earlier this year found that government was the […]

Read Full Post »

Another Example of Government Thuggery – and another Reason Why Decent and Moral People Are Libertarians

I don’t particularly care how people vote, but I do care whether they believe in freedom. That’s why I periodically share stories that should convince everyone to believe in the libertarian philosophy of small government, individual liberty, and personal responsibility. The stories that get me most agitated are the ones that involve innocent people being […]

Read Full Post »

Great Moments in Government Thuggery

Two years ago, I shared a video about the Environmental Protection Agency’s brutal and thuggish tactics against an Idaho family. That story had a very happy ending because the Supreme Court struck a blow for property rights and unanimously ruled against the EPA (too bad that similarly sound analysis was absent when the Justices decided […]

Read Full Post »

Anti-Gun Zealotry Has Morphed from PC Silliness to Government Thuggery

Mostly for the humor value, I’ve shared stories about brainless anti-gun political correctness by America’s “educators.” I realize this is a serious issue and I should be figuratively banging my fist on the podium and demanding negative consequences for these foolish teachers and school administrators. But I share my outrage for stories like this one […]

Read Full Post »

Another Disgusting Display of Government Thuggery

When I first read this story about a woman getting arrested because her kids were playing outdoors, I figured it would be a perfect addition for my ongoing series that tries to determine whether the United States or the United Kingdom has the most incompetent, stupid, and/or venal government officials making the most brainless and/or […]

Read Full Post »

Government Thuggery

It is common to mock paper-pushing bureaucrats and nanny-state politicians for silly laws and mindless regulations, but sometimes absurd policies translate into genuine oppression. John Stossel outlines some of the disturbing ways that the American people are being mistreated. Something’s happened to America, and it isn’t good. It’s become easier to get into trouble. We’ve become a nation […]

Read Full Post »

Government Thuggery and Healthcare

Congressman Henry Waxman is one of the most odious statists in a town dominated by people who love big government. From his perch as Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, this career politician played a big role in concocting Obamacare – including the costly provisions that will burden the business community and undermine job […]

Read Full Post »

Hopes and Fears for 2020

Yesterday’s column was my annual end-of-year round-up of the best and worst developments of the concluding year. Today I’ll be forward looking and give you my hopes and fears for the new year, which is a newer tradition that began in 2017 (and continued in 2018 and 2019). With my glass-half-full outlook, we’ll start with […]

Read Full Post »

Great Moments in Canadian Law

When I think of over-bearing governments with myopic enforcement of silly rules, I obviously think of the United States, especially the IRS, EEOC, FDA, and EPA. And I also think of Germany, Japan, and other straight-laced societies. But I don’t think of Canada. After all, that’s the home of Dudley Do-Right. Canadians are too nice […]

Read Full Post »

Civil Asset Forfeiture: A Slice of Venezuelan-Style Thuggery in America

I periodically list people who have suffered horrible abuse because of despicable actions by government. At some point, I’ll have to create a special page to memorialize these victims. Something like the Bureaucrat Hall of Fame or Moocher Hall of Fame, though I haven’t figured out a good name (“Victims of Government Thuggery Hall of […]

Read Full Post »

Another Ghoulish and Tyrannical Moment in Government-Run Healthcare

Writing about the sub-par single-payer healthcare system in the United Kingdom, Paul Krugman infamously claimed that,“In Britain, the government itself runs the hospitals and employs the doctors. We’ve all heard scare stories about how that works in practice; these stories are false.” I’ve pointed out that there are plenty of “scare stories” about the National […]

Read Full Post »

Everything You Need to Know about Government, in a Single Picture

Last night, I retweeted an image that rubbed me the wrong way. It showed three kids who were handcuffed by undercover cops for criminal activity. And what was their crime? Were they picking pockets? Beating up tourists? Slashing tires? Nope, none of those things. Instead, they were (gasp!!) selling water to thirsty people. And they […]

Read Full Post »

Trump, Sessions, and the Disgusting Thuggery of Asset Forfeiture

One of the unfortunate features of Washington is that people often wind up in places that bring out their worst behaviors. The classic example is Jack Kemp, who did great work as a member of Congress to push a supply-side agenda of low marginal tax rates and less double taxation. Indeed, it’s no exaggeration to […]

Read Full Post »

If We’re Going to Trust Governments to Enforce Law, then Governments Should Obey Law (and Limit Law)

One of the big challenges for libertarians is that we understand “public choice theory.” In other words, we know that people attracted to government will have both the incentive and the power to do bad things, so our quandary is how to give government the authority to provide so-called public goods without sowing the seeds […]

Read Full Post »

Two Lessons from the Oregon Standoff: The Federal Government Is Thuggish and Owns too Much of America’s Land

When I first read about armed protesters taking over a federal building in Oregon, I thought some nutjobs were about to cause some real trouble. Was this a right-wing version of the loons from the Occupy Wall Street movement, only with guns? Then I learned that the “federal building” was nothing more than a remote […]

Read Full Post »

Recycling: The Triumph of Feel-Goodism over Common Sense

Since it’s basically a way of protecting property rights, environmental protection is a legitimate function of government. That’s the easy part. It gets a lot harder when calculating costs and benefits. Everyone surely agrees that a chemical company shouldn’t be able to dump toxic waste in a town’s reservoir because the costs would out-weigh the […]

Read Full Post »

Disgusting Thuggery by State and Local Governments

I have a Bureaucrat Hall of Fame to recognize government workers who have demonstrated special skills in ripping off taxpayers. And I’ve created a Moocher Hall of Fame to highlight deadbeats and scroungers who best illustrate the entitlement mentality. But maybe it’s now time to create Victims of Government Thuggery Hall of Fame (though I […]

Read Full Post »

We Need Fewer Laws: Over-Criminalization Hurts the Innocent and Empowers Government

I wrote last week about the lunacy of a tax system that created the conditions that led to the death of Eric Garner in New York City. But I wrote that column in the context of how high tax rates lead to tax avoidance and tax evasion. Let’s now zoom out and look at the […]

Read Full Post »

Great Moments in Taxing, Spending, and Regulating

When people ask me why I mock government for being a slovenly, bloated, and malicious entity, I’m sometimes not sure what to say. Do I give them examples of corrupt corporate welfare? Do I share instances of government thuggery? Do I direct them to preposterous examples of waste? Do I show them details about an […]

Read Full Post »

The Radical Environmental Agenda Should Be Rejected, even if Global Warming Is Real

I believe that protecting the environment is both a good thing and a legitimate function of government. But I’m rational. So while I want limits on pollution, such policies should be determined by cost-benefit analysis. Banning automobiles doubtlessly would reduce pollution, for instance, but the economic cost would be catastrophic. On the other hand, it’s […]

Read Full Post »

The Federal Bagpipe Police?!?

I’ve shared horror stories about government thuggery and I’ve shared horror stories about government stupidity. Thanks to Mark Steyn, we have a story that exemplifies both the brain-dead nature of the public sector and the nasty nature of our bureaucratic overlords. You may have read about the federal milk police. Well, here’s some of what […]

Read Full Post »

No More Stealing by Government? A Long-Overdue Attack on Asset Forfeiture

Since I’m a public finance economist, I realize I’m supposed to focus on big-picture issues such as tax reform and entitlement reform. And I do beat those issues to death, so I obviously care about controlling the size and power of government. But I like to think I’m also a decent human being. And this […]

Read Full Post »

Another Great Moment in the Annals of Absurd Government Law Enforcement

Government officials do some really crazy things in the name of law enforcement. I recently wrote about an armed raid on an animal shelter in order to execute a baby deer. That was paramilitary overkill (pun intended), though it probably didn’t waste as many tax dollars as the regulatory overkill of the year-long sting operation […]

Read Full Post »

Why Do Bureaucrats Hate Bambi?

The bad news is that governments do a lot of things they shouldn’t do. The good news is that I never run out of material. I’ve even created some sub-categories, such as my U.S. vs U.K. government stupidity contest and my great-moments-in-local-government series. But I never thought I would have a special category about bureaucrats […]

Read Full Post »

Great Moments in Local Government: Pick Your “Favorite” Example of Thuggery and Incompetence

I’m a strong believer in federalism, but not because I think state and local governments are competent. Politicians and interest groups are a toxic combination in all circumstance. But at least people have considerable ability to cross borders if they want to escape greedy and despotic governments at the state and local level. And when […]

Read Full Post »