From San Francisco, another Great Moment in Local Government

Some people say that California is the worst-governed state (I would probably choose Illinois or New Jersey, but it’s a close race). And if you wanted to pick the worst-governed place in California, San Francisco might be at the top of the list. The city manages to combine horrible zoning laws with insufferable red tape […]

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A Great Moment in Local Government

San Francisco used to be famous for cable cars. Now it’s getting well known for its “poop patrol” and maps that warn people about the ubiquitous presence of human excrement. Why are people defecating on city sidewalks? Because there’s a major problem with government-created homelessness thanks to rent control and zoning restrictions. And homelessness gives […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

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 […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

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 […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

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, […]

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Great Moments in Local, State, National, and Foreign Government

I periodically share this poster, in part because it’s funny, but mostly because it’s true. After all, can you think of many “success stories” involving government? When I pose this question to my statist friends, I usually get a blank stare in response. Though some of them will offer answers such as the GI Bill, […]

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The Wisdom of Bastiat, as Revealed by Great Moments in Federal, State, and Local Government

I’ve periodically cited the great 19th-century French economist, Frederic Bastiat, for his very wise words about the importance of looking at both the seen and the unseen when analyzing public policy. Those that fail to consider secondary or indirect effects of government, such as Paul Krugman, are guilty of the “broken window” fallacy. There are […]

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Another Edition of “Great Moments in State and Local Government”

I’ve been asked whether I’m a hypocrite because I support decentralization while at the same time being critical of state and local governments. I don’t think there’s any inconsistency in my position. Here’s some of what I wrote last July. I’m a strong believer in federalism, but not because I think state and local governments […]

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Another Great Moment in Local Government

It’s no secret that I have very little faith in the competence and good will of government. I focus primarily on the fecklessness of Washington, but I also can’t resist highlighting malfeasance and stupidity by local governments, state governments, and foreign governments. Indeed, I’ve even had to create special categories to keep track of some […]

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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 […]

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Great Moments in Local Government, the New York City Edition

I’m periodically dumbfounded by the bizarre actions of government. Indeed, I even put together a post comparing amazingly stupid policies in the United States and United Kingdom. And I later updated that post with new details of brainless bureaucracy. Top U.K. entries included an effort to stop children from watching Olympic shooting events and (what must be) […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

Here’s another remarkable story illustrating the incompetence of government. A bureaucrat in Norfolk, VA, got paid for 12 years (including benefits) without ever showing up for work. Depending on the agency, this may actually have been a good thing (I wish IRS bureaucrats did this), but it certainly shows how taxpayer money gets wasted when […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

Julie Murphy is obviously a dangerous criminal. What else would you call a 7-year-old girl who does something as dangerous and illegal as operating a lemonade stand without getting a $120 temporary restaurant license? Fortunately, the health and safety of the people of Multnomah County were protected when an alert bureaucrat shut down her lemonade […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

A number of years ago, I read about a good samaritan who got in trouble for plowing a street so his neighbors weren’t trapped by snow. The local government didn’t like being exposed for incompetence. More recently, I watched a documentary about the Air Florida crash in Washington in the early 1980s, which featured a […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

Given the times we live in, it’s not unreasonable for a teacher to be concerned about a student drawing a picture showing the teacher being shot. But when the student is an autistic boy with the mental capacity of a third grader, perhaps it’s a tad bit of an overreaction to have the boy arrested […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

We should always remember that the federal government may be the biggest problem, but that does not mean that state and local governments should be exempt from scrutiny. A good (or perhaps I should say bad) example of bone-headed stupidity by bureaucrats and politicians outside of Washington comes from Texas. A local school bureaucracy has […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

Since we’ve been talking about the snow, here’s a story about city that must have no real crime. At least, that’s the only sensible thing to conclude after reading that cops in Harrisonburg, VA, arrested (on felony charges!) two college kids for the horrific offense of tossing snowballs (technically they were charged with “throwing a […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

I’d say only a government would be stupid enough to sign a contract that obligates them to pay somebody more than $100K each year for doing nothing, though it’s possible the corporate bureaucrats at the auto companies may have done something equally stupid in their deals with the UAW. But the real lessons to be […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

Posts in this category normally mock foolish and wasteful policies by a state or local government, but the target this time is the union representing bureaucrats in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The boss of the union, upset that the town had to get rid of some excess staff, is threatening to file a grievance to complain about […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

While the federal bureaucracy is more dangerous because it generates misguided regulations that are imposed on the entire nation, state and local governments certainly are capable of equally foolish actions. Here’s a report about state bureaucrats in Michigan threatening a women for watching her neighbors’ kids while they wait for a bus: A West Michigan woman says […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

This may not be as important as an IRS agent killing a small business with an audit. And we can certainly imagine dismal scenes of bureaucrats denying health care to sick people in America’s future, and those also would be more important. But when a city official shuts down a lemonade stand because an eight-year […]

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Great Moments in Local Government

As a good libertarian, I believe in the right of contract, including the right to insist on stupid employment conditions. After all, neither employers nor employers are obliged to enter into any particular agreement. But that certainly does not prevent me from commenting on the inane practices of government – including the recent decision to […]

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More Great Moments in Human Rights

The libertarian view of human rights is basically “don’t hit people and don’t take their stuff.” Sort of a simplified version of the non-aggression principle about not initiating force against others. This is sometimes called “negative liberty.” The freedom to be left alone. Our friends on the left, by contrast, have the opposite perspective. They […]

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Everything You Need to Know about British Government, in a Single Tweet

Yesterday’s column looked at featherbedding in the Washington bureaucracy. Lots of overpaid middle managers and more boxes on the federal flowchart. Basically, the real-world version of this satirical meme. Today, let’s look at mindless incompetence by a foreign government. Or perhaps deliberate incompetence would be a better term. That’s because bureaucrats in the United Kingdom […]

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The Deadly Impact of Government Incompetence

Mostly because politicians focus on the seen rather than the unseen , I’ve unfortunately had several reasons to write about government policies and premature death. Government-run health care Pandemic lockdowns FDA regulation Gun control Anti-vaping rules Bans on organ sales Pharma price controls Today, we’re sadly going to add to this list. Why? Because the […]

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Great Moments in Human Rights

I’m a strong believer in rights, assuming they are defined properly (i.e., they don’t require trampling on the rights of others). Unfortunately, many politicians assert people have “rights” that can only be fulfilled by exploiting others (usually taxpayers). We now have lawmakers asserting that there are “rights” to housing, healthcare, jobs, and countless of other […]

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Great Moments in Foreign Government

I have a series of columns analyzing “Great Moments in Foreign Government” to show that other countries have politicians and bureaucrats who are just as foolish as their American counterparts. I guess this is the policy version of “misery loves company.” And it’s also a source of horror and/or amusement. The British government giving welfare to people […]

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The Continuing Failure of Government-Run Healthcare in the United Kingdom

I’m routinely critical of the many ways that government intervention has created an expensive and inefficient health system in the United States. But there are countries where government causes even greater problems. So when I want to feel good about America’s clunky healthcare system, I look at the mess across the ocean. The United Kingdom […]

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Great Moments in Foreign Taxation

It is easy to criticize the many types of bad tax policy in the United States. High marginal tax rates Pervasive double taxation Mind-boggling complexity Grotesque unfairness The Internal Revenue Service But let’s not forget other nations have bad policy as well. I have written many times, for example, about the stunning greed of many […]

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Everything You Need to Know about Federal Handouts for State and Local Governments

Ideally, the federal government should be limited to the functions specified by the Founders in Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution. If we are to have any hope of getting back to that system, it may require two practical steps. If Washington is operating a program, the first step may be to replace it […]

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