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News
Recent posts and articles from IGEG fellows, advisers, experts and scholars.
Words, not weapons Changing minds through dialogue is the American way
Most people who have reached a certain age have changed their minds about something or someone that they firmly believed in the past. Many of the real conflicts in society, including hate-driven mass shootings, result from people who fail to acknowledge, even to...
Bursting the false narrative Economic growth suffers from overspending, not undertaxation
At the end of this past week, The Washington Post ran a long story on the Center for Freedom and Prosperity (CFP), an organization that I have long supported. It appeared that the original goal was to do a hit piece on CFP because it had been a leader in the fight for...
The Fatal Sickness of Free Stuff Socialism always triggers a downward spiral
The U.S. economy has been going nowhere for seven years, and there are increasing fears that it is going into a recession with only 38,000 jobs being created last month. At the same time, Venezuela, the country with the largest oil reserves on the planet, is sinking...
Clipping the Wings of High-flying Government Authority Engaging spokesmen hone the Founders’ message of limited taxation
The bad news is, once again the U.S. economy performed poorly. On Friday, the government announced that the economy actually shrank during the first quarter of this year, with the gross domestic product down at -0.7 percent. The Obama administration and its supporters...
Killing the Regulatory Parasite Failing to stop the rule-makers will ruin the economy
The successful parasite does not kill its host. But the federal regulatory parasite is in the process of killing the golden goose upon which it feeds. Several studies from highly reputable institutions have been released in the last number of days, all with similar...
The Next Financial Crisis Continued destructive economic policies make it inevitable
The end is near — depending on how you define "near" and where you live. A couple of weeks ago, hedge fund legend Stanley Druckenmiller gave an important talk arguing that the crisis is about to hit and investors should liquidate their equity holdings. He and others...
Looking for Loot in Other People’s Pockets International bureaucrats want their 'fair share' of corporate taxes
Well brought-up individuals are taught not to take things from other people's pockets: "Thou shall not steal." There are those who never learned the lesson — criminals, and many in the global political class. The latest targets of the global looters are multinational...
The Return of Pseudo-Science The global warming industry lashes out in defense of its funding
This past month, I received an email from a European friend (who has a doctorate in chemistry) saying: "Dear Richard: Now you are a member of this illustrious club! I am beginning to be afraid! What is going on?" It seems my name had been put on a "Global Warming...
The Madness of Negative Interest Rates If government can borrow money for free, why bother collecting taxes?
Would you like for the bank to give you a check each month for your mortgage interest payment rather than you paying the bank interest? As mad as that question seems, the fact is that some homeowners in Denmark are now receiving checks each month because their...
Fight or Die The coal industry's slow demise proves the importance of parrying attacks
Last week, the nation's largest coal company, Peabody Coal, declared bankruptcy, as have many other coal companies in the past few years. They were victims of the development of fracking technology, which greatly increased the supply and reduced the cost of natural...
The Panama Papers and Tax Shocks Places like the Cayman Islands provide safe havens from government snoops
Grand Cayman, C.I. — Were you shocked with the release of the “Panama Papers” to learn of all of the politicians from around the globe who have utilized Panama and other “offshore” entities to set up financial structures to hide their money? If so, you would probably...
The High Cost of Slander Discrimination is shifting toward new despised classes
Endless cruelties have been and continue to be committed on the basis of group slander. The communists and socialists imprisoned and slaughtered many of their merchant and property-owning citizens on the basis of a gross slander, not to mention what the Nazis did to...
How Far an Economy Can Fall Greece demonstrates how overspending can ruin an economy
How far can a modern economy sink? The Greek economy is entering its fifth year of decline. Nominal gross domestic product is about 28 percent lower than it was four years ago. The official unemployment rate is 27.5 percent (as though the decimal point matters, given...
Tracing Pathways to Success and Failure Hong Kong, Cuba and Puerto Rico teach valuable economic lessons
Why is Hong Kong rich, Cuba very poor, and Puerto Rico struggling? Back in 1955, the islands of Puerto Rico, Cuba and Hong Kong had roughly the same real per capita income. They each took very different economic paths. Now, some 60 years later, Hong Kong is even...
The New Propaganda Wars State-owned global TV networks have become key tools of political spin
Berlin, Germany — Even though the Berlin Wall was destroyed more than a quarter-century ago and the city rebuilt, new propaganda wars are being waged here and elsewhere by the major and some minor powers in a more sophisticated way than the Soviets ever imagined....
Tyranny and Free Speech Censorship has become the hallmark of the Obama Era
Do you support free speech? How about free speech for climate change skeptics? For homophobes? For racists? For sexists? For white males? For even Donald Trump? Those who defend free speech, as did the American Founding Fathers, understand it is not about defending...
The $3 Million Gift Capitalism showers the world with everyday devices that used to cost a fortune
The presidential candidates have been decrying the real stagnation in income over the last seven years. People are unhappy but are not rioting in the streets. Why aren’t they? Despite wage stagnation, most people are living much better. How can that be? It is because...
Using Money to Raise Taxes Congress is helping suppress international tax competition
If a member of Congress told you that he was going to use some of your hard-earned tax dollars to support an international organization that demands that you pay higher taxes, what would you say? Unfortunately, the question is not hypothetical, because that is exactly...