Arthur Laffer, of the Laffer Curve, writes in the Wall Street Journal of “Tax Hikes and the 2011 Economic Collapse.” It’s sobering, somber reading: Today’s corporate profits reflect an income shift into 2010. These profits will tumble next year, preceded most likely by the stock market…. People can change the volume, the location and the…
Government Spending
Government Spending, Laws/Regulations
Wisconsin’s Wasteful Smoking Ban Ad Blitz
by JOHN ADAMS •
In a time of a high unemployment and dire budget forecasts, the State of Wisconsin has decided to waste money telling residents that a statewide smoking ban in workplaces begins soon. See, Wis. to Launch Statewide Smoking Ban Ad Blitz. There are a thousand ways to better use this money, from not spending it at…
City, Economy, Free Markets, Government Spending, Planning, Uncategorized
America’s War Between Free Enterprise and Government Control
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s an essay in the Washington Post, that wonders if we face America’s new culture war: Free enterprise vs. government control. Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, considers the topic and concludes that we do face such a cultural clash. First, Brooks considers the irreconcilable systems of free enterprise and state control: This…
Government Spending
YouCut: A Project of the Economic Recovery Working Group
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’m not a Republican, but here’s a good idea for supporters of any party. YouCut is “a first-of-its-kind project – is designed to defeat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. It allows you to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House enact.…
Government Spending, Politics
Reason.tv: Is Hillary Clinton Right That The Rich Don’t Pay “Their Fair Share” in Taxes?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Secretary of State Clinton recently said that productive Americans, among others in the developed world, don’t pay their fair share of taxes. (Clinton offered that observation at the Brookings Institution earlier this week. Clinton was quick to say that she was not speaking for the administration of which she is, after all, a Senate-confirmed cabinet…
Economy, Government Spending, Libertarians
Reason Magazine: Paul Ryan – Radical or Sellout?
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s a common libertarian complaint that no major-party candidate was, is, or ever will be, libertarian enough. So, Goldwater wasn’t good enough, Reagan wasn’t good enough, and Paul Ryan’s not good enough. That’s to be expected — these men didn’t set out to be good enough for us. They weren’t running as libertarians, but as…
Government Spending
Let Them Scoop Their Own: Minnesota City Stops Providing Free Doggie Bags
by JOHN ADAMS •
That’s doggie bags as scoop bags, not ones for leftover food. Either way, there’s no way that suburban Edina, Minnesota’s local government should have been buying bags for people to use for their pups. I’d guess there’s at least one resident who sees this as a failure of government. On the contrary, the only failure…
Government Spending
Reason.tv: How Did GM Pay Back Its Loans “In Full and Ahead of Schedule?” It Didn’t!
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a short, solid description of how corporate-welfare case General Motors is lying when it says it’s truly paid back its government loan. Every ad and statement that GM makes to that claim is fraudulent and, of course, self-serving. I would not contend that GM was a great car company even five years ago, but…
City, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Planning
Whitewater’s Innovation Center Groundbreaking
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written before about Whitewater’s tech park and Innovation Center, and some of the coverage it’s received. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Innovation Center, held this Tuesday, is another opportunity to review officials’ flimsy claims. Statements at the event were sadly, but predictably, empty. Prior Posts. I’ve written about the Tech Park and Innovation Center…
Government Spending, Libertarians, Liberty
Libertarian Beliefs and Expectations
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over at Reason’s Hit and Run, Radley Balko offers a concise explanation of the difference between wanting government to fail, and expecting that it will: I don’t promote government failure, I expect it. And my expectations are met fairly often. What I promote is the idea that more people share my expectations, so fewer people…
City, Development, Free Markets, Government Spending, Laws/Regulations, Planning
A Bigger Walmart Proposed for Whitewater, Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
I wrote once about the Walmart, No. 1274, in Whitewater. (Walmart now uses a name without a hyphen in advertising. I’m guessing they consider it both simpler and more upscale than “Wal-Mart.”) I wrote about Walmart a while ago, and a lot has changed. Walmart now sells both beer and liquor, there’s no east side…
Economy, Government Spending
Do Earmarks Crowd Out Local Private Investment?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Free Markets, Government Spending, Laws/Regulations, Libertarians, Planning
Reason.tv – Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey: Privatize It (Episode 3)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s episode three of the Reason.tv series on saving Cleveland, and by implication lots of other cities, too. In this episode, viewers see how government doesn’t manage produce markets or golf courses very well. Should cities be in the business of running businesses ranging from convention centers to farmers markets? Selling off golf courses, contracting…
Free Markets, Government Spending, Laws/Regulations, Libertarians, Poverty
Reason.tv: Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey — Introduction
by JOHN ADAMS •
Drew Carey has a series at Reason.tv about his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland’s a big place, but Carey’s proposals for revitalizing his town would apply to other places in the Midwest, including far smaller ones. Here’s an introduction to his series: Click …to watch Drew introduce the series that just might save his hometown.…