Great Moments in Foreign Government: Wasted French Wine

When I write about bad French policy, I’m usually referring to fiscal problems such as excessive spending and onerous taxation. Such as a retirement system with full benefits available at an absurdly low age (even after the recent reform). Or the 8,000 households back in 2012 that had to pay at least 100 percent of […]

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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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Great Moments in Foreign Government

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

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 […]

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Great Moments in Foreign Government

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 […]

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Great Moments in Foreign Government

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. […]

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From the British Isles, Great Moments in Foreign Government

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 […]

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Great Moments in Foreign Government

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 […]

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Great Moments in Foreign Government

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 […]

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Great Moments in Foreign Government

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 […]

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The Foreign Edition of Great Moments in Government

It would require several people, working around the clock, to provide daily updates about the bizarre and senseless actions of the crowd in Washington. And you’d need many additional people to monitor the foolish decisions in state capitals. I certainly try to do my small part, sharing example of jaw-dropping vapidity by our overseers in […]

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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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Four Great Moments in Foreign Government Stupidity…and some Embarrassing Political Correctness in America

While I mostly focus on bad government policy in the United States, I also think we can learn lessons from what’s happening in other nations. In some cases, I share positive stories, such as the success of privatized Social Security in Australia, nationwide school choice in Sweden, and genuine spending cuts in the Baltic nations. […]

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Great Moments in Foreign Government: Taxpayer-Financed Friends for Mass Murderers

While most of my disdain is focused on the clowns in Washington, I enjoy poking fun at the policies adopted by the various nitwits and thugs that can be found in other governments. That’s why I’ve mocked the British government-run healthcare system for letting a woman die when officials failed to notice a six-inch toilet […]

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Great Moments in Foreign Government

I saw this odd story about wasteful government spending in James Taranto’s Best of the Web email. The bureaucrats at Britain’s National Health Service are sqandering thousands of dollars to create a giant “Burger Boy” as part of a government propoganda program against obesity. But what’s really odd is that local taxpayers (if there are […]

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Great Moments in Foreign Government

Or maybe this belongs in the “great moments in international bureaucracy” series since it relates to European Union law. Regardless, we have another sign of Europe’s fiscal nightmare. A court in the United Kingdom has given a big green light to welfare tourism by ruling that a foreign citizen can get handouts based on children […]

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Great Moments in Foreign Government

German politicians apparently have been hot on the trail of evil evaders who did not pay tax on coffee ordered over the Internet. To address this terrible crisis, the government spent 800,000 euro and tracked down 4000 dangerous criminals. Shockingly, a few cynics, including the folks at Reuters, are trying to diminish this triumph by […]

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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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Should Government Control Your Car?

People with libertarian sympathies worry about “slippery slopes.” To elaborate, if you give government a little bit of power, we fear it will just be a matter of time before politicians and bureaucrats figure out how to expand and abuse that authority. For instance, look at how the simple and modest income tax that was […]

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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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Summarizing the Mentality of Government in One Sentence

Back in 2014, I shared a meme with a motto that was perfect for Washington, DC. Today, let’s do something similar. But instead of a motto specifically for America’s unsavory capital, how about one sentence that summarizes the mentality of all governments. I used a fill-in-the-blank format because there are so many possible answers. After […]

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Government-Run Dating Apps Would Be a Recipe for Lifelong Celibacy

For those who read these columns on my website, you presumably have noticed that I have a rotating banner at the top of the page. One of the options is a quote from Milton Friedman about the blundering inefficiency of Washington. Though I believe in fairness. I also have periodic columns about the incompetence of […]

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The Bernie Sanders-Style Agenda of Spain’s New Government

Last month’s election in the United Kingdom attracted considerable attention, not only because it would decide Brexit, but also because of the potential risk of a hard-left Labour government in the world’s 5th-largest economy. The British dodged that bullet but the people of Spain are not so fortunate. A new government with a very statist […]

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Great Moments in British Government

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, […]

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Great Moments in German Tax Enforcement

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 […]

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Great Moments in Canadian Law

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 […]

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Great Moments in British Government

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, […]

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Great Moments in British Government

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 […]

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Great Moments in State Government

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 […]

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Great Moments in International Taxation

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 […]

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