State Governments Didn't Need Coronavirus Bailouts. They Got Billions of Dollars Anyway.
As it turns out, state and local tax revenues hardly collapsed.
Government Spending
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Is a Sham
The Senate just passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill—and teed up another $3.5 trillion bill in the process.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Will Add More Than $250 Billion to the Deficit. Does Anyone Care?
A CBO report that might have sunk legislation in an earlier era was greeted with a bipartisan shrug.
Government Broadband Has Been a Costly, Corrupt Failure. Congress' Infrastructure Bill Calls For More.
The bipartisan infrastructure deal that's expected to pass the Senate this week would spend $65 billion on broadband projects, including more than $40 billion for largely unnecessary municipal broadband efforts.
Infrastructure Bill Bans Vaping on Amtrak
Amtrak's funding will double under the bipartisan infrastructure bill, while Amtrak passengers will have to put up with more rules.
When Government Spending Hurts the Most Vulnerable
As inflation increases, we need a low-debt environment.
Economist John Cochrane Is Still Worried About the Debt
The U.S. national debt held by the public is currently almost $22 trillion, surpassing the country's annual GDP for the first time since World War II.
Senate Could Pass a $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill This Week, Even Though There's No Agreement on How To Pay for It
Plus: Strip clubs help reduce crime rates, tariffs fail to achieve their primary political purposes, Jeff Bezos goes to space, and more.
California Lawmakers Unanimously Approve the State's First Basic Income Program
The idea of attaching fewer strings to government assistance is gaining currency.
Magical Thinking Abounds in New Budget Deal Discourse
Plus: The growing trust gap, pandemic-low unemployment numbers, and more...
Want To Close the Tax Gap? Cut Taxes.
It would require our enormous government to become less gluttonous with the people's resources.
Democrats' $3.5 Trillion Fully-Paid-for Spending Plan Probably Won't Be Fully Paid for
The spending proposal is likely to be offset by gimmicks and rosy assumptions.
Shaky Social Security Trust Fund May Run Out in 11 Years
Are you ready for 30 percent cuts in benefits to keep the program alive?
With Spectators Banned, Tokyo Olympics Look Like an Even Bigger Money Pit
More than 30 venues, some of which predate the Olympics but many of which were purpose-built at public expense, will be occupied solely by coaches, athletes, and judges.
New Treasury Data Shows That the Rollout of Emergency Rent Relief Continues to Be a Hot Mess
Congress approved $25 Billion in emergency rental assistance in December. Only 6 percent of that money has been spent so far.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Shows That Republicans Love Big Government Just as Much as Democrats
We don't have a gridlock problem. We have a spending problem.
The Bill Will Come Due on Biden's Trillions
Biden's infrastructure package is really a jackpot for public unions and big business.
Broadway Hit Hamilton Could Get Up to $50 Million Federal Bailout
It must be nice to have Washington's pile of taxpayer cash on your side.
Government Pandemic Loans Plagued by Potential $260 Billion in Fraud
The hasty work behind the PPP and other relief loans shows the limits of big government.
New $1.2 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan To Be Partially Funded By Stepped Up IRS Enforcement
President Joe Biden announced today that he'd reached an agreement on an infrastructure package with a group of 10 moderate senators.
Democrats Are Considering a $6 Trillion Infrastructure Plan That Has Little to Do With Infrastructure
For many elected Democrats, infrastructure is much more than roads, bridges, dams, and waterways.
Senate Republicans and Democrats Agree To Double Amtrak's Funding
A bill approved by the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation would give the money-losing rail company $19 billion over 5 years.
Federal Science Funding Won't Accomplish Anything the Private Sector Can't Do Better
A bipartisan bill aimed to help the U.S. “compete” with China would only slow down scientific progress.
Biden's Tax Plan Means 60 Percent of Taxpayers Will Pay More
And as many as 75 percent of middle income households face a tax increase under Biden's plan, even though the highest-earning households will pay the vast majority of the costs.
Study Finds Biden's American Jobs Plan Would Result in Fewer American Jobs
It’s a jobs plan that isn’t about jobs, and an infrastructure plan that isn’t about infrastructure.
The $1.9 Trillion American Recovery Act Could Have Huge Implications for State Tax Policies
Six different states are already suing over a broad prohibition on tax cuts that was slipped into March's $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill.
Biden's Infrastructure Plan Confuses Costs for Benefits
The president is doubling down on bad regulations that raise labor and material costs of federal infrastructure projects.
Many Politicians Claim That Increased Spending Sparks Economic Growth. Here's Why That's Misleading.
A new study finds that as the government expands, the private sector shrinks.
The Federal Government Has Spent $46 Billion on Emergency Rental Assistance. The Rollout Has Been a Hot Mess.
Crashing website and impenetrable government bureaucracy greet the tenants and landlords trying to access billions in federally funded rent relief.
Biden's Astronomical Budget Proposal Even Has Some Democrats Worried
The spending plan demonstrates an unwillingness to govern and a preference for pandering to special interests.
Amtrak Wants $75 Billion To Create More Money-Losing Routes
The company's 15-year "Corridor Vision" also asks Congress for the power to sue private railroads that don't prioritize its passenger trains.
Senate Republicans Released a $928 Billion Infrastructure Plan. Biden Says It Still Doesn't Spend Enough.
For the president, the spending is the point.
The White House Offers More Money, Less Detail on Its Idea for 'YIMBY Grants'
The Biden administration wants to give $5 billion to jurisdictions that deregulate their housing markets.
Joe Biden's $6 Trillion Budget Proposal Will Hike Spending, Keep Deficits Near Record Highs
In Biden's plan, the government would consume a historically large share of the economy—and those taxes still wouldn't be enough to pay for everything
An $86 Billion Moral Hazard
Nestled in the $1.9 trillion emergency spending bill passed in March was a bailout for unions' private pension funds.
Expanding the Child Tax Credit Will Do Very Little To Help the Poor. Here's Why.
No country gets out of poverty through redistribution of income.
A Federal Paid Leave Program Would Be a Permanent Solution to a Temporary Problem
The calls to implement such a plan are based on incorrect assumptions and a passive media.
Bogus Farms Receive Millions in Government Pandemic Loans Meant for Small Businesses
The Paycheck Protection Program moved billions of dollars out the door incredibly quickly. A lot of it went to the wrong people.
States With Post-Pandemic Surpluses Are Still Getting Huge Federal Bailouts
California has a $75 billion budget surplus, but federal taxpayers are about to send the state $27 billion in additional aid.
Janet Yellen Sells Big Business on Big Government
The treasury secretary told the Chamber of Commerce that an activist government funded by higher corporate taxes would be a boon for business too.
When the Government Makes Wildfires Worse
Federal policies are subsidizing people's choices to build homes in harm's way.
Republicans and Democrats Endorse Concept, but Gloss Over Details, of Funding Infrastructure With User Fees
A federal mileage-based user fee is still years away, and there's very little political support for a federal gas tax hike.
Stop Using the IRS To Subsidize Parenting
In response to Biden's child tax credits, Sen. Josh Hawley proposes paying parents $1,000 per month—if they're married—and $500 per month if they're single.
Are Gavin Newsom's $600 Checks a Redistributive Vote-Buying Scheme or Welcome Return of Stolen Goods?
California's embattled governor wants to spend $8 billion of the state's surprise budget surplus on individual payments to state residents.
Biden's $1.9 Trillion 'Rescue Plan' Isn't Saving the Economy. It's Holding It Back.
The economic aid package paid people not to work. So it's no surprise that many aren't working.
Yes, the National Debt Matters
Many Democrats and Republicans act like spending isn't an issue. Here's why they're wrong.
States Hope Labor Shortage Will Shrink as They Ditch Federal Unemployment Benefits
Plus: Remembering "sexual-subculture pioneer" Pat Bond, debunking gender gap hyperbole around jobs, and more...
Biden Claims 5 Past Fed Chairs Back His Jobs Plan, but 2 Are Dead and 2 More Have Been Quiet About It
Plus: Boomer electoral power dwindling, U.S. migration patterns appear linked to pandemic restrictions, and more...
