Big Government

The bond market is sending a message to the US government that its spending is out of control.

Western Europe has been at peace for the past 80 years. Unfortunately, EU leaders have not appreciated the benefits of peace and look to promoting war. The memories of World War II have faded, but the EU seems determined to create new bad memories.

Donald Trump says he plans for a big 12% jump in military spending, he has threatened war with Iran, and has escalated the war with the Houthis. None of this has anything to do with defending the United States. 

Economist Robert Higgs described the “ratchet effect” in which government either creates a crisis or responds to one, leading to a permanent expansion of government power. After the crisis ends, government retreats—but not to the point where is was pre-crisis.

By trying to deport foreign student Rumeysa Ozturk for simply writing an op-ed in a student paper critical of Israel, the Trump administration and its supporters quickly forget that their actions are part of a slippery slope that imperils free speech in this country. It doesn‘t end here.

Our taxes are due today. It‘s a reminder that we must get past the tax reformers’ favorite ploy of revenue neutrality.

It is not just the future generation who bears the burden of increased government debt, but the current generation who pay the interest to the banks and corporations through higher taxes and higher price inflation.

An enduring progressive myth is that racial and religious minorities can only make economic gains if government "levels the playing field." The historical record demonstrates, however, that free markets offer the best opportunities for people in minority groups.

With many in the ruling classes violently reacting to DOGE, one figures that Elon Musk might be on the right path. He could learn much more about the dead hand of government if he were to read Ludwig von Mises.

From Paul Ehrlich to Bill Gates, prominent Americans have forecast doom through “overpopulation.” Although the Great Population Disaster has never occurred, that does not discourage the usual suspects from crying wolf.