Europe’s Most Depressing Chart

Last month, I shared data on per-capita welfare spending in American states. The big takeaway was that states such as New York and California were spending more tan twice as much as states such as Texas and Florida. And I concluded that “Florida and Texas presumably are reducing poverty while states such as New York […]

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America’s Most Depressing Chart

I periodically use a “most depressing” theme when writing about charts or tweets with grim data. I’ve done that with regional data and also looked at depressing data from specific countries. Today, we’re going to look at some “most depressing” information about the United States. Here’s a tweet from Yale Professor Alice Evans about labor […]

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The World’s Most Depressing Tweet

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 […]

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The Western World’s Second-Most Depressing Chart

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 […]

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The Western World’s Most Depressing Chart

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 […]

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The Most Depressing Chart about Japan

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 […]

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The World’s (or at least Denmark’s) Most Depressing PowerPoint Slide

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 […]

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The Most Economically Illiterate Tweet of 2023?

I periodically write columns about “most ___ tweets.” Here are some recent examples. The Most Half-Right Tweet of 2023 The Most Laughable Tweet of 2022 The Most Enjoyable Tweet of 2022 The Most Painful (for Our Leftist Friends) Tweet of 2021 The Most Morally Reprehensible Tweet of 2021 The Most (Unintentionally) Accurate Tweet about Washington The World’s Most […]

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Long-Run Policy Lessons from the Coronavirus Pandemic, Part II

In mid-2021, I wrote about long-run policy lessons from the coronavirus pandemic. That column focused on insights from my five-part series (see here, here, here, here, and here) about the failure of big government. More specifically, the CDC and FDA did a terrible job domestically and the WHO did a terrible job internationally. By contrast, […]

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America’s Onerous Tax Burden

This probably does not quite belong in my collection of “most depressing charts,” but it is definitely very bad news that taxes now impose a greater burden on the average American household than the combined cost of food, clothing, education, and health care. This is remarkable, especially since education and health care are needlessly expensive […]

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The Scottish Version of Great Moments in Human Rights

Redistribution is a bad idea primarily because of economics. People getting handouts have less incentive to be productive and people paying taxes to finance that spending have less incentive to be productive. That translates into less economic output, which means lower living standards. But there’s another reason to be concerned about redistribution. I worry that […]

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Europe’s Soon-to-Implode Welfare States

What’s the most depressing chart in the world? If you believe in limited government and you’re looking back in time, this example or this example are good candidates. But if we’re looking into the future, this chart from a new study by the European Central Bank is very sobering. And it’s a depressing chart because […]

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Dunking on Oxfam: 2022’s Tweet of the Year

There were many notable tweets in 2021. The tweet of the year The most morally reprehensible tweet The most depressing tweet (for the left) The best counter-tweet I realize there are still more than 11 months left in 2022, but we may have a winner for this year’s best tweet. The hack leftists at Oxfam […]

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Biden’s Boondoggle(s) and the Burden of Government Spending

First we got Biden’s $1.9 trillion so-called stimulus. Then we got his $1 trillion-plus infrastructure boondoggle. Now Congress may be on the verge of approving the President’s budget, which (if we use honest numbers) is a $5 trillion plan to expand the welfare state. And… Keep in mind that Biden’s orgy of new spending is on […]

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The Most Morally Reprehensible Tweet of 2021

I periodically highlight tweets that deserve attention because they say something important, often 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. A joyous tweet about school choice. Today, we’re going to look at a tweet that belongs in a terrible category. Let’s […]

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2020’s Tweet of the Year

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 […]

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Will America Learn from Japan’s Fiscal Decline?

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 […]

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Another Contestant in the 2020 Best-Counter-Tweet Contest

I periodically share tweets that have some sort of remarkable feature, either good or bad. Clever counter-tweets are especially appreciated. I even started giving recognition to the most brutally effective response each year. In 2019, the counter-tweet of the year debunked the notion that capitalism isn’t good for workers. For 2020, the counter-tweet of the […]

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The Most (Unintentionally) Accurate Tweet about Washington

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 […]

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The Most-Flattering-Ever Tweet about Trump’s Economic Policy

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 […]

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The Best-Ever Tweet about Inequality

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 […]

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A Very Depressing Chart about Japan

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 […]

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World’s Best Tweet about Socialism and Capitalism

I wrote a column earlier this month about the “world’s most depressing tweet,” which came from the Census Bureau and noted that the suburbs of Washington, DC, are the richest parts of America. To be sure, I was engaging in a bit of hyperbole since a tweet about famine, war, or genocide surely would be […]

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The Non-Relationship Between Welfare Spending and Poverty Reduction in the Western World

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 […]

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The Most Enjoyable Graph of 2018

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 […]

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The Looming Fiscal Nightmare of Extravagant Unfunded Pensions for State and Local Bureaucrats

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 […]

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To Fight Cronyism, Let’s Have Separation of Business and State

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 […]

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More Research and Evidence on the Need to Restrain Government Spending

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 […]

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Academic Research Shows Minorities Get Hurt When Government Tries to Help

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 […]

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A Very Depressing Chart on Creeping Cronyism in the American Economy

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 […]

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