One of the key principles of a free society is that governmental power should be limited by national borders. Here’s an easy-to-understand example. Gambling is basically illegal (other than government-run lottery scams, of course) in my home state of Virginia. So they can arrest me (or maybe even shoot me) if I gamble in the […]
Search Results for 'Jacoby'
The Fight over “Internet Taxation” Is Really a Proxy for an Important Battle on Whether Government Power Should Be Constrained by Borders
Posted in Jurisdictional Competition, Sales Tax, States, Tax Competition, Taxation, tagged Internet, Jurisdictional Competition, Sales Tax, States, Tax Competition, Taxation on March 23, 2018| 2 Comments »
The Upside-Down Logic of Subsidized Birth Control
Posted in Economics, Government intervention, Health Care, Health Reform, Regulation, tagged Birth Control, Birth Control Mandate, Economics, Government intervention, Health Care, Health Reform, Obamacare, Regulation on October 12, 2017| 5 Comments »
When writing about the Obamacare and its birth-control mandate, I’ve made a handful of observations. First, it is very bureaucratic and inefficient to use insurance for routine medical expenses. Sort of like using auto insurance to cover the cost of getting an oil change. Second, insurance coverage means third-party payer, which means birth control will […]
Keynesian Economics and the Fallacy of Boosting Growth by Destroying Wealth
Posted in Economics, Government Spending, Keynesian, stimulus, tagged Economics, Government Spending, Keynesian Economics, stimulus on September 18, 2017| 9 Comments »
Keynesian economics is like Freddie Krueger, constantly reappearing after logical people assumed it was dead. The fact that various stimulus schemes inevitably fail should be the death knell for the theory, which is basically the “perpetual motion machine” of economics. Indeed, I’ve wondered whether we’ve reached the point where the “debilitating drug” of Keynesianism has […]
America’s Latest Epidemic: Bureaucrats with Guns
Posted in Big Government, Bureaucracy, Government Thuggery, tagged Big Government, Bureaucracy, Government Thuggery on June 28, 2016| 14 Comments »
While I dismiss conspiracy theories that presume there’s a plan in Washington to strip away our rights, I do think there’s a natural “public choice” explanation for ever-growing, ever-more powerful government. And that can lead to ever-expanding examples of abusive mistreatment of citizens. If you don’t believe me, just ask people like Andy Johnson, Anthony […]
The TSA: A Perfect Symbol of the Federal Government’s Waste and Incompetence
Posted in Big Government, Government stupidity, TSA, Waste, tagged Big Government, Government stupidity, Transportation Security Administration, TSA, Waste on November 27, 2015| 8 Comments »
The Transportation Security Administration has become infamous over the years for things that it doesn’t allow on planes. Consider these examples of the Keystone Cops in action. o Confiscating a plastic hammer from a mentally retarded man. o Detaining a woman for carrying breast milk. o Hassling a woman for the unexplained red flag of having sequentially numbered […]
Herbert Hoover’s Anti-Market Policies Helped Turn an Economic Downturn into a Great Depression
Posted in Economics, Government intervention, Government Spending, Great Depression, Hoover, Roosevelt, tagged Economics, Government intervention, Government Spending, Great Depression, Hoover, Roosevelt on June 30, 2014| 38 Comments »
There have been many truly awful presidents elected in the United States, but if I had to pick my least favorite, I might choose Herbert Hoover. I obviously have disdain for Hoover’s big-government policies, but I also am extremely irritated that – as Jonah Goldberg explained – he allowed the left to create an utterly […]
Sensible Swiss Voters Crush Proposed Minimum Wage Mandate
Posted in Economics, Government intervention, Jobs, Minimum Wage, Switzerland, Territorial Taxation, Unemployment, Worldwide Taxation, tagged Economics, Government intervention, Jobs, Minimum Wage, Switzerland, Territorial Taxation, Unemployment, Worldwide Taxation on May 19, 2014| 17 Comments »
I’m beginning to think that people from some nations are smarter and more rational than others. That may explain, for instance, why voters in Estonia support fiscal restraint while voters in France foolishly think the gravy train can continue forever. But I’m not making an argument about genetic ability. Instead, what I’m actually starting to […]
Another Failed Gun Control Experiment
Posted in Crime, Gun control, tagged Crime, Gun control, Massachusetts on August 28, 2013| 7 Comments »
It sounds strange, but my two favorite columns on gun control were authored by self-identified leftists. But they didn’t let ideology trump common sense. Justin Cronin, for instance, explained that restrictions on gun ownership undermined his ability to protect his family. And Jeffrey Goldberg looked at the evidence and concluded that guns make people safer. […]
Left-Wingers Are only Generous with other People’s Money
Posted in Charity, Hypocrisy, tagged Charity, Conservatives, Generosity, Hypocrisy, Liberals, Statists on August 23, 2012| 27 Comments »
Back in 2010, I posted some fascinating (at least to me) data on the underlying differences between conservatives, liberals, and libertarians. That same year, I also wrote about whether evolutionary history helps explain why some people are leftists. Let’s now reexamine the difference between those on the right and those on the left, based on […]
What’s More Important, Monopoly Privileges for Union Bosses or Educational Opportunity for Minority Children?
Posted in Education, School Choice, Union Bosses, tagged Education, School Choice, Unions on July 30, 2012| 25 Comments »
I’ve criticized union bosses for fighting school reform, and I’ve condemned the so-called civil rights establishment for opposing school choice. And here’s a powerful video from Reason TV that combines those themes, noting the unholy alliance of teacher unions and the NAACP. Fortunately, the statists seem to be losing this issue. Louisiana recently adopted school […]
Boost Economic Growth by Slashing the Size of Government
Posted in Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Great Depression, Video, tagged Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Great Depression on June 12, 2011| 13 Comments »
It doesn’t get much attention, but one of the most interesting economic experiments in American history occurred right after World War II. Despite warnings of Armageddon from Keynesian economists, government spending was slashed as the United States demobilized from the war. This was the opposite of the failed Keynesian experiment of the 1930s, when massive […]
The Recycling Scam
Posted in Economics, Environmentalism, Political Correctness, tagged Economics, Environmentalism, Environmentalists, Political Correctness, Recycling on September 19, 2010| 10 Comments »
Jeff Jacoby analyzes the absurd tendency of local governments to coerce residents into costly – and inefficient – recycling programs. As a resident of Fairfascist…oops, I mean Fairfax…County in Virginia, I already am painfully aware of this bureaucratic impulse. ….recyclables will all go into 64-gallon “toters,’’ which will be emptied at curbside on trash day. […]
Get the Government Out of the Business of Embryonic Stem-Cell Research
Posted in Free Markets, Government intervention, Health Care, tagged Free Markets, Government intervention, Health Care, Stem-Cell Research on September 2, 2010| 1 Comment »
As is so often the case, Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe hits the nail on the head, asking why taxpayers should be forced to fund embryonic stem-cell research. The moral issues in this debate are very important, to be sure, but Jacoby’s column takes a different approach and uses economic arguments to thoroughly debunk those […]
Get Government Out of the Education Business
Posted in Big Government, Education, National Education Association, Privatization, tagged Big Government, Education, National Education Association, Privatization on May 31, 2010| 2 Comments »
There’s a controversy in Texas because the State Board of Education has mandated the inclusion of certain materials in textbooks. This has elicited howls of protests from the left, which generally has controlled how some issues are portrayed. Since I don’t want leftist propaganda being pushed on kids, I’m mildly sympathetic to the Texas educrats, […]
School Choice Issue exposes Gap Between Honest Leftists and Politicial Hacks
Posted in Corruption, Education, Hypocrisy, National Education Association, School Choice, Sleaze, Uncategorized, Union Bosses, tagged Corruption, Education, Hypocrisy, National Education Association, School Choice, Sleaze, Union Bosses, Unions on May 17, 2010| 11 Comments »
There are a handful of issues that expose hypocrites on both sides of the philosophical spectrum. Republicans and conservatives love to talk about free markets, for instance, but you often find them voting for completely sleazy and corrupt forms of corporate welfare such as the ethanol subsidy for big agri-business. For Democrats and leftists, a […]
Bureaucrats vs. Taxpayers, Part V
Posted in Big Government, Bureaucracy, Bureaucrats, tagged Big Government, Bureaucracy, Bureaucrats on January 29, 2010| 3 Comments »
This may not be as dumbfounding as being told not to advertise for reliable people in England, but I certainly was shocked to see that nearly one-in-five federal bureaucrats is paid more than $100,000 – and that doesn’t even include overtime and bonuses! Or how about the fact that number of bureaucrats making more than […]