Angus Deaton, the Nobel-prize winning economist (who also sits on the advisory board of HumanProgress.org), recently reiterated his belief that on the whole the world is getting better–if not, as he accepted, everywhere or for everyone at once. Perhaps that comes as no surprise, but the idea that the world is getting better in regards to poverty is … Continue reading 5 Charts That Will Shift Your Perspective on Poverty
Category: Economy
President Donald Trump has issued his preliminary federal budget proposal looking to the U.S. government’s next fiscal year. What it shows is that there will likely be no attempt to reduce the size and cost of most of the American interventionist-welfare state. On Thursday, March 16, 2017, the White House released, “America First: A Budget Blueprint to … Continue reading Trump’s Budget Paves the Road to Fiscal Failure
Videos, cable news panels, statistical models, solidarity marches, and countless social media discussions are all focusing on whether a significant gender gap exists in wages after other factors are considered. The media’s hype over the wage gap hype is a sure sign that the American people are prepping for major legislation. In fact, you may have heard that … Continue reading Why Equal Wage Policy Won’t Pay Off
Once again, the United States government is rapidly approaching a fiscal debt ceiling. After March 16, 2017, Uncle Sam will not be legally allowed to borrow any more money to cover its budget deficits, unless Congress votes to raise the debt limit, once again, like it has every time in the past. Uncle Sam’s debt … Continue reading Don’t Raise Uncle Sam’s Credit Limit
Americans who are concerned about unsustainable and reckless government spending have faced a fundamental problem: It’s hard to track what their representatives are doing to either curb, or increase, spending. But thanks to a new tracking tool, those days may be coming to a close. The Coalition to Reduce Spending has just released a tool … Continue reading A New, Easy Way to Track Your Representative on Spending
Until recently, the House was scheduled to vote on the American Health Care Act, the GOP leadership’s proposal to repeal and replace parts of Obamacare. That vote has been called off. While the American Health Care Act would have repealed some Obamacare regulations, the bill does not go far enough. Obamacare caused premiums to rise … Continue reading New Analysis: Obamacare Regulations Drove Up Premium Costs by Up to 68%
Two inmates arrive at a Wisconsin jail. One asks the other, “What are you in for?” “Possession with intent to sell heroin. You?” The first replies, “That’s it? I’m here for possession with intent to sell butter.” True enough, this conversation didn’t happen. But it might as well have. Today in Wisconsin, a crony regulatory … Continue reading Why Wisconsin’s Irrational Ban on Outside Butter Needs to Go
I shared last year a matrix to illustrate Milton Friedman’s great insight about the superior results achieved by markets compared to government. Incentives explain why markets work best. When you spend your own money on yourself (box 1), you try to maximize quality while minimizing cost. And that drives the businesses that are competing for … Continue reading Why Single-Payer Health Care Delivers Poor Quality at High Cost
The lone star state of Texas has always been well-known for its stance on constitutional rights. On March 2, State Representative Matt Schaefer submitted a proposal to revise the state’s constitution to say that virtual currencies like bitcoin are mediums of exchange that “no government shall prohibit." The Texas lawmaker wants it to be known that … Continue reading Don’t Mess with Bitcoin
The EPA announced Friday it will give $100 million in federal taxpayer funds to the city of Flint, Michigan to replace water pipes that have been leaching lead into locals' drinking water. The city is replacing those lead pipes with copper, meaning the Trump administration is almost literally flushing taxpayer money down the drain. The core of the problem … Continue reading Trump $100 million Flint water giveaway is wasteful and abusive
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