I periodically will make use of “most depressing” in the title of a column when sharing bad news. And new data from the Census Bureau definitely qualifies as bad news. It confirms what I’ve written about how the Washington region has become the richest part of America. But the D.C. area didn’t become wealthy by […]
Search Results for '"most depressing"'
The Western World’s Second-Most Depressing Chart
Posted in Fiscal Policy, Income tax, Taxation, Welfare State, tagged Fiscal Policy, Income tax, Taxation, Welfare State on July 5, 2018| 7 Comments »
Last week, I shared very grim data, going all the way back to 1880, on the growth of the welfare state. I even claimed that the accompanying graph was the “western world’s most depressing chart” because it showed the dramatic increase in the burden of government spending for redistribution programs. And I didn’t even mention […]
The Western World’s Most Depressing Chart
Posted in Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Redistribution, Welfare State, tagged Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Redistribution, Wagner's Law, Welfare State on June 28, 2018| 20 Comments »
Last week, I shared a graph showing that there are more guns than people in the United States, and I wrote that it was the “most enjoyable” chart of the year, mostly because it gets my leftist friends so agitated. But I’m more likely to share gloomy visuals. The “most depressing” chart about Denmark, which […]
The Most Depressing Chart about Japan
Posted in Big Government, Debt, Higher Taxes, Japan, Tax Increase, Tax Reform, Value-Added Tax, tagged Big Government, Debt, Higher Taxes, Japan, Tax Increase, Tax Reform, VAT on November 16, 2017| 20 Comments »
I’m currently in Tokyo for an Innovation Summit. Perhaps because I once referred to Japan as a basket case, I’ve been asked to speak about policies that are needed to boost the nation’s competitiveness. That sounds like an easy topic since I can simply explain that free markets and small government are the universal recipe […]
The World’s (or at least Denmark’s) Most Depressing PowerPoint Slide
Posted in Denmark, Dependency, Economics, Government Spending, Redistribution, Welfare, Welfare State, tagged Denmark, Dependency, Economics, Government Spending, Redistribution, Welfare, Welfare State on May 5, 2015| 44 Comments »
Okay, I’ll admit right away that the title of this column is an exaggeration. But if you’re a public policy wonk and you worry about the rising level of government dependency and the erosion of self reliance, then you’ll understand why the chart below, which was presented earlier today at the Copenhagen conference of the […]
2020’s Tweet of the Year
Posted in Bureaucracy, Bureaucrats, Government Inefficiency, Government intervention, Regulation, tagged Bureaucracy, Bureaucrats, CDC, Centers for Disease Control, Government Inefficiency, Government intervention, Regulation on December 29, 2020| 6 Comments »
Every so often, I highlight tweets that deserve attention because they say something important, usually in a clever and succinct fashion. Best-ever tweet about inequality. Best tweet about capitalism vs socialism. The most depressing tweet. Trump’s worst-ever tweet. The best-ever counter-tweet. Today, I’m highlighting what I consider to be the year’s best tweet. The tweet is from Matthew Lesh […]
Will America Learn from Japan’s Fiscal Decline?
Posted in Big Government, Entitlements, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Japan, tagged Big Government, Entitlements, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Japan on August 10, 2020| 9 Comments »
Compared to most of the world, Japan is a rich country. But it’s important to understand that Japan became rich when the burden of government was very small and there was no welfare state. Indeed, as recently as 1970, Japan’s fiscal policy was rated by Economic Freedom of the World as being better than what […]
The Most (Unintentionally) Accurate Tweet about Washington
Posted in Big Government, Democrats, Government Inefficiency, Government stupidity, tagged Big Government, Democrats, Government Inefficiency, Government stupidity on June 29, 2020| 3 Comments »
Every so often, I’ll notice a tweet that has some remarkable characteristic. Best tweet about capitalism vs socialism. The most depressing tweet. Trump’s worst-ever tweet. The best-ever counter-tweet. The most-flattering tweet about Trump’s policy. The best-ever tweet about inequality. Today, we’re going to add to this collection. The Democratic National Committee sent out a tweet back in April that seems like […]
The Most-Flattering-Ever Tweet about Trump’s Economic Policy
Posted in Donald Trump, Migration, Taxation, tagged Donald Trump, Migration, Taxation on February 12, 2020| 23 Comments »
I pointed out yesterday that Donald Trump has increased domestic spending at a faster rate than Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, or Jimmy Carter. The day before, I castigated him for proposing a budget that expands the burden of government spending by $2 trillion over the next decade. And two days before that, I explained that […]
The Best-Ever Tweet about Inequality
Posted in Inequality, Poverty, tagged Inequality, Poverty on February 4, 2020| 8 Comments »
I periodically see tweets that deserve attention because they reveal something very important, usually in a clever and succinct fashion. Best tweet about capitalism vs socialism. The most depressing tweet. Trump’s worst-ever tweet. The best-ever counter-tweet. Today, let’s add to this collection. I’ve argued, over and over again, that the best way to help the […]
A Very Depressing Chart about Japan
Posted in Demographics, Economic Rankings, Economics, Japan, tagged Demographics, Economic Rankings, Economics, Japan on July 1, 2019| 7 Comments »
It’s not easy picking the most pessimistic chart about Japan. The country suffered several decades of economic stagnation following the collapse of a bubble about three decades ago. That means it’s a bit of a challenge to identify the worst economic numbers. Is it the data on ever-rising levels of government debt? Is it the […]
The Non-Relationship Between Welfare Spending and Poverty Reduction in the Western World
Posted in Poverty, Redistribution, Welfare, Welfare State, tagged Poverty, Redistribution, Welfare, Welfare State on August 3, 2018| 42 Comments »
Last September, I shared some very encouraging data showing how extreme poverty dramatically has declined in the developing world. And I noted that this progress happened during a time when the “Washington Consensus” was resulting in “neoliberal” policies (meaning “classical liberal“) in those nations (confirmed by data from Economic Freedom of the World). In other […]
The Most Enjoyable Graph of 2018
Posted in 2nd Amendment, Gun control, United Nations, United States, tagged Gun control, Second Amendment, United Nations, United States on June 22, 2018| 22 Comments »
I don’t think I’m a glass-half-empty kind of person, but I realized that I have a habit of sharing “depressing” charts. The “most depressing” chart about Denmark. A “very depressing” chart about the United States. The “most depressing” chart about Japan. Well, as the Monty Python folks advised, it’s time to look on the bright […]
The Looming Fiscal Nightmare of Extravagant Unfunded Pensions for State and Local Bureaucrats
Posted in Big Government, Bureaucrats, Government Spending, Local government, States, tagged Big Government, Bureaucrats, Government Spending, Local government, States, Unfunded Liabilities on April 16, 2018| 30 Comments »
Back in 2013, I shared a poll to see who people would pick as their “favorite political cartoonist.” Michael Ramirez currently has the lead, which doesn’t surprise me when you look at options (here, here, here, and here) I provided. But if there was a prize for the most depressingly accurate political cartoon, he also […]
To Fight Cronyism, Let’s Have Separation of Business and State
Posted in Big business, Cronyism, Government intervention, News Appearance, tagged Big business, Cronyism, Government intervention, News Appearance on August 24, 2017| 24 Comments »
In my 30-plus years in Washington, I’ve lived through some very bad pieces of legislation. George H.W. Bush’s betrayal of his “read my lips” promise with the 1990s tax increase. Bill Clinton’s 1993 tax hike, which OMB admitted 18 months later was a failure. All sorts of bad policies under George W. Bush, starting with […]
More Research and Evidence on the Need to Restrain Government Spending
Posted in Big Government, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, tagged Big Government, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending on November 10, 2016| 10 Comments »
Now that Donald Trump has been elected, one of my main goals will be to convince him and his team that it would be wrong to leave government spending on autopilot (and it would be even worse to spend more money and increase the burden of government!). Since Trump semi-endorsed the Penny Plan, I don’t […]
Academic Research Shows Minorities Get Hurt When Government Tries to Help
Posted in Crime, Discrimination, Economics, Jobs, Race, tagged Crime, Discrimination, Economics, Jobs, Race on August 5, 2016| 8 Comments »
I thought it was a remarkable development last year when a columnist from the New York Times reported that supposedly pro-feminist policies actually backfire against women. Maybe this would help readers recognize that there are adverse unintended consequences of government intervention. Bastiat would be very happy! Now we have a new example from the academic […]
A Very Depressing Chart on Creeping Cronyism in the American Economy
Posted in Corruption, Cronyism, Government intervention, Statism, tagged Corruption, Cronyism, Government intervention, Statism on July 21, 2016| 45 Comments »
Last year, I shared the most depressing PowerPoint slide in Danish history. Back in 2011, I wrote about a depressing picture of tax complexity in America. Let’s continue with the “depressing” theme today. James Bessen, from Boston University Law School, has an interesting article in the Harvard Business Review about the source of corporate profits […]
By the Numbers: America’s Unfortunate Fiscal Evolution from Madisonian Constitutionalism to Wilsonian Statism
Posted in Big Government, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, tagged Big Government, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending on September 12, 2015| 58 Comments »
I’m a big fan of fiscal data. In part this is because I’m a policy wonk, but I also like budget numbers because they generally provide strong evidence for my philosophical belief in small government and spending restraint. For instance, I enjoy sharing my table showing nations that have experienced great success with multi-year limits […]
Which Nation Has the Worst Dependency Ratio?
Posted in Big Government, Dependency, Greece, Redistribution, Welfare State, tagged Big Government, Dependency, Greece, Redistribution, Welfare State on August 8, 2015| 27 Comments »
For both policy reasons and narcissism, I wish the most popular item ever posted on International Liberty was Mitchell’s Golden Rule. But that guide to sensible fiscal policy isn’t even in the top 70. Instead, my most-read post is a set of cartoons showing how the welfare state inevitably metastasizes as more and more people […]
Will Denmark Become a Shining Example of Mitchell’s Golden Rule?
Posted in Denmark, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Mitchell's Golden Rule, tagged Denmark, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Mitchell's Golden Rule on June 20, 2015| 26 Comments »
I suggested earlier this year that Denmark’s ratio of private sector workers compared with government dependents produced the world’s most depressing Powerpoint slide. It’s hard to be optimistic, after all, if a nation has an ever-growing number of people riding in the wagon (or the “party boat“) and a stagnant population of productive people. But […]
Washington’s Over-Compensated Shadow Bureaucracy and the Real Income-Inequality Problem
Posted in Big Government, Bureaucracy, Cronyism, Government Spending, tagged Big Government, Bureaucracy, Cronyism, Government Spending on January 7, 2014| 9 Comments »
One of my most widely read – but also most depressing – articles was from about two years ago and it exposed the fact that Washington, DC, is now the nation’s richest region. I explained that Washington is rich because of unearned wealth. Almost all of the loot that winds up in the pockets of […]
Obamanomics and the Vanishing American Worker
Posted in Economics, Jobs, Obama, Unemployment, tagged Economics, Jobs, Obama, Unemployment on November 8, 2013| 18 Comments »
The Department of Labor has issued its monthly employment report and the item that will attract the most attention is that the unemployment rate marginally increased to 7.3 percent. That number is worthy of some attention, but I think it distracts attention from a far more important set of data. What we should be more […]
If We Want to Fix the Healthcare Mess, We Better Understand the Real Problem
Posted in Economics, Entitlements, Health Care, Health Reform, Third party payer, tagged Economics, Entitlements, Government-run healthcare, Medicare, Obamacare, Third party payer on June 7, 2011| 66 Comments »
This is the most depressing – but revealing – thing I have read in a long time: “the health-care sector has twice as many clerical workers as nurses and nine times as many as doctors.” That passage is from a very good column by Robert Samuelson, in which he covers a lot of ground. He […]
Washington Prospers While America Suffers
Posted in Big Government, Bureaucracy, Government Spending, Uncategorized, Waste, tagged Big Government, Bureaucracy, Government waste on April 5, 2010| 1 Comment »
Unemployment in the heartland may be high and incomes may be stagnating in most of the nation, but Washington, DC, continues to be an oasis of prosperity as more of the nation’s resources get consumed by government. The lastest evidence comes from the Washington Post, which reports on the federal government’s insatiable demand for more […]