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Volcker Is Right about “Resolution Authority”
As I noted a few days ago, Paulson’s bailout was the worst possible way to do a bad thing. To the extent that the government had to inject money into the financial system, I explained, it would have...
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George Will Says No VAT Unless 16th Amendment Is Repealed
As usual, some very sound thoughts - on both the value-added tax and the income tax – from George Will: When liberals advocate a value-added tax, conservatives should respond: Taxing consumption has...
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The Greek Bailout
I get a lot of email asking me about Greece, especially since I don’t give the issue much attention on the blog. I am paying close attention to what’s happening, especially since Greece is a canary in...
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The IMF Is Urging Governments to Impose Regulatory and Tax Cartels to Benefit...
Price fixing is illegal in the private sector, but unfortunately there are no rules against schemes by politicians to create oligopolies in order to prop up bad government policy. The latest example...
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The Right Way for Banks to Bail Themselves Out
The politicians are urging big taxes on banks, using rhetoric designed to trick people into thinking that this is a way to make the banks pay for their own bailouts. But a general tax on all banks...
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Why the So-Called Financial Reform Bill Is the Status-Quo Bailout Bill
Nicole Gelinas has been one of the most astute observers of how government has screwed up the financial system and her column in the Washington Examiner is an excellent summary of why the Dodd-Frank...
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TARP Is a Moral Abomination
I have the “opposing view” column in USA Today this morning, and my job was to explain why the politicians who voted for the Wall Street bailout deserve the scorn of voters. I made two points. First,...
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American Taxpayers Should Not Bail Out the European Union
The fiscal disintegration of Europe is bad news, though I confess to a bit of malicious glee every time I read about welfare states such as Greece, Ireland, and Portugal getting to the point where they...
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A Two-Part Quiz for Libertarians and other Advocates of Limited Government
I try to visit the Drudge Report once a day because he has a knack for finding quirky stories. One of his recent gems is a report from the UK-based Sun about an obese man who is suing the government’s...
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With a Few More “Successes” Like the GM Bailout, We’ll Be Greece in Record Time
Most of us have probably heard the joke about the moronic salesman who admitted to losing money on each sale but was hoping to make it up with higher volume. E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post is...
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What Caused the Financial Crisis: Private Greed and Criminality or Government...
Here are two superb articles on the financial crisis. First, from Peter Wallison at the American Enterprise Institute, we have a piece on the role of government housing subsidies. Since he warned, in...
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Obama and Geithner Advising the Europeans on Fiscal Crisis?!? This Is a Case...
This is either frightening or hilarious. The people in Washington who are trying to make America more like Europe are advising the Europeans to double-down on the awful policies that have pushed the...
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Hell No, American Taxpayers Should Not Bail out the IMF
This is getting surreal. We now have layers of bailouts around the world. Different nations are doing their own bailouts. On top of that, the Europeans have set up something called the European...
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No More Bailouts for the IMF
I’m not an expert on addiction, but it’s probably safe to assume that one would never treat an alcoholic by giving him more booze. Or treat an addict by giving him more drugs. So you won’t be surprised...
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The Simple Solution to the European Fiscal Crisis
The welfare states of Europe are in deep trouble. Decades of over-taxing and over-spending have sapped economic vitality and produced high levels of debt. The high debt levels, by themselves, might not...
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The Poisonous Combination of Wall Street and Washington
Kevin Williamson of National Review is always worth reading, whether he’s kicking Paul Krugman’s behind in a discussion about the Texas economy, explaining supply-side economics, or even when he’s...
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Media Bias about Greece, or Media Stupidity?
Today’s a big day in European politics. French voters are going to the polls to decide the fate of Nicolas Sarkozy, the socialist incumbent. I’ve endorsed Francois Hollande, the Socialist challenger,...
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For Financial Markets, Regulation Is the Problem, not the Solution
This past Monday, I took part in a panel discussion about the financial crisis at the European Resource Bank in Brussels. One of my main points was that people in private markets always make mistakes,...
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Bailout Nation
I have a serious question for readers. What’s worse, bailouts for government or bailouts for the private sector? Yes, both are bad, but is it worse to bail out a bankrupt entitlement program, such as...
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Lessons from Cyprus
It doesn’t create a lot of confidence in Europe that tiny little Cyprus, with a GDP less than Vermont, is now causing immense turmoil. Though to be more accurate, events in Cyprus aren’t causing...
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