Conversations with Conservatives on Budget Deal, Obamacare (Video)
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are wrapping up work on a range of issues before closing the books on 2013. Tomorrow, you can get the scoop… Read More
We Are Drilling, Baby! U.S. Passing Saudi Arabia in Oil Production
What do you know—“Drill, baby, drill” is working. Thanks to new smart-drilling and production technologies (including hydraulic fracturing), the U.S. is the leading liquid fuels… Read More
Pope Francis and America’s Obligations to the Poor
Americans are a generous and conscientious people, concerned with making sure that no one falls through the cracks and that everyone is given a fair… Read More
Lack of Resources Is Not the Reason for SEC Tardiness
During a recent House Financial Services Committee mark-up, a number of members complained that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was “slow walking” the regulations… Read More
An Unlimited Christmas Credit Card
What if you had no spending limits this holiday season? You could take that dream ski vacation you’ve always wanted…and buy all new ski gear… Read More
8 Things to Watch for in the Farm Bill
The House and Senate are working out differences between their farm bills. The following is a list of major questions to consider if the negotiators… Read More
State Department Waste: Booze, Crystal, and a Million-Dollar Stack of Rocks
On the eve of the government shutdown, the State Department was consumed with a very different budget crisis of its own: purchasing vast amounts of… Read More
What Obama Got Right and What He Got Wrong on Economic Mobility
When it comes to economic mobility, the President often starts out by making some statements that Republicans and Democrats have always agreed on, such as:… Read More
Congress Wants to Tax Your Christmas Tree
Christmas trees are pretty unpopular, right? The House must think so, since its farm bill would pave the way to set up a Christmas Tree… Read More
Farm Bill: Money for Nothin’… I Want My Subsidy
The four principal farm bill negotiators have tentatively agreed on a framework for a new farm bill. A central aspect of this framework would be… Read More
EPA Science Advisers Raise Concerns over Climate Regulations
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) planned greenhouse gas regulations for both new and existing power plants would effectively act as a bureaucratically managed cap-and-trade plan… Read More
Farm Bill Giveaways for Underwear, Flatulence, and Manure
The House and Senate are struggling to negotiate terms of a new $1 trillion “farm” bill that would subsidize an array of commodities as well… Read More
We Bet You Haven’t Heard This About Obamacare
Another push is underway to raise the minimum wage. But what you probably haven’t heard is that Obamacare has already done that. The plan on… Read More
Proposed Cuts Would Barely Dent Massive Growth of Food Stamps
Food stamp spending is at historic highs—it has doubled twice since 2000. Now some on Capitol Hill say the House is trying to make major… Read More
Parenting 101: Doling Out Farm Bill Subsidies to the “Kids”?
The House and Senate farm bills would repeal the costly and indefensible direct payment program, which sends taxpayer dollars to people who don’t even plant… Read More
No Room for Spending Cuts? How About Government Employee Trips to the Caribbean?
If government employees can enjoy a stay in a luxury hotel made famous on The Bachelor, then surely Congress could find somewhere to make spending… Read More
Farm Bill Extension Would Be Better Than $1 Trillion Food Stamp/Subsidy Disaster
Congress doesn’t have much time to work out a food stamp/farm bill this year. If no farm bill is passed, this wouldn’t be the end… Read More
Green Light for Detroit Bankruptcy: Time for Unions to Come to the Table
Federal Judge Steven Rhodes’s ruling to allow the City of Detroit to proceed with its bankruptcy filing is a welcome—even momentous—occasion for Detroit. It means… Read More
Holding Back Progress Is a Fool’s Errand: Drones Are Coming
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos started a maelstrom after a surprise announcement on television Sunday evening that Amazon would “soon” begin to use drones to deliver… Read More
Congress Has Already Raised the Minimum Wage Above $10
Congress will soon vote on raising the federal minimum wage to over $10 per hour. Few realize that, from the perspective of many employers, the… Read More
Tea Party Supporters Should Continue to Back Free Trade
Recent media reports have questioned whether “Tea Party” members support free trade. Historically, the record is clear: Tea partiers were America’s original free traders. In… Read More
Black Friday Spending Spree (in Washington)
American shoppers aren’t the only ones getting ready to spend big this holiday season. In Washington, members of the budget conference committee are considering several… Read More
The Thanksgiving Menu: Overstuffed with Regulations
On the fourth Thursday of November, our attention naturally turns to food and football the Pilgrims who celebrated America’s first Thanksgiving. After great privation, a… Read More
GSE Reform: Housing Finance Experts on the Future of Fannie and Freddie
Nearly five years after one of the largest federal government bailouts in American history and the enactment of a colossal federal regulatory law (Dodd–Frank), policy… Read More
Obamaphones: Rife with Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
Free cell phones for low-income Americans, one of the fastest growing welfare programs in the United States, is—by the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) own admission—rife… Read More
JFK Cutting Taxes: A Fiscal Camelot
As the country marks the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s assassination, there are many reflections about the man and his legacy. For those old enough,… Read More
Tales of the Red Tape #42: Peeling Back Nonsense in Vehicle Regulation
General Motors Corp. (GM) is recalling 18,941 Chevy Camaros (model years 2013 and 2014) for violating Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208—Occupant Crash Protection…. Read More
Baucus Heads Wrong Way on Important Part of Tax Reform — Again
Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Max Baucus (D–MT) continues to release draft proposals on important parts of tax reform. His latest draft proposal is… Read More
Volcker Rule Gets Stuck on Reality
Slate seems to have picked up on a classic regulatory problem that relates to the (still being finalized) version of the new Volcker Rule. The… Read More
The Fed Inflation-Unemployment Trade-Off: Outlasting the Energizer Bunny
George Selgin has a new post on the Free Banking Blog that highlights the economic quandary the Fed now has the U.S. in. The post… Read More
