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'Austerity' Promotes Growth, Government Spending Doesn't
Tweet Share on Facebook May 15, 2012 Comment (13)Let the great debate begin—no, not the one between President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney, but between fearless free market economist and Mercatus scholar Veronique de Rugy and big government advocate and Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman. The question: Does the failure of European "austerity" measures mean the United States should eschew concerns about reckless spending and instead renew our romance with big spending, spiced this time with serious tax increases?
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If Senate Democrats Won't Pass a Budget, They Shouldn't Be Paid
Tweet Share on Facebook May 2, 2012 Comment (11)Sunday marked the third year in a row that the Democratic-controlled Senate failed to pass a budget. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has completely abdicated his responsibility to the American people. Make no mistake, Reid has done this with the implicit support of President Obama. Why have the Democrats sat on their hands while our economy suffers and 23 million Americans are looking for jobs? They have done so because it is politically expedient.
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The Real Reason the Left Is Attacking ALEC
Tweet Share on Facebook April 23, 2012 Comment (20)The methods and tone employed by those attacking the American Legislative Exchange Council, ALEC for short, reveal how desperate the professional left is feeling as they head into what they know will be a close election. After having their political heads handed to them in the 2010 cycle, they regrouped and decided to try to destroy the credibility of their opponents.
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Rick Santorum Proved that Authenticity Matters
Tweet Share on Facebook April 11, 2012 Comment (6)Rick Santorum's most unlikely campaign proved one thing about American politics: Authenticity matters. It is also not enough. Messaging and money are at least as important in electoral politics or Santorum's path may have been different. But Rick Santorum wrestled way above weight on the national stage for his party's nomination because he didn't mince words and because people believed him when he said something.
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The Left's Political Opportunism in the Trayvon Martin Tragedy
Tweet Share on Facebook April 2, 2012 Comment (7)Trayvon Martin's death is a tragedy, no matter how you look at it. And when struck by tragedy, people look for someone to blame. But there's a difference between searching for meaning and political opportunism. For an example of the latter, look no further than the commentary of New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, executive vice president of the AFL-CIO Arlene Holt Baker, or Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist who recently guest hosted for MSNBC's Martin Bashir. She blithely, and wrongly, suggested that the National Rifle Association, Charles and David Koch, and the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, were somehow responsible for the shooting.
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Barack Obama Is Struggling as Much as Mitt Romney Is
Tweet Share on Facebook March 23, 2012 Comment (5)The political shows are awash with commentary on the purported weakness of the Republican field in this election cycle. Well that weakness is apparently also shared on the Democratic side. Whether measured in polls or dollars, President Obama isn't generating a lot of excitement these days. This matters because, as history has shown, incumbents aren't really beaten by challengers; they defeat themselves.
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Supreme Court Healthcare Hearing a Political Storm for Obama
Tweet Share on Facebook March 16, 2012 Comment (4)Within a matter of days, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the constitutionality of President Obama's massive healthcare legislation. Word is that the Obama administration purposefully asked the court to accelerate consideration of the law. While the significance of the legal issues at stake is signaled by the historic allotment of time allowed for argument--three days--my guess is that the Obama camp is more focused on the potential negative political consequences of the court's decision. They, of course, would prefer such fall-out occur as far from the November election as possible. Republicans, however, stand to benefit politically almost regardless of what the court decides.
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The Silver Lining in Ron Paul's Virginia Primary Showing
Tweet Share on Facebook March 9, 2012 Comment (16)Post-Super Tuesday news coverage was fraught with a refrain of failure for Rep. Ron Paul. Even his campaign openly bemoaned the gap they have experienced between enthusiastic crowds at speeches and people who actually cast their lot with the candidate when it counts. But at the risk of breaking a decades long tendency to see the "glass half empty" politically, there is a clear upside for small government advocates in Ron Paul's relatively strong performance in Virginia. Yes, he lost. Yes, he lost by 20 points. But Ron Paul did something remarkable: In a head-to-head contest with the establishment Republican candidate, he pulled fully 40 percent of the vote.
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On Gas Prices, Believe What Obama Does, Not What He Says
Tweet Share on Facebook March 5, 2012 Comment (8)Who or what is most at fault for current and anticipated high gasoline prices? Choose one: a) increased demand in China and other countries; b) OPEC; c) geopolitical tensions; d) technical difficulties; or e) President Obama's anti-U.S. supply policies? It may surprise you to find out that some experts believe the most important driver to be "a)", increased demand in China. As with all markets, supply and demand determine price—whether it is oranges or oil. Expectations about demand growth and the availability of supply are reflected in future prices and may even have some impact on current prices.
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Why Does Barack Obama Hate Savings and Investment?
Tweet Share on Facebook February 24, 2012 Comment (12)President Obama's election year messaging is all about class warfare. Worse, under this guise, his recent budget submission makes it clear he plans to dramatically penalize savings and investment through the tax code. Since incentives matter, taxing something produces less of it for the same reasons subsidizing something yields more of it. Given that axiom, one is forced to conclude the president thinks we have too much savings and investment in the U.S. economy today. Hence his draconian proposal to increase the tax on capital gains from 15 percent to nearly 24 percent and to nearly triple taxes on dividends from 15 percent to 43.4 percent.
