How to Improve the Culture - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute

How to Improve the Culture - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute: "In one year, thanks to one entrepreneur with a vision and the dedication to carry it out, the local culture is massively and dramatically improved — the old world and its high standards carried on toward the future. I looked back at my previous despair with embarrassment. It turns out that there was nothing inevitable about cultural decline. All it takes is one person to make the change."

Who's To Blame for the Massive Deficit? | Daniel J. Mitchell | Cato Institute: Commentary

Who's To Blame for the Massive Deficit? | Daniel J. Mitchell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The 2009 fiscal year began Oct. 1, 2008, nearly four months before Obama took office. The budget for the entire fiscal year was largely set in place while President Bush was in the White House."

"What about the so-called stimulus, they will ask, with its $787 billion price tag? Or the omnibus fiscal-year 2009 appropriations bill? And how about Cash for Clunkers and Obama's expansion of the children's health insurance program? Didn't these all boost spending in 2009?

The answer is yes. But these boondoggles amounted to just a tiny percentage of FY2009 spending — about $140 billion out of a $3.5 trillion budget — as the pie chart nearby illustrates."

"This is where Obama's critics should be directing their attention. Big government won't work any better for Obama than it did for Bush. America's fiscal problem is excessive government spending, and deficits are merely a symptom of that underlying disease. If Obama wants to rejuvenate the economy, he should abandon the Bush policies of big government and interventionism and instead go with free market policies that actually work."

In Defense of Senate 'Obstructionism' | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

In Defense of Senate 'Obstructionism' | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Liberals are screaming bloody murder about Republican obstructionism. But thank God for obstructionism, and the Senate rules facilitating it -- because the longer this debate goes on, the less Americans like what the Dems are trying to sell them.

No wonder Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is desperate to force a vote before senators go home: As CBS's Nancy Cordes put it, he otherwise runs 'the risk that any Democrats change their minds over the holidays or get swayed by all those tea party protests.'"

"Yet when Coburn asked that each senator certify that he or she has read and understands the bill, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., objected: 'I cannot certify that members of the Senate will understand what they're reading' (!)."

Charters Hold Key to Saving State Big Education Dollars | Andrew J. Coulson | Cato Institute: Commentary

Charters Hold Key to Saving State Big Education Dollars | Andrew J. Coulson | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Based on the latest (2006-07) figures, the average charter school in Michigan spends $2,000 less in state and local tax dollars per pupil than the average district school. So the savings from a district-to-charter student exodus would add up to $3.5 billion annually. To put that in perspective, it would erase Michigan's recent $2.8 billion state budget shortfall and still allow for a $700 million across-the-board tax cut.

And the benefits of migrating completely to charter schools would go beyond the financial. One of the key concerns voiced by parents in response to Gov. Jennifer Granholm's spending cuts is that they will lead to larger class sizes. But Michigan's charter schools not only spend 20 percent less than district schools, they also have 20 percent fewer pupils per teacher."

Obama vs. the Banks | Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr. | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama vs. the Banks | Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr. | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Wall Street fat cats are always a convenient political target, but bankers are responding to the incentives generated by the economic policies of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve. First and foremost is the Fed's policy of near-zero interest rates.

What this means is that banks can raise short-term money at very low interest rates and buy safe, 10-year Treasury bonds at around 3.5%. The Bernanke Fed has promised to maintain its policy for 'an extended period.' That translates into an extended opportunity for banks to engage in this interest-rate arbitrage.

Why would a banker take on traditional loans, which even in good times come with some risk of loss?"

Leave Lieberman Alone | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary

Leave Lieberman Alone | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In reality, John Brodniak's situation has nothing to do with Sen. Lieberman's objection to a government-run 'public option.' Mr. Brodniak already has a public option — namely, Medicaid. His real problem, Kristof reveals, is that 'he hasn't been able to find a doctor who will accept him as a patient for surgery, apparently because the [Medicaid] reimbursements are so low.' Brain surgeons are scarce, and you get what you pay for. Medicaid won't pay, so John won't get one.

Ironically, Congressional Democrats plan to shove at least another 13 million more victims into Medicaid — the same dangerous scheme that threatens John Brodniak's life."

"The CBO prediction of government-run plan beset with high premiums, a thin list of providers and few customers makes good economic sense. But that also makes it politically unlikely to be the final outcome. Such a failed experiment would be so embarrassing for its architects (Congressional Democrats) that they would surely rush to provide endless and escalating 'emergency' subsidies to disguise the blunder."