Time to update our series on “great moments in foreign government.” We’ll start with Jersey. I wrote a few years ago about the (relatively) good tax laws in that British dependent territory off the coast of France. But there are two ways those laws could be improved. First, officials could abolish its income tax because […]
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Great Moments in Foreign Government
Posted in Big Government, Canada, Government stupidity, Switzerland, Venezuela, tagged Big Government, Canada, Government stupidity, Indonesia, Jersey, Switzerland, Venezuela on September 12, 2021| 1 Comment »
Great Moments in Government Schooling
Posted in Education, Gun control, nanny state, Political Correctness, tagged Education, Gun control, nanny state, Political Correctness on August 12, 2021| 7 Comments »
I don’t like Joe Biden being a lackey of the teacher unions, and I think the entire Department of Education should be eliminated. That being said, intervention from Washington is the not the main cause of America’s education problems. The real problem is that we have an inefficient monopoly system that is – for all […]
Great Moments in International Bureaucracy
Posted in European Commission, European Union, International bureaucracy, United Nations, World Health Organization, tagged European Commission, European Union, International bureaucracy, NATO, United Nations, World Health Organization on December 2, 2020| 6 Comments »
A couple of days ago, I criticized officials at the United Nations for advocating higher taxes and bigger government. Fortunately, that bureaucracy is so sclerotic and inefficient that its efforts to promote statism are not very effective But it still galls me that international bureaucrats who receive lavish, tax-free salaries spend their days trying to […]
Great Moments in British Government
Posted in England, Government Inefficiency, Government Spending, Government stupidity, United Kingdom, tagged England, Government Inefficiency, Government Spending, Government stupidity, United Kingdom on December 14, 2019| 3 Comments »
Technically, my coverage of U.K election week began last Monday with a look at Jeremy Corbyn’s radical statism, and ended yesterday with some analysis of Boris Johnson’s victory. But since I’m still in England, this is an opportune time for a new edition of Great Moments in British Government. For those who aren’t regular readers, […]
Great Moments in Foreign Government
Posted in China, Germany, Government stupidity, Spain, tagged China, Germany, Government stupidity, Spain on October 6, 2019| 1 Comment »
I get quite agitated when the folks in Washington make dumb choices that waste money and hinder prosperity. That being said, I take comfort in the fact that governments in other nations also do stupid things. I guess this is the policy version of “misery loves company.” And it’s also a source of horror and/or […]
Great Moments in Washington Waste
Posted in Boondoggle, Government Spending, Waste, tagged Boondoggle, Government Spending, Government waste, Waste on May 17, 2019| 8 Comments »
Every so often, I’ll see a story (or sometimes even just a photo, a court decision, or a phrase) that sums up the essence of government – a unseemly combination of venality and incompetence. Today, we’re going to review three examples that make my point. We’ll lead with a story that is a perfect case […]
Great Moments in Foreign Government
Posted in Boondoggle, England, Government stupidity, India, United Kingdom, tagged Boondoggle, Egypt, England, Government stupidity, India, Papau New Guinea, United Kingdom on May 10, 2019| 5 Comments »
I spend much of my time analyzing the foolish and counterproductive policies imposed by Washington. Often accompanied by some mockery of politicians and their silly laws. And I also employ the same approach when reviewing the bone-headed policies often pursued by state governments and local governments. And since this is “International Liberty,” I obviously like […]
Great Moments in German Tax Enforcement
Posted in Germany, Taxation, tagged Germany, Taxation on March 3, 2019| 3 Comments »
Germany is like the Nordic nations. It gets a decent ranking (#20) for overall economic freedom, but mostly because a bad score for fiscal policy is offset by reasonably good scores in other policy areas. Taking a closer look at fiscal policy, there’s a heavy burden of government spending (not as bad as France, for […]
Great Moments in Canadian Law
Posted in Canada, Cronyism, Drug War, Government Thuggery, tagged Canada, Cronyism, Drug War, Government Thuggery on January 6, 2019| 6 Comments »
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 […]
Great Moments in Busy-Body Regulation
Posted in Local government, Regulation, tagged Childcare, Local government, Regulation on November 19, 2018| 6 Comments »
I wrote back in 2011 about a bizarre plan in California to regulate babysitting. You may be thinking that’s no big deal because California is…well…California. But other governments also want to control private child care decisions. The latest example is from the District of Columbia, which is going after children’s play groups. Lenore Skenazy explains […]
Great Moments in British Government
Posted in England, Government stupidity, nanny state, United Kingdom, tagged England, Government stupidity, nanny state, United Kingdom on July 22, 2018| 15 Comments »
A couple of days ago, citing bizarre government policies in India, Belgium, Malaysia, Romania, and Spain, I wrote about some “great moments in foreign government.” Today, we’re going to give special attention to the United Kingdom. I’m not claiming there’s an above-average level of government stupidity in the United Kingdom (though that’s distinctly possible). Instead, […]
Great Moments in Foreign Government
Posted in Belgium, Government Inefficiency, Government stupidity, India, Spain, Taxpayer Ripoff, Waste, tagged Belgium, Government Inefficiency, Government stupidity, Government waste, India, Malaysia, Romania, Spain, Taxpayer Ripoff on July 18, 2018| 5 Comments »
Given the routine corruption and reckless spending in Washington, I frequently get asked how I keep my sanity. It’s possible, as some of my friends argue, that I’m not actually sane. That would explain why I try to put my finger in the dyke of big government as more and more new leaks keep developing. […]
Great Moments in British Government
Posted in England, Government stupidity, United Kingdom, tagged England, Government stupidity, United Kingdom on April 19, 2018| 5 Comments »
While much of my analysis focuses on the mess created by Washington, I periodically show my ecumenical nature by sharing “Great Moments in State Government” and “Great Moments in Local Government.” And in keeping with the title of this page, I even occasionally share “Great Moments in Foreign Government.” Today, though we’re going to get […]
Three Great Moments in Regulation
Posted in Economics, Government intervention, Regulation, tagged Economics, Government intervention, Regulation on March 27, 2018| 4 Comments »
As a policy wonk, I mostly care about the overall impact of government on prosperity. So when I think about the effect of red tape, I’m drawn to big-pictures assessments of the regulatory burden. Here are a few relevant numbers that get my juices flowing. Americans spend 8.8 billion hours every year filling out government forms. The economy-wide […]
From the British Isles, Great Moments in Foreign Government
Posted in England, Government Spending, Government stupidity, Ireland, Scotland, United Kingdom, Waste, tagged England, Government Spending, Government stupidity, Ireland, Scotland, United Kingdom, Waste on February 11, 2018| 4 Comments »
One of the great insights of “public choice” is that politicians engage in self-serving behavior just like everyone else. But there’s a profound difference between them and us. In the private economy, we can only make ourselves better off by providing value to others. In government, by contrast, politicians oftentimes make themselves better off by […]
Great Moments in State Government
Posted in Florida, Government stupidity, Michigan, New Jersey, States, Waste, tagged Florida, Government stupidity, Government waste, Michigan, New Jersey, States on February 5, 2018| 6 Comments »
States such as Illinois, California, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey have very serious structural problems because of high tax burdens and unsustainable spending levels (often associated with excessive pay and benefits for bureaucrats). I frequently write about those big issues, but I also like to periodically share examples of other bone-headed policies at the […]
Great Moments in Local Government
Posted in Government Thuggery, Local government, tagged Chicago, Government Thuggery, Local government, Los Angeles, Philadelphia on January 13, 2018| 13 Comments »
Centralization of government power is generally a very bad idea. Schemes for “global governance” are the worst since they usually result in cartels for the benefit of uncompetitive nations. National policies are the second-worst, often producing one-size-fits-all approaches accompanied by suffocating bureaucracy. But this does not mean that state governments and local governments do a […]
Great Moments in International Taxation
Posted in Death Tax, International Taxation, Ireland, Taxation, tagged Death Tax, International Taxation, Ireland, Taxation on December 22, 2017| 6 Comments »
Back in 2013, I wrote about a gay guy adopting his long-time lover in order to escape the evil and pernicious death tax. I speculated that this would cause confusion and angst in some circles. Traditional leftists would want to applaud the adoption because of their support for gay rights, but they would be conflicted […]
Great Moments in State Government
Posted in Corruption, Cronyism, Licensing, Regulation, Sleaze, States, tagged Corruption, Cronyism, Licensing, Regulation, Sleaze, State Government on August 14, 2017| 4 Comments »
When I write about the actions of state governments, it’s usually to highlight a specific bad policy. As you can imagine, states like California, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey give me a never-ending amount of material. But I frequently run across things that are happening in the states that don’t really merit an […]
Great Moments in Foreign Government
Posted in England, Government stupidity, Swedem, tagged England, Government stupidity, Swedem on July 23, 2017| 5 Comments »
In my writings about “Great Moments in Foreign Government,” I’ve come across amazing examples of bone-headed and incompetent behavior by politicians and bureaucrats in other nations. The British government giving welfare to people with multiple wives. The German government having a jihadist working in one of its intelligence agencies. The Italian government appointing the wrong […]
Great Moments in Local Government
Posted in Bureaucrats, Education, Licensing, Local government, tagged Bureaucrats, Education, Licensing, Local government on June 1, 2017| 8 Comments »
While most of my disdain is reserved for the federal government in Washington, I periodically share horror stories about foreign governments and state governments. And today we’re going to add to our collection of bone-headed policies by local governments. In some past cases, the examples captured systemic flaws. In other cases, we looked at specific […]
Great Moments in Local Government
Posted in Big Government, Government stupidity, Local government, tagged Big Government, Government stupidity, Local government on February 28, 2017| 5 Comments »
I focus most of my ire on the federal government because bad policy from Washington is the biggest threat to our nation’s freedom and prosperity. But we also get plenty of bad policy from other levels of government. I periodically focus on the foibles of states such as California, Illinois, and New York. Today, though, […]
Great Moments in Foreign Government
Posted in Big Government, Canada, England, Germany, Government stupidity, United Kingdom, tagged Big Government, Canada, England, Germany, Government stupidity, United Kingdom on February 13, 2017| 9 Comments »
Since I’m always reading and writing about government policies, both in America and around the world, I’m frequently reminded of H.L. Mencken’s famous observation about the shortcomings of “tolerable” government. If you take a close look at the world’s freest economies, you quickly learn that they are highly ranked mostly because of the even-worse governments […]
Great Moments in Foreign Government
Posted in Belgium, Canada, England, Government stupidity, United Kingdom, tagged Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, England, Government stupidity, United Kingdom on July 11, 2016| 10 Comments »
It would be impossible to pick the most hare-brained government policy. We have all sorts of bizarre examples from the United States. And we have equally “impressive” examples from other nations. And today, we’re going to augment our collection of bone-headed policies from elsewhere in the world. We’ll start with the United Kingdom, which already […]
More Great Moments in Federal Government Incompetence
Posted in Big Government, Government stupidity, tagged Big Government, Government stupidity on April 2, 2016| 9 Comments »
I used to think the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was the worst federal bureaucracy. After all, these are the pinheads who are infamous for bone-headed initiatives, such as: The EEOC making it hard for trucking companies to weed out drunk drivers. The EEOC telling a coffee shop it had too many attractive waitresses. The EEOC […]
From England, Great Moments in Government-Run Dentistry
Posted in England, Health Care, Health Reform, United Kingdom, tagged England, Government-run healthcare, Health Care, Health Reform, United Kingdom on January 4, 2016| 11 Comments »
In 2009, Paul Krugman assured his readers that government-run healthcare was a good idea, writing 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 guess one could argue that the determination of “scare stories,” like […]
Great Moments in Defense and Foreign Policy
Posted in Foreign Policy, Government Spending, Government stupidity, Waste, tagged Foreign Policy, Government Spending, Government stupidity, Waste on December 13, 2015| 12 Comments »
If you did a word-association test with people after describing jaw-dropping examples of government incompetence, you would probably get answers like “angry” or “wasteful.” Especially if you asked around April 15. Though in some cases of spectacular and inexplicable ineptitude by government, you reach a stage where the answers might even be “preposterous” or “comical.” […]
Three Not-so-Great Moments in Government-Run Healthcare
Posted in Big Government, Economics, Government intervention, Health Care, Health Reform, Medicare, Waste, tagged Big Government, Economics, Government intervention, Government-Run Health Care, Health Care, Health Reform, Medicare, Obamacare, Veterans Administration, Waste on December 2, 2015| 10 Comments »
Government intervention has messed up the healthcare sector, leading to needlessly high prices and massive inefficiency. Fixing the mess won’t be easy since it would involve addressing several contributing problems, including Medicare, Medicaid, the healthcare exclusion in the tax code, Obamacare, and the mess at the Veterans Administration. But at least we know the right […]
More Great Moments in Spectacular Government Incompetence
Posted in Boondoggle, European Commission, Government stupidity, Immigration, Waste, tagged Boondoggle, Cost Overrun, European Commission, Government stupidity, Government waste, Immigration on November 9, 2015| 12 Comments »
Advocates of limited government favor a small public sector because more resources in the productive sector of the economy translates into faster growth, more job creation, and higher living standards. Statists, by contrast, favor big government for two main reasons. First, many of them belong to well-connected interest groups that have their snouts in the […]