News
Recent posts and articles from IGEG fellows, advisers, experts and scholars.
Why the IRS Cannot Be Reformed Imprecise tax laws leave room for agency abuse and corruption
Every few years, at least from the time of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, there is a scandal involving abuse of power at the Internal Revenue Service. We are again in the midst of one of these periodic abuse scandals, with many solemn promises that the problems will...
Putting out the Welcome Mat for Prosperity Solving the immigration dilemma would boost U.S. productivity
How many new immigrants should the United States allow each year? How many guest workers? These are not easy questions, which is why there is as much fierce debate within the two parties as between them. A little history and a few facts are useful in thinking through...
Misplaced Interests How politicians calling for higher taxes are helping themselves, not you
There is considerable evidence that drinking one glass of red wine per day for most middle-aged men has more health benefits than costs. There is also considerable evidence that drinking three or more glasses of wine per day causes more health problems than benefits....
Privatize Almost Everything With money running low, government functions become inviable
As a mental challenge, try to think of all of the governmental activities — federal, state and local — that could be privatized. Now, go a step further. Suppose you were required to develop a plan to privatize, or make self-supporting through user fees, nearly every...
When is Too Much Security Too Much? Measures that slow the economy block better solutions
Should Americans be spending more on public security, or less? After a week of two horrific events, the Boston Marathon attack and the Texas fertilizer-plant explosion, most would probably answer the above question by saying, "We're not spending enough." Such an...
From Stagnation To Prosperity To Stagnation The success of the Reagan-Thatcher era has been quickly erased
The great tragedy of our time is that so few know economic history; thus we have been doomed to repeat the mistakes of a generation ago, and millions suffer. By the late 1970s, many viewed Britain and the United States as in terminal decline. The United Kingdom had...
Collecting Taxes, Dispensing Fear Intimidation is the coinage of today’s IRS
Do you think you receive fair value for the money you spend on taxes? The fact is you don't, because there is excessive corruption in both the way your tax money is collected and in the way it is spent. Many countries are notorious for the tax collectors being "on the...
Global Warming’s “Fatal Conceit” It’s hard for believers to admit they’re wrong
Much of Northern Europe, including Britain, is suffering under the coldest winter and spring of the last 30 to 100 years. The Northeastern part of the United States has had a record cold March. The record cold in Europe has killed thousands and cost billions. It was...
How Government Steals Your Savings Uncle Sam has his own methods of expropriation
There has been global outrage about the proposal from the Cyprus government to have a significant one-time tax on those who have deposits in Cypriot banks. It has been correctly called a theft of private capital. What many fail to realize is that from the beginning,...
Where will the Next Financial Crisis Begin? Numerous countries are poised to lead a global tailspin
Which country will serve as the trigger for the next financial crisis? Given the continuing rise in debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratios in many countries, it is apparent that a new financial crisis will occur. Most of the speculation has been about when,...
Sequestration Myth The notion that reduced federal spending will cost jobs is nonsense
The head of the Obama White House National Economic Council, Gene Sperling, who is a lawyer, has been claiming that "all economists" agree that sequestration will cost 750,000 jobs. I am an economist with a doctorate from Columbia University, and I don't agree. The...
Locking In the Homeowner Low interest rates enrich the government and starve the economy
It is estimated that up to a quarter of all American households still owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Many of these people have been able to refinance their home loans with much lower interest rates, but that does not solve the problem because...
Ending the Corporate Tax Taking money from business benefits only big government
Can you name the worst tax? In recent weeks, there have been a slew of articles in major publications about how many multinational corporations have found legal ways to reduce their tax burdens by running some of their operations through low-tax jurisdictions. Many...
More Government Control Equals Poorer Nations A free-market tutorial from, of all places, Moscow
An upside down world. Here I am, in my London hotel room, watching an English-language financial program being broadcast from Moscow on RT (Russian TV). The program host is correctly berating the heads of the major Western central banks for acting like socialists in...
Attack on the Free Rather than aspire to prosperity U.S. joins its enemies
For at least the last 2,500 years, from the time of the Athenian republic, fragile islands of freedom have been under attack. Unfortunately, nothing has changed, except now some of the aggressor states cloak themselves in the mantle of compassionate democratic...
Desperate Keynesians Proponents lack verification their theory works
What do you do if the facts don't support your beliefs? If you are honest, you will rethink what you previously believed. If you are a Keynesian economist, though, like New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, you make silly assertions. In his Jan. 31 column, Mr....
Thankful for Think Tanks Private policy mavens offer crucial balance for a myopic government
Did you know that there are more than 6,000 think tanks globally, and about 2,000 in the United States? In the past two weeks, two major rankings of think tanks have been released. A think tank is an organization where scholars and specialists seek to find solutions...
Economic Judgment Day Forced end of spending is closer than we think
The current debate about the debt vote is minor league compared to what will happen when the government literally cannot spend more than it is taking in. That time may be nearer than you think. It is true that the U.S. government can always "print" money to pay its...