Federal Spending: Killing the Economy with Government Stimulus | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

Federal Spending: Killing the Economy with Government Stimulus | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "If government could spend America to prosperity, good times would have arrived long ago."

"Economic growth requires good spending, not more spending. After all, Washington could pay every American $10,000 to dig a hole in his or her neighbor's yard and then another $10,000 to fill it in. It would be a ludicrous policy, yet Keynes argued that the unemployed would be better off if paid by the government to "dig holes in the ground."

Most jobs bills are little different than paying people to dig holes."

"Robert Barro reviewed the experience of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and came up with a multiplier of 0.8, which means that government outlays actually "lowered components of GDP aside from military purchases." "

"roughly $900 billion in federal "stimulus" spending from ARRA probably resulted in only $600 billion in increased growth"

"it appears that a rise in government spending does not stimulate private spending; most estimates suggest that it significantly lowers private spending."

"it was the end of this wartime "stimulus spending"—which Herman figured at $3 trillion in today's dollars—which led to economic growth. At the time people feared that Washington slashing arms production and demobilizing military personnel would lead to another depression. However, he observed, "private investment came roaring back, triggering steady economic growth that pushed the U.S. into a new ear, as the most prosperous society in history." "

"The CBO figured that the president's program would increase GDP through 2012, but there would be no effect in 2013 and 2014 and then the impact would be negative. Last November the agency concluded that ARRA's impact peaked in 2010, while the accumulated debt would "reduce output slightly in the long run—by between 0 and 0.2 percent after 2016." "

Online Sales Tax Is a Money Grab by Politicians | Daniel J. Mitchell | Cato Institute: Commentary

Online Sales Tax Is a Money Grab by Politicians | Daniel J. Mitchell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "It can only work by creating a massive database that matches online purchases with the state and local sales tax rates for every consumer.

I don't know about you, but I'm not confident that this type of untested system will be secure."

"And just as you don't cure alcoholics by giving them keys to a liquor store, you don't solve the problem of excessive spending by giving politicians a new tax."

Obama Is No Clinton | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama Is No Clinton | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Under President Clinton, federal spending averaged 19.8 percent of GDP and actually hit a low of just 18.3 percent. In contrast, spending under President Obama over the past four years has averaged 24.4 percent of GDP. And going forward, the president's proposed budgets would never spend less than 22 percent of GDP."

Does the U.S. Military Face 'Goofy Meat Axe' Cuts? | Benjamin H. Friedman | Cato Institute: Commentary

Does the U.S. Military Face 'Goofy Meat Axe' Cuts? | Benjamin H. Friedman | Cato Institute: Commentary: ".S. Senator John McCain, for example, claims that sequestration will result in an "inability to defend the nation," without bothering to say which of our minor enemies will suddenly outgun us."

"sequestration would leave the 2021 Pentagon with purchasing power about equal to what it had in 2006, leaving out the wars. That would leave more in real terms than what we spent on the military at the height of the Cold War."

"the Pentagon has authority to transfer or reprogram funds, some with the permission of the chairmen and ranking members of four defense committees. The Pentagon has used those powers to shift $12 billion to $15 billion annually of late. That's potentially half of the outlays that sequestration would take in 2013."

Anarchy in the Aachen - Peter C. Earle - Mises Daily

Anarchy in the Aachen - Peter C. Earle - Mises Daily: "Taxes hadn't changed since the designation of the neutral zone in 1816, and visitors noted that Moresnet was "without the beggars who are [a] sadly familiar sight" across the rest of Europe."

Resist the U.N.'s Disability Convention | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Resist the U.N.'s Disability Convention | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Article 4(1)(e) demands that "every person, organization, or private enterprise" must eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. Taken literally, which some lawyers are sure to do, every homeowner might be required to install wheelchair ramps or even elevators in their homes, regardless of the cost."

"Should the United States accede to this treaty, we will be obligated to write a status report every four years regarding our disability laws and receive criticism and recommendations from a committee of representatives from countries that have lower standards for the disabled than our own. We do not know the scope of this report or its financial and labor costs to the American taxpayer."