Topic: Policy

Is There Any Such Thing as Legislation Anymore?

– July 9, 2023

“With congressional opposition to a legislative approach clear, the Administration decided to work through the Department of Education to use the HEROES Act to accomplish administratively what they had been unable to do legislatively.” ~ Ryan Yonk and Laura Arce

Policy, Property Rights, Taxation

No, Joe, There is No Such Thing as a “Fair Share” of Taxes

– June 30, 2023

“Tax rates are largely politically motivated and arbitrarily chosen, and stacked with exemptions and penalties to help incentivize behaviors favored by the politicians writing the voluminous tax code. Regardless of the rates, there is no ‘fairness’ to be achieved.” ~ Brian Balfour

Economic Education, International, Policy, War and Peace

Pentagon Corrects “Accounting Error.” As Always, the First Casualty of War is the Truth

– June 25, 2023

“Why has the Pentagon flipped? Obviously, the Pentagon initially wanted to exaggerate the amount of aid being given to Ukraine. ” ~ Clifford Thies

Capitalism, Economic Education, Policy

I See Dead Policies

– June 24, 2023

“Firms can do anything they want. Just as long as they don’t charge a price that’s more than consumers think they should have to pay, the same as competitors, or less than other firms can match.” ~ Michael Munger

International, Policy, Taxation

Norway’s Wealth Tax Is Backfiring. Are Americans Paying Attention?

– June 23, 2023

“More ‘super rich’ Norwegians left Norway in 2022 than during the previous 13 years combined. The reason wealthy Norwegians are fleeing the country is not a secret.” ~ Jon Miltimore

Art and Culture, Policy, Property Rights

A Four Point Plan for Every City

– June 21, 2023

“If you agree that local politics should be about protecting others’ liberty to become the people they want to become rather than giving you the tools to turn them into the people you want them to become, what should your city do?” ~ Art Carden

Government, Policy, Taxation

Votes For and Votes Against

– June 20, 2023

“If we think of votes as ‘votes for’ candidates, then it would make some sense to declare any candidate who wins only a plurality of votes, but not a majority, as the victor.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Economic Education, Policy, Property Rights

Politics as Self-Interest: Housing Is the Exception That Proves the Rule

– June 9, 2023

“The costs of NIMBYism hit renters, landowners, employers, and future generations hard. But of those groups, only landowners have the direct incentive to show up to support projects being built on their own land. ” ~ Jason Sorens

Education, History, Policy

Are Historians Politically Biased?

– June 7, 2023

“If there are strong signs of association between a President’s deficit spending and his rank, then we can speak more robustly as to whether historians are letting their political priors bleed into their research.” ~ Vincent Geloso

Books, Government, Policy

A Higher Minimum Wage, More Unions, and More Public Housing. Review of ‘Poverty, by America’ by Matthew Desmond

– June 1, 2023

“Desmond’s policy proposals almost all double down on collaboration between big government, big business, and big labor–the ‘system’ against which the American left first cut its teeth protesting.” ~ Max Gulker

Fiscal Policy, Government, Policy, Taxation

Playing Chicken with a Stack of Steering Wheels

– May 26, 2023

“People often complain about the ‘irrationality’ of politics, but there is nothing irrational about the process that has given rise to our crushing debt burden. Voters really do want lower deficits, provided it does not involve either cutting spending or raising taxes.” ~ Michael Munger

Healthcare, Policy, Regulation

What accounts for America’s life expectancy gap?

– May 26, 2023

“A large portion of the gap (but not all of it) is due to unique features of American life that are unrelated to health care services.” ~ Vincent Geloso