Taxes and Spending

Time reports that Rand Paul has come out in favor of a sizable boost to defense spending.

It's much easier to calculate the direct cost of a tax than the many indirect costs of a government regulation. Nevertheless, government regulations remain some of the biggest millstones around the neck of human progress and ingenuity.

Conscription has become an issue in Ukraine where young men are attempting to avoid compulsory military service. But Ukraine is not unique, and states across the globe and throughout history have imposed the 100-percent tax known as "the draft."

Laurence Vance discusses his recent book, Social Insecurity.

Government will be so much better if we just adopt the latest fads in government reform, we’re told. Needless to say, modest reforms have a long record of total failure and the only answer is to make radical cuts to every government program.

Federal spending has soared by almost 20 percent since 2008. Yet, to hear Mr. Obama, one would think federal employees are forced to sell pencils on Constitution Avenue to raise funds to finance their bureaucratic salvation missions.

Government loans often feature lower interest rates than what can be found in the private sector. But this is only because these cheap loans are taxpayer subsidized. Meanwhile, the government bans many private loans that risky borrowers need most.

Government likes to put out lots of data showing things like income and employment for huge numbers of people.

Government likes to put out lots of data showing things like income and employment for huge numbers of people. The problem is, this tells us almost nothing about how real-life people are hurt or helped by government intervention.

"Taxes" sounds like a boring subject, but Dan brings great energy and passion to the discussion.