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The US Tax Code: Welfare for Accountants

by | Apr 4, 2017 | ,

The US income tax system has earned an appropriately notorious reputation. Each year around this time, Americans go through the unpleasant tradition of gathering up their paperwork, transferring numbers from one set of government forms to another, and answering countless obscure questions--all to determine just how much of their hard-earned money is going to be taken by the government this time around. For most of us, it's an experience that ranks right up there near going to the dentist. (And upon writing it, I fear this comparison might be unfair to the dentists.) Fortunately for us, a...

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A Helpful Reminder: Environmental Regulations Are Regressive

by | Mar 27, 2017 | ,

President Donald Trump promised to loosen energy and environmental regulations during his campaign, and he's already taken some steps to fulfill this pledge. Earlier this month, Trump announced that he was reviewing the aggressive auto fuel-economy standards put in place by the Obama Administration. Now, Reuters is reporting that Trump will sign a new executive order this week to relax regulations on the fossil fuel industry. Even without getting into the details, we all know how the political battle lines will be drawn on this issue. Democrats and progressives will be opposed to the...

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GOP Chair of House Intel Committee Learns What the NSA Does

by | Mar 24, 2017 |

Earlier this week, GOP Congressman Devin Nunes poured new gasoline on the Trump Wiretap saga when he told the press that Donald Trump and his associates were subjected to "incidental" surveillance by the US government during the transition period. In reality, it's virtually certain that some of Trump's and his team's communications, just like communications from other Americans, were swept by the US intelligence agencies. This is basically the official US policy--as plainly reported in such obscure, fringe media outlets as The Washington Post and The Guardian in the UK. In the words of The...

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Trumpcare: Bad Policy, Even Worse Politics

by | Mar 23, 2017 |

The Obamacare replacement plan offered by President Trump and Paul Ryan is scheduled for a vote in the House today. Even though the Republicans have a significant majority in the House, the vote is expected to be a close call as several GOP Members have opposed the legislation. Indeed, this gets at perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Trumpcare proposal: that it manages to disappoint on almost every criteria imaginable. It's bad policy and bad politics at the same time. Failures of this magnitude don't just happen; it takes planning and hard work. And for that, House Speaker Paul Ryan...

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Help That Hurts: The Case of US Food Aid

by | Mar 22, 2017 | ,

President Trump's discretionary budget proposal includes a $182 million cut to the McGovern-Dole Food for Education program, eliminating the program entirely. Whatever else one thinks of Trump's budget, this is a good idea. It will save taxpayers a small amount of money, which is nice. But far more importantly, canceling the program will also likely help the former recipients. This may sound like a surprising claim. How could eliminating aid be a good thing for the people that get the aid? It's a reasonable question with a complicated answer. Let's go through it. Free Stuff Is Good At the...

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Why Almost Everything Matters More Than the Russia Allegations

by | Mar 13, 2017 | ,

We are nearly two months into the Trump Administration, and allegations about Russia are still dominating the headlines. Unless you happen to be a fan of Trump's agenda, this is a problem. In fact, nearly everything about the Trump Administration warrants more concern and attention than the Russia scandal. There are a couple key reasons for this. Let's go through them. Still Unproven First off, it's not actually proven that the Russian government was responsible for leaking the DNC or Podesta emails. The US government has asserted that Russia was behind these breaches, but the publicly...

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Why Education Is Not a Public Good

by | Mar 7, 2017 | , ,

Today, government provides many goods and services that used to be addressed by private means. Public education is one of the most salient examples. Government stepped into education with the best of intentions. Yet it goes without saying that many people remain dissatisfied with the current outcome. Polls have shown a steady decline of confidence in public schools over time, and it is frequently one of the key issues in US politics. Because the government has been involved for so long, people naturally look to government for the solution. If you suggest that the private sector could offer a...

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A Bad Argument Against Food Stamps

by | Feb 27, 2017 | ,

There are good reasons to criticize the US food stamps program. The fact that some poor people might use food stamps to buy "junk food" is not one of them. I make this point in response to a new article by Chris Edwards at the Cato Institute. In the article, Edwards cites a recent study by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) which analyzed the purchasing habits of some food stamp recipients. Among other things, the study showed that 22.6% of the food stamp purchases were of junk food. Edwards then extrapolates this figure to the broader food stamps program and estimates that some $15...

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Eric Schuler

Eric Schuler is a contributor to The Libertarian Institute, with a focus on economics and US foreign policy. Follow his work here and on Twitter.


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