Ron Paul’s ‘Plan to Restore America’ | Cato @ Liberty

Ron Paul’s ‘Plan to Restore America’ | Cato @ Liberty: 'Republican policymakers – including the current GOP field of presidential candidates – talk a good game about reducing spending, but very few are willing to spell out exactly what they’d cut. As NRO’s Kevin Williamson puts it in the title of his write-up on the plan, “Ron Paul Dropping a Reality Bomb on the GOP Field.”'

Bad for Taxpayers and Whales | Mark A. Calabria | Cato Institute: Commentary

Bad for Taxpayers and Whales | Mark A. Calabria | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'The destruction of Gulf Coast wetlands, which had acted as a buffer from hurricanes, magnified the impact of Hurricane Katrina. We can debate the role of Washington in protecting the environment, but at a minimum we can all agree we should not be actively subsidizing its destruction with tax dollars.

The flood insurance program not only places the environment in harm's way, but does the same to the very people it attempts to benefit. By under-pricing flood risk, the program makes it cheaper to live in a flood plain than it would be otherwise. Unquestionably, that distortion gives families who would not have done so an incentive to live in the path of a potential flood.'

Abolish the Air Marshals | David Rittgers | Cato Institute: Commentary

Abolish the Air Marshals | David Rittgers | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'The air marshals' deterrent effect has largely withered away because of a change in al Qaida tactics. The would-be shoe- and underwear-bombers were merely trying to blow up aircraft, not take control of the cockpit. Both were tackled by the passengers and crew of their target flights, not shot or apprehended by air marshals.'

The Current Wisdom: Imitation, Flattery and More Bad News for Climate Models | Patrick J. Michaels | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Current Wisdom: Imitation, Flattery and More Bad News for Climate Models | Patrick J. Michaels | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'But, no matter how you spin it, or where the analysis appears, this fact remains: over the last three decades, the climate model projections offered up thus far, have been, and continue to be, sizeable overestimates of reality. Give me all the excuses that you want, but if the excuses are indeed real, then obviously they are important drivers of the climate systems and therefore must be considered when offering up future climate projections. Failing to do so, as we have seen, leads to failing forecasts. And until significant improvements are made in the models (improvements that may very well result in a determination of a lower climate sensitivity), I see no compelling reason why we should bank on existing climate model projections for the future state/behavior of the climate.'

Poor Choices | James A. Dorn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Poor Choices | James A. Dorn | Cato Institute: Commentary: Poverty is often blamed on high taxes, onerous regulations, barriers to occupational entry and other economic factors. But poverty is also affected by people's choices. For individuals who wait to have children, get married and stay married, obtain more education, and stay out of jail, poverty rates diminish greatly.

Columns - Newsroom - Ron Johnson, United States Senator for Wisconsin

Columns - Newsroom - Ron Johnson, United States Senator for Wisconsin: Historically, if the minority objects, Senate rules dictate that a supermajority vote of two-thirds is first needed to cut off debate, before a simple majority vote can change the rules of the Senate. This requirement was established to protect the rights of the minority in the Senate, just as our Constitution was established to protect the rights of a single individual — the ultimate minority.

Time to Abolish DHS | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Time to Abolish DHS | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'As a result of the "gold-rush pathology" encouraged by the grants — to offer just one example — the midsize town of Grand Forks, N.D., now "has more biochemical suits and gas masks than police officers to wear them."'

'DHS handouts also further a burgeoning culture of police paramilitarization, funding armored personnel carriers for such "unlikely terrorist targets" as the towns of Adrian, Mich., and Germantown, Tenn.'

'to justify the increased post-Sept. 11 spending, we "would have to deter, prevent, foil, or protect against 1,667 otherwise successful [attempted Times Square car bomb-type] attacks per year, or more than four per day."'

Obama's Tax Falsehoods | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama's Tax Falsehoods | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Many on the political left are quick to recognize that tax rates affect behavior when applied to behaviors they do not like, such as smoking. They want to have high taxes on certain foods, such as candy, drinks containing sugar, and transfats, to discourage their use. But when it comes to labor and capital, those on the left often argue that those taxes have little effect on the willingness of people to work or invest in productive enterprises, despite both the empirical evidence and good economic theory. To quote Mr. Entin, who has studied and modeled the effects of taxes for more than 30 years, "Higher marginal tax rates on any group, especially those already paying the highest marginal rates, would reduce GDP [gross domestic product] and income across the board, and not just on the people paying the initial tax bill. Increasing the double taxation on corporate income by raising tax rates on capital gains and dividends would dramatically reduce capital formation and wages, and would not raise the expected revenue."'

Public Schools Eat Too Much At Government Trough | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary

Public Schools Eat Too Much At Government Trough | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'According to the federal Digest of Education Statistics, between 1969 and 2008 (the latest year with available data) public schools went from 22.6 students per teacher to 15.3. District administrative staff went from 697.7 students per employee to just 363.3. In total, students per employee dropped from 13.6 to 7.8.

And what happened to achievement? Scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress — the "nation's report card" — flatlined for 17-year-olds, our schools' "final products."'

Operation Twisted Logic - Detlev Schlichter - Mises Daily

Operation Twisted Logic - Detlev Schlichter - Mises Daily: 'The Fed's entire policy program suffers from the same defect that all market interventions suffer from. The moment you stop intervening, the underlying problems come to the surface again. Just look at the short-lived results of QE2. Administrative price setting does not change economic reality, at least not for the better. The interventionist has to keep intervening and do so at an accelerating pace.

Surprisingly few people seem willing to ask what exactly the underlying economic problem is. As long as we avoid that question and simply talk superficially about slow growth, the risk of a "double dip" and the need for "stimulus," I guess the Fed will continue to get away with portraying an image of, at worst, innocent bystander or, at best, a well-meaning and public-service-minded bureaucracy that just keeps trying to fight the recession, diligently exploring all available policy tools. According to this popular view, our economic difficulties seem to have come over us like a bad harvest or an alien invasion. They appear to be entirely exogenous, and the Fed is our friend and partner helping us to get out of this mess.'

'When Nixon took the dollar off gold internationally, the monetary base and bank reserves in the United States, that is, the part of the overall money supply that the Fed controls directly, was $69.8 billion. Ten years later it was $147 billion, another ten years later it was $319.7 billion, another ten years later it was $645.1 billion, and last month, exactly 40 years after the dollar was "freed" from gold, it was $2,679.5 billion.'

"Economic Warfare" - Walter Block - Mises Daily

"Economic Warfare" - Walter Block - Mises Daily: 'The only "hostile" person [in a hostile takeover] is the CEO who was ripping off the firm. But when we say that in the market there is only peaceful cooperation, we mean on the part of those who engage in any specific transaction; e.g., the newspaper buyer and seller. Third parties, of course, can always be hostile.'

The Evidence Is Mixed | Peter Van Doren | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Evidence Is Mixed | Peter Van Doren | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Another rationale for targeted subsidies is that innovators in energy markets cannot capture the full benefits of their innovations. Notice that the complaint, however, is that business will underinvest in research and development across the board, not that investors pick the wrong technologies in which to invest. If this is a serious problem, the solution is to make all research and development more attractive through subsidies.'

Social Security Ponzi Scheme? Perhaps, but That's Not the Problem | Jagadeesh Gokhale | Cato Institute: Commentary

Social Security Ponzi Scheme? Perhaps, but That's Not the Problem | Jagadeesh Gokhale | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'That suggests that the program's various redistributive features do little to alter the distribution of economic well being. Other studies also refute the idea that Social Security is successful in providing social insurance through its redistributive provisions. In yet another study, I show how Social Security's current rules can prevent people from becoming richer over generations. Social Security's rules induce low income households to save very little through retirement, thereby preventing them bequeathing wealth to their children — unlike children of rich families.'

What Defense Cuts? | Benjamin H. Friedman and Caitlin Talmadge | Cato Institute: Commentary

What Defense Cuts? | Benjamin H. Friedman and Caitlin Talmadge | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Compared with 2011 spending, the deal requires only a minor trim in security budgets: $4.5 billion in 2012 and $2.5 billion in 2013. And that reduction — pocket change in a $529 billion annual defense budget — need not even come from the Pentagon.'

'Because the bill doesn't cap war spending, Congress may evade caps by shifting base spending to that account. The past decade has given appropriators ample experience in loading war bills with base spending. Already, Senate appropriators seem to have slipped more than $6 billion of expenses previously in the base budget into the 2012 war request.'

'The "doomsday" scenario would only return America to its 2007-level of defense spending.'

How Obama's Last Stimulus Bill Became a Comedy of Errors | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary

How Obama's Last Stimulus Bill Became a Comedy of Errors | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'In 2009, his $825 billion extravaganza, touted as an emergency measure, targeted sectors of the economy with the lowest unemployment rates — namely, government employees (2.3 percent unemployed), in particular those in schooling and health care (3.8 percent unemployed). By contrast, unemployment rates in manufacturing and construction were 8.3 percent and 15.2 percent respectively.'

'Even if one were to accept the original claims that a million jobs were "saved or created," the total amount of stimulus money spent was about $160 billion, which would mean each job cost taxpayers $160,000! In fact, when all the undocumented claims are discarded, the cost per government job is likely to be closer to what Cato Institute economist Alan Reynolds has estimated: $646,000. In some cases, the cost went much higher, as when nearly $6 million was spent to save just three jobs at Burson-Marsteller, a public relations firm headed by Hillary Clinton's former pollster Mark Penn. Cost per job saved: $2 million.'

Stealth Wealth Tax | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Stealth Wealth Tax | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made it worse by imposing a tax on nominal savings income, not just on inflation-adjusted income. The 16th Amendment to the Constitution gave the federal government the right to impose a tax on "incomes." A change in the price level caused by inflation is not income by any economic or sensible definition of the word. The IRS, in fact, recognizes that inflation is not income because it adjusts the individual income tax brackets each year to offset inflation. Yet it tries to impose a tax on the "imaginary income" of those who receive interest and capital gains. It cannot have it both ways. The Constitution does not grant the federal government the right to impose an individual wealth tax, which is what a tax on imaginary income is, nor has Congress legislated such a tax.'

'We have a situation in which tens of millions of American retirees are receiving real negative returns on their hard-earned savings yet the federal government, whose primary job is to ensure liberty and protect person and property, is, in essence, stealing from them.'

'Burden-Sharing' Basics | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary

'Burden-Sharing' Basics | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'What Obama and Buffett ignore is the fact that people like Buffett go to great lengths to keep much of their money "invisible" to the taxman.'

'The average income-tax rate of those earning between $1 million and $10 million was 29.5 percent in 2009, according the same IRS data that Buffett cites.

Now, raising income-tax rates, as both Obama and Buffett propose, would barely affect Buffett: His actual salary is only $100,000 (which also explains how he pays less than his employees do in payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare).'

'In 1977, the capital-gains tax was 39.9 percent — and realized gains amounted to less than 1.57 percent of GDP. From 1987 to 1996, when the tax was 28 percent, realized gains rose to 2.3 percent of GDP. Since 28 percent of 2.3 is larger than 39.9 percent of 1.57, the lower tax rate clearly raised more tax revenue.

From 2004 to 2007, when the cap-gains tax was 15 percent, realized gains amounted to 5.2 percent of GDP — so again, the lower tax rate raised more tax revenue.'

'It is easy to advocate a higher tax rate on capital gains, but it is even easier to avoid paying that higher tax rate. Choosing to pay tax on capital gains and dividends is usually voluntary — and when the rate gets too high we run short of volunteers.'

Hitler’s Best Kept Secret?

Hitler’s Best Kept Secret?: 'Adolf Hitler had a huge reason to kill Jews, because they helped him to finance his war-machine. Every time he seized the assets of wealthy Jewish families, it meant money in his bank. Big money. Cash, adding up to many billions of dollars came directly from their murder. According to those who have access to the details, he financed a massive 30 per cent of the German war effort by killing Jewish families and stealing their wealth.'

Gas against wind | The Rational Optimist…

Gas against wind | The Rational Optimist…: 'Wind turbines slice thousands of birds of prey in half every year, including white-tailed eagles in Norway, golden eagles in California, wedge-tailed eagles in Tasmania. There’s a video on Youtube of one winging a griffon vulture in Crete. According to a study in Pennsylvania, a wind farm with eight turbines would kill about a 200 bats a year. The pressure wave from the passing blade just implodes the little creatures’ lungs. You and I can go to jail for harming bats or eagles; wind companies are immune.'

'The wind farm requires eight tonnes of an element called neodymium, which is produced only in Inner Mongolia, by boiling ores in acid leaving lakes of radioactive tailings so toxic no creature goes near them.'

Abolish the Department of Homeland Security | David Rittgers | Cato Institute: Commentary

Abolish the Department of Homeland Security | David Rittgers | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Shockingly, the cost of the new headquarters roughly equals what we've averaged annually on homeland security grant programs to cities and states. That's part of the political appeal of "homeland security." It allows politicians to wrap pork in red, white and blue in a way not possible with defense spending. Not every town can host a military installation or build warships, but every town has a police force that can use counterterrorism funds to combat gangs or a fire department that needs recruits or a new fire station.'

'A study by professors John Mueller and Mark Stewart found that in order to survive a cost-benefit analysis, the past decade's increased homeland-security expenditures "would have to deter, prevent, foil or protect against 1,667 otherwise successful [attempted Times Square car bomb]-type attacks per year, or more than four per day."'

Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme? - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily

Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme? - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily: It's possible for everyone in the entire community to "live below his means," that is, to consume less than his income and to save. The economy is then physically capable of reducing the output of consumption goods (TVs, sports cars, steak dinners, etc.) and increasing the output of investment or capital goods (drill presses, fertilizer, MRI machines, etc.). In the future, the larger quantities of various tools and equipment make the workers more productive than they otherwise would have been. That's why the standard of living can rise; the community is physically capable of cranking out more goods and services because of the past investments.

A Teachable Moment Courtesy of Solyndra | Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren | Cato Institute: Commentary

A Teachable Moment Courtesy of Solyndra | Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'The fact that federal loan guarantees were even necessary for Solyndra tells us that few, if any, lenders thought that giving the firm money was a very good idea. Given the fact that lenders who bet "right" on companies with strong prospects but insufficient capital are lenders who will make money, we can rest assured that hundreds if not thousands of bank loan officers took a long, hard look at Solyandra and said ... no thanks. Are we to believe that President Obama knows more than all of these profit-hungry capitalists about Solyndra's real prospects in global solar energy markets?'

'systematic evaluations of federal programs find no evidence that 60 years of federal energy tech spending have produced more benefits than costs.'

The Real Solution to the Debt Problem - David S. D'Amato - Mises Daily

The Real Solution to the Debt Problem - David S. D'Amato - Mises Daily: 'within a fiat-money system, public debt increases "at a much faster rhythm" than even the distended money supply. Pointing to the United States since 1971 as an example, Professor H�lsmann notes that while the money in circulation "increased by the factor 6," the federal government's debt grew by a factor of 20.'

Taking Liberties: Bright Lights, Big Trouble | Fox News

Taking Liberties: Bright Lights, Big Trouble | Fox News: '“It's illegal because you're warning someone,” he explained. “It's the same thing as saying, 'run, here comes the cops,' You're obstructing a cop from doing his lawful duty.”'

It's illegal to warn someone?!?

Job-Killing Politicians, Modern Military Hawks, and Hapless Central Banks | Edward H. Crane | Cato Institute: Commentary

Job-Killing Politicians, Modern Military Hawks, and Hapless Central Banks | Edward H. Crane | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Someone did a review of the employment growth during the tenures of the various GOP presidential candidates who have been governors. That would include Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, Rick Perry, and Gary Johnson. You remember Johnson, don't you, the former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico, a dark blue state? Well, it turns out that the highest percentage increase in employment was in New Mexico!

When asked to take credit for this, the libertarian Johnson demurred. I didn't do anything, he said, other than get out of the way and let the entrepreneurs create jobs.'

At Least Ponzi Didn't Force People to Enroll | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

At Least Ponzi Didn't Force People to Enroll | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Some defenders of the current system insist that it is not because, well, as USA Today editorialized, "Ponzi schemes are a criminal enterprise; Social Security is not." But this is simply a tautology that says nothing about the program's structure. Those young workers who will be forced to pay more in taxes while getting less in benefits will not take much comfort from Social Security's legality.

But those taxes and benefit cuts do point out one area where Social Security is different from a Ponzi scheme. Though it's usually a swindle, people sign up for a Ponzi scheme voluntarily. Once Ponzi was unable to talk enough people into investing with him, his scheme collapsed. People participate in Social Security because ... the government makes them. And if the Social Security system begins to run short of people paying into the system, as it is now, it can always force those people to pay more.

That's what the program has done more than 40 times since it began. Even after adjusting for inflation, Social Security payroll taxes have increased by more than 800 percent since the program began.'

'Under current law, if nothing changes, a 30-year-old worker today can expect to receive just 76 percent of the benefits that he has been promised. That will be far less than the amount of money he could have had if he had been able to invest his Social Security taxes privately. In fact, many young workers will be lucky if they receive back as much in benefits as they pay into the system.'

End the DOE - Aaron Smith - Mises Daily

End the DOE - Aaron Smith - Mises Daily: 'while the income potential for a college dropout is virtually unchanged, she must now bear the dual burdens of servicing student debt and the emotional scars of failure. Oddly, the supposedly "compassionate" policies espoused by left-liberals rarely account for the human toll of market distortions. Credit-rating agency Moody's summarized the grim prospects for students burdened by debt:

Unless students limit their debt burdens, choose fields of study that are in demand, and successfully complete their degrees on time, they will find themselves in worse financial positions and unable to earn the projected income that justified taking out their loans in the first place.'

'Increases in institutional aid, however, are not accompanied by cost reductions for students. Instead, schools are using state and federal funds to grow their administrative empires.'

Imprisonment is not the answer | Wide White

Imprisonment is not the answer | Wide White: 'When considering imprisonment as a punishment for a crime, we have to ask ourselves three questions. First, will imprisonment teach this person a lesson that they could not otherwise learn outside of prison? Second, do the crimes committed by this person warrant separating them from the rest of society for a period of time? Third, is imprisonment necessary to keep this person from causing anymore problems for society than they already have? I’m not convinced that negligence warrants a prison sentence under these guidelines.'

It's Not about Consumption! - Robert Higgs - Mises Daily

It's Not about Consumption! - Robert Higgs - Mises Daily: 'real personal consumption expenditure recovered from its recession decline by the fourth quarter of 2010. Continuing to grow, it now stands (as of the most recent data, for the second quarter of 2011) even farther above its prerecession peak.'

'The economy remains moribund not because consumption spending has failed to recover and not because government spending has failed to increase but because the true driver of economic growth — private investment — remains deeply depressed. Gross private domestic fixed investment fell steeply after the second quarter of 2007, and in the second quarter of 2011 it remained 19 percent below its prerecession peak. This figure fails to show how bad the investment situation really is, however, because the bulk of the investment spending now taking place is for what the accountants call the "capital-consumption allowance," the amount estimated as necessary to compensate for the wear and tear and obsolescence of the existing capital stock.'

Cut Defense before Raising Taxes | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Cut Defense before Raising Taxes | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Last week, Rep. Howard McKeon (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told the Daily Beast that he would support a tax increase rather than accept any further cuts in defense spending. McKeon is not a supercommittee member, but his remarks reflect the pressure from Republican hawks and defense contractors now being brought to bear.

This position seems remarkably shortsighted. First, the sequester would not go into effect until 2013, leaving Republicans with plenty of time to change the mix of domestic and defense cuts after the 2012 elections. But even if the cuts were to occur, they amount to just a bit more than 8 percent of expected defense spending over the next decade. With the U.S. spending more on its military than the rest of the world combined, does anyone really believe that if we stop protecting Germany from a Russian invasion, cancel weapon systems that don't work, or reduce the number of generals and admirals populating the Pentagon, that al-Qaeda will come swarming across our border?'

America's Illegal Pioneers | Timothy B. Lee | Cato Institute: Commentary

America's Illegal Pioneers | Timothy B. Lee | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Today, poor people still flock to the United States seeking a better life. And they face a dilemma not so different from the one their predecessors faced two centuries ago. Just as a cumbersome property system put formal land titles out of reach for many would-be pioneers, so today's antiquated immigration system puts green cards out of reach for many migrants.'

Minimize the work to come here illegally.

What Will Keep Our Food Safe? - Stefano R. Mugnaini - Mises Daily

What Will Keep Our Food Safe? - Stefano R. Mugnaini - Mises Daily: 'In the absence of a reliable government organic-food regulatory agency, the market has provided several voluntary options. The Certified Naturally Grown program offers "a non-profit organization offering certification tailored for small-scale, direct-market farmers and beekeepers using natural methods." They rely on voluntary participation and a peer-review system that is less expensive, less paperwork intensive, and more efficient than the USDA program.

Whole Foods Market has developed their own alternative for certifying certain production techniques for livestock and poultry, through a partnership with an animal-welfare nonprofit.

These are two options, but there are several others. All share a focus on voluntary cooperation between food producers and certifiers, and greater accountability to the consumer, as they can't hide their flaws behind the veil of government immunity. These programs, and others like them, are infinitely scalable, completely voluntary, and represent a real challenge to the notion that "only the government can …"'