Topic: Fiscal Policy

Fiscal Policy, Government, Monetary Policy

Understanding the Covid-19 Recession

– July 20, 2021

“National debt ballooned together with the Fed’s balance sheet even before the pandemic hit, and once it did we’ve been spending with unprecedented recklessness for relief, recovery, and even supposed infrastructure expansion. Spending this wealth that has yet to be created guarantees, not just future inflation, but a future recession.” ~ Robert F. Mulligan

Economic Education, Fiscal Policy, Government

Bureaucracy as Infrastructure

– July 18, 2021

“Earmarks for special interests from both parties make it easier to get bipartisan support in Congress, but with wasteful spending spiraling out of control, it’s hard to see that as an advantage.”~ Robert F. Mulligan

Economic Education, Fiscal Policy, Government

The 50 States Suffered Differentially During the Lockdowns and Pandemic

– July 12, 2021

“In the aggregate, government spending at all levels (federal, state, and local) had a mildly negative 0.3% effect on the economy. The bottom line is that the private sector actually did a better overall job in most states than governments in terms of managing state and local economic progress.” ~ Gregory van Kipnis

Economic Education, Fiscal Policy, Government

The Adverse Economic Consequences of “Basic Income”

– July 8, 2021

“Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected a referendum for basic income back in 2016. Further, Joe Biden expressed skepticism about the idea back in 2017, but he obviously has had a change of heart, given his current support for big, per-child handouts.” ~ Daniel J. Mitchell

Fiscal Policy, Government, International

Tax Havens, or Government Cartels?

– June 18, 2021

“The intergovernmental competition offers one of the few avenues of escape from the oppressive coercion of government. Intergovernmental competition is one of the safeguards of liberty, and that safeguard is under attack by President Biden, Secretary Yellen, and the G-7.” ~ Randall G. Holcombe

Fiscal Policy, Government

Pandemic Emergency Spending Riddled With Fraud

– June 17, 2021

“We already knew that the coronavirus pandemic resulted in a bigger burden of government, and none of us should be surprised that we also wound up with record levels of waste. Remember, ‘more government’ is not the answer to any sensible question. At some point, we will run out of ‘other people’s money.'” ~ Daniel J. Mitchell

Economic History, Fiscal Policy, Inflation

The Horrors of Hyperinflation

– June 16, 2021

“Governments have few universally accepted goals. National defense, protection of property, and stability of the unit of account are arguably the three most important because all else rides on them. Hyperinflation destroys all three, so any serious risk of hyperinflation is simply unacceptable from a policy standpoint.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Fiscal Policy, Government, Regulation

New Leak of Taxpayer Info Is (More) Evidence of IRS Corruption

– June 9, 2021

“What’s especially disgusting is that the Biden Administration wants to reward IRS corruption with giant budget increases, bolstered by utterly fraudulent numbers. Needless to say, that would be a terrible idea, and sadly, Republicans in the past have been sympathetic to expanding the size of the tax bureaucracy.” ~ Daniel J. Mitchell

Authoritarianism, Fiscal Policy, Government

Inflation Is a Dangerous Way to Get Rid of Debt Burdens

– June 1, 2021

“The United States is in dangerous waters if it becomes ‘general wisdom’ and ‘popular opinion’ among public policy analysts and politicians that governments can spend all they want, in any amount, by just running huge annual budget deficits and expanding the national debt because it can all be made to go away through a magician’s trick of monetary expansion and currency debasement” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Economic Education, Economic History, Fiscal Policy

Supply-Side Neoliberalism Sure Beats the Alternative

– May 25, 2021

“The near-phobic disdain for supply-side economics and neoliberalism this century is part of a new wave of anti-capitalist sentiment. We have seen this movie before. It is a horror film. The true friends of rationality, liberty, and prosperity should wake up, stand proudly, and contend boldly.” ~ Richard M. Salsman

Economic Education, Financial Markets, Fiscal Policy

Pocket Monsters Meet Animal Spirits

– May 24, 2021

“Lockdowns, boredom, and fiscal largesse sparked the incredible rise in Pokémon card values. But the Greater Fool Theory may already be at work.” ~ Peter C. Earle

Economic History, Fiscal Policy, Government

The War on Retirement

– May 22, 2021

“The American version of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the event that began the steady march toward oblivion, was the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935. The dominos have been falling ever since, and the last ones are about to tip over, intentions be damned.” ~ James R. Harrigan & Antony Davies