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 State Government

When I write about the actions of state governments, it’s usually to highlight a specific bad policy. As you can imagine, states like California, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey give me a never-ending amount of material. But I frequently run across things that are happening in the states that don’t really merit an […]

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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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Great Moments in State Government

Back in 2010, I shared parts of a Dave Barry column that mocked the government for bizarre examples of stupid law enforcement. Barry was specifically making fun of OSHA bureaucrats for fining a company for the horrible transgression of saving a worker when a trench collapsed. But there are many other examples of law enforcement […]

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Great Moments in State Government: Pinhead Bureaucrats Threaten Family with Possible Prison Sentence for Rescuing a Baby Deer

As a public finance economist, I normally focus on big-picture arguments against excessive government. If the public sector is too large, for instance, that undermines economic growth by diverting resources from the productive sector of the economy. The damage is then compounded by a needlessly destructive and punitive tax system. But I’ve also discovered that […]

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Great Moments in State Government Stupidity

Make sure you don’t save an injured deer in Virginia. Not only will the bureaucrats take the animal away from you, but they’ll nail you with three misdemeanor charges just for good measure. I guess the legal approach would have been to let the dogs kill the helpless creature. Here’s part of the WTOP.com report. […]

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Great Moments in New York Government

Governments are inherently inefficient and incompetent. But some of them are worse than others. Looking at states, places such as Illinois, California, and New Jersey seem to be the worst of the worst. But New York also belongs on that list. Some of the Empire State’s problems are summarized in my five-part Florida-vs-New York series […]

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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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Government’s War on Dishwashers

Bureaucrats must have a knee-jerk desire to make citizens miserable. That’s the most logical explanation for their various initiatives to lower our quality of life. Inferior light bulbs Substandard toilets Inadequate washing machines Dribbling showers Dysfunctional gas cans Crummy dishwashers The existence of gas stoves Let’s focus on one of those examples today. George Will […]

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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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Great Moments in Tax Avoidance

Since governments have a terrible tendency to waste money, I’m a big fan of tax avoidance. For instance, even though I don’t like itemized deductions for things like charitable contributions and home mortgage interest, I am glad when taxpayers are able to use those tax preferences to reduce the amount of money going to the […]

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Another Great Moment in Government-Run Healthcare

Because of misguided government policies, health care in America is expensive and inefficient. But it’s always possible to have a system that is even worse. I have often cited the United Kingdom, which has genuine socialism (government employs the doctors and runs the hospitals). However, as part of an ongoing series about “great moments in […]

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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 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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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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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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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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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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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 Deadly Impact of Government-Run Health, Part I

I’m not a fan of the government-distorted health system in the United States. Various laws and programs from Washington have created a massive problem with third-party payer, which makes America’s system very expensive and inefficient. But it’s possible to have a system that is even worse. Americans can look across the ocean at the United […]

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Dividend Taxation in Europe and the United States

Modern tax systems tend to have three major deviations from good fiscal policy. High marginal tax rates on productive behavior like work and entrepreneurship. Multiple layers of taxation on income that is saved and invested. Distortionary loopholes that reward inefficiency and promote corruption. Today, let’s focus on an aspect of item #2. The Tax Foundation […]

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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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Victims of Government

These are people abused by capricious and unconstrained government. Andy Johnson Anthony Smelley The Hammond family Charlie Engle Tammy Cooper Nancy Black Russ Caswell Jacques Wajsfelner Jeff Councelller Eric Garner Martha Boneta Corey Statham James Slatic Carole Hinders Salvatore Culosi James Lieto the Sierra Pacific Company The Meitev family Dimitrios Patlias Jerry Johnson Stephen Lara Heather Wallace […]

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Great Moments in Government Schooling

I don’t like Joe Biden being a lackey of the teacher unions, and I think the entire Department of Education should be eliminated. That being said, intervention from Washington is the not the main cause of America’s education problems. The real problem is that we have an inefficient monopoly system that is – for all […]

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