Empire AI
Plus: Adult activists, Fani Willis' love life, Catholic crackdown, and more...
Taxpayers
DeSantis Wants To 'Eliminate the IRS' and Implement a Flat Tax
DeSantis says the new, single tax rate would mean "lower taxes for everyone" but that only demonstrates that he hasn't thought too deeply about how a flat tax would work.
Here's Why Charity Is Better at Solving Problems Than Government
Big government has been ruinous for millions of people. Charities aren't perfect, but they are much more efficient and effective.
All I Want for Christmas Is for Congress To Exercise Fiscal Restraint
Lawmakers can take small steps that are uncontroversial and bipartisan to jumpstart the fiscal stability process.
Georgia Taxpayers Lose $160,000 for Every Job Created by Film Tax Credits
The program generates just 19 cents for every dollar spent.
WHO Calls for Punitive Booze and Soda Taxes on the Anniversary of Prohibition Repeal
Nannies never fall out of love with failed authoritarianism and curbs on freedom of choice.
Americans Are Still Fleeing High-Tax States
Lower taxes create opportunities that draw even those not consciously considering tax rates.
Here's One Way To Move Toward Responsible Government and Sane Fiscal Policy
The Copenhagen Consensus has long championed a cost-benefit approach for addressing the world's most critical environmental problems.
The U.S. Needs a Fiscal Commission Because Congress Won't Do Its Job
In the last 50 years, when the budget process has been in place, Congress has managed only four times to pass a budget on time.
In Colorado, Voters Could Undo Key Component of TABOR Law
The "Taxpayers Bill of Rights" requires that the state return excess revenue to taxpayers. A ballot question could change that.
Is a Land Value Tax the Solution to Detroit's Messed Up Property Tax System?
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan argues that shifting taxes from homes to the land they sit on will encourage development and cut taxes for most homeowners. Local property tax activists aren't convinced.
Taking From IRS, Giving to Israel
Plus: Massive union wins, abortion rebrands, Silvio Berlusconi's nude-art collection, and more...
You Can't Fix Him (the IRS)
Plus: Tanks in Gaza, quitting the DSA, Gen Z hates a sex scene, and more...
Taxpayers Bankroll Electric Vehicles Even as Fewer People Buy Them
Ford and General Motors have tempered plans for E.V. production, but governments still spend billions of dollars in incentives.
'America Funded It': Rand Paul Blasts Fauci and the Media for Suppressing the Lab Leak Theory
The notion that COVID-19 came from a lab was once touted as misinformation. But now the FBI, the Energy Department, and others agree with Paul.
Jim Jordan Is Trying To Buy the Speakership With Tax Breaks for Wealthy Residents of Blue States
It's a maneuver that makes little fiscal, philosophical, or political sense, but thankfully it also seems unlikely to work.
Wisconsin Politicians Want To Spend $550 Million on Ballpark Subsidies the Public Opposes
Just 24 percent of self-identified Trump voters and 34 percent of self-identified Biden voters say they support a public handout for the Milwaukee Brewers' 22-year-old stadium.
The Real Scandal in Washington Is the Government's Reckless Spending
Those sounding the loudest alarms about possible shutdowns are largely silent when Congress ignores its own budgetary rules. All that seems to matter is that government is metaphorically funded.
The IRS Sprang a Leak
Plus: Donald Trump's creative accounting, those sneaky vegans, brain drain, and more...
Five Years Later, Philadelphia's Soda Tax Is Falling Flat
The city wanted to bring in more money, in part for early childhood education. But such taxes are disproportionately paid by the poor.
What's the Libertarian Answer to New York's Migrant Crisis?
Plus: A listener asks the editors to name America's unsung or undersung heroes.
Biden Aims To Give Federal Workers Largest Pay Increase in 40 Years
The White House plans to boost federal workers' pay by 5.2 percent, the largest increase since 1980.
Jared Polis: Democrats Are 'More Pro-Freedom Than Republicans'
The Colorado governor finds common ground with many libertarians. But does he really stand for more freedom?
The IRS Misplaced Millions of Taxpayer Records. Again.
The only effective means of keeping tax collectors from misusing data is keeping it from them.
Baltimore Orioles Owners Demand Even More Unnecessary Taxpayer Money
Apparently $600 million to improve a very nice stadium isn’t enough.
Down 136,000 Students in Just Four Years, New York City's Public Schools Manage To Spend Billions More
Look for these budgetary swindles at a failing K-12 system near you.
Biden's New 'Prevailing Wage' Rule Will Cost Taxpayers, Benefit Unions, and Hike Inflation
The Labor Department is officially undoing changes made to help combat inflation in the 1980s.
The U.S. Credit Rating Just Dropped. It's Time for Radical Budget Reform.
The lack of oversight and the general absence of a long-term vision is creating inefficiency, waste, and red ink as far as the eye can see.
The Democratic Governor Who Wants Drug Legalization and Free Markets
"Government in general does a lot of things that aren't necessary," says Jared Polis.
SCOTUS Case Could Quash Democrats' Wealth Tax Plans
Plus: Why people believe doomer narratives, schools seek to define social media platforms as public nuisances, and more...
NIMBY Cities Are Using Your Tax Dollars To Lobby Against New Housing
Publicly funded leagues of cities are fighting zoning reforms in state capitals across the country.
Wealth Taxes Result in Rich People Fleeing, Turns Out
Norway hiked its wealth tax. A bunch of rich people got the hell out.
The Two Faces of Ron DeSantis
Sometimes he calls for freedom, and sometimes he preaches something darker.
Randi Weingarten Only Taught for 3 Years. She's Getting 15 Years of Public Pension Anyway.
Despite only spending a few years in the classroom, taxpayers could end up shelling out over $200,000 in a public pension for AFT president Randi Weingarten.
Simplify the Tax Code Instead of Creating an IRS Rival to TurboTax
Americans collectively spend billions of hours each year preparing their taxes. Rather than adding a government-run website into the mix, politicians should just simplify the tax code.
Taxes Are Not the Mark of Civilized Society
Contra the famous quotation from Oliver Wendell Holmes, there's nothing particularly civilized about the way our governments spend the money we provide.
Is Clarence Thomas Ethically Challenged?
Plus: What the editors hate most about the IRS and tax day
Auditors Asked the IRS To Figure Out Why So Many Taxpayers Make Mistakes. The IRS Said 'No.'
Maybe taxpayers would make fewer mistakes if the federal tax code weren't so hopelessly complex.
Ax Government Funding for NPR
NPR is no Xinhua, but Elon Musk is correct that it doesn't need government subsidies.
Georgia Is Shoveling Cash Into a Failing Electric Vehicle Company
In 2021, the state of Georgia made an expensive bet on an unproven company that could be headed for financial catastrophe.
Don't Give the Federal Trade Commission a Big Budget Just To Punish Big Firms
FTC Chair Lina Khan has an agenda that's against big companies, not for consumer well-being.
IRS Is 48 Days Late To Issue Report Telling American Public How It'll Spend New $80 Billion
The agency’s new report tells us practically nothing of significance.
I Gave Myself Severe Diarrhea for Science. Don't Tax Me for It.
Eliminating taxation on compensation for being a human guinea pig is just good public policy.
Reparations for Black Residents Would Cost California $800 Billion, Say Economists
This total is 2.5 times the state's annual budget.
New York Lawmakers Want To Use a 'Netflix Tax' To Pay for the Subway
From delivery fees to streaming taxes, New York can’t stomach having MTA users actually pay for the system themselves.
Federal Employees Don't Like Paying Taxes Either
Uncle Sam's own workers owe $1.5 billion, and growing, in unpaid taxes.
