The multi-faceted controversy over Donald Trump’s taxes has been rejuvenated by a partial leak of his 2005 tax return. Interestingly, it appears that Trump pays a lot of tax. At least for that one year. Which is contrary to what a lot of people have suspected – including me in the column I wrote on […]
In recent years, support for preschool education has grown by leaps and bounds. After all, who wouldn’t want to help adorable little kids get an early jump on success? But the enthusiasm for Pre-K dampened a bit with the release of two studies, one from 2012 which studied children in a Head Start program and […]
“A bureaucracy never dismantles itself.”—Daniel Hannan, British MP When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, over $2.5 billion was donated to the Red Cross by private donors. It was a record-breaking relief response, but not the only notable example of humanity to take place. Along with all of the people who wrote a check […]
In the Huffington Post, Dale Hansen sums up many liberals’ views when he claims, “The recent appointment of Betsy DeVos has proved one thing – conservatives are far more concerned about politics than they are about educating children.” But the competitive education reforms that Devos champions are essential to giving kids the skills to thrive in […]
Back in 2014, I shared some data from the Tax Foundation that measured the degree to which various developed nations punished high-income earners. This measure of relative “progressivity” focused on personal income taxes. And that’s important because that levy often is the most onerous for highly productive residents of a nation. But there are other […]
Though it may seem strange, Karl Marx was not always a communist. As late as 1842, when Marx was in his mid-20s, he actually said he opposed any attempt to establish a communist system. In October 1842, he became editor of the Rheinische Zeitung [the Rhineland Times], and wrote in an editorial: The Rheinische Zeitung […]
I’ve written many times that Washington is both a corrupt city and a corrupting city. My point is that decent people go into government and all too often wind up losing their ethical values as they learn to “play the game.” I often joke that these are people who start out thinking Washington is a […]
fRom a Wall Street Journal article earlier this week “U.S. Eyes New Tactic to Press China“: The White House is exploring a new tactic to discourage China from undervaluing its currency to boost exports, part of an evolving Trump administration strategy to challenge the practices of the U.S.’s largest trading partner while stepping back from […]
Libertarians have a standard set of fundamental criticisms of the welfare state. Forced charity is unjust. Individuals have a moral right to decide if and when they want to help others. Forced charity is unnecessary. In a free market, voluntary donations are enough to provide for the truly poor. Forced charity gives recipients bad incentives. If […]
Betsy DeVos has been confirmed as Secretary of Education, but just barely. In the course of the hearings, outrageous claims were made about her views. Most originated from the public school industry itself, which is clinging to old forms for dear life. The result has been nothing but confusion. Let’s look more carefully. In an […]
Every year, Oxfam releases a report meant to shock the public about the extent of income and wealth inequality. This year’s report claims that the eight richest people on Earth have as much wealth as the bottom half of the world’s population (3.6 out of 7.2 billion people). That’s certainly shocking. It’s also profoundly misleading. As others have pointed out, Oxfam […]
It was the second week of February 2013 when I first ventured a public opinion that Bitcoin is the real deal. The dollar exchange rate was at $25, on its way toward another run-up and crash that had been the pattern for two years. I had just returned from a conference where some Bitcoiners surrounded […]
There are records, and then there are records. A month ago, I blogged that President Barack Obama’s Federal Register, the daily depository of rules and regulations, stood at 81,640 pages for 2016. That topped the all-time record—also held by Obama—of 81,405 pages in 2010. And it happened before Thanksgiving. Since November 17, the Federal Register has […]
The market cap of Bitcoin surpassed the $14 bln margin for the first time in history, breaking its all-time record high previously set in 2014. The surging value of Bitcoin led to extensive mainstream media coverage and social media attraction, with Bitcoin earning a spot on the trending section of social media platforms like Twitter. In […]
While I have great fondness for some of the visuals I’ve created over the years (especially “two wagons” and “apple harvesting“), I confess that none of my creations have ever been as clear and convincing as the iconic graph on education spending and education outcomes created by the late Andrew Coulson. I can’t imagine anyone […]