In “The Myth of American Inequity,” authors Phil Gramm, Robert Ekelund, and John Early write on statistical legerdemain by which the government statistical bureaucrats (mainly in the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics) are able to make poverty and income inequality in the U.S. appear far, far greater than they are in reality (pg.4). […]
California’s Progressive Liberals Have Created a Monster
UPDATE 8.9.22: California makes it impossible for law enforcement to prosecute homeless criminals to create a “safe space,” for them. Those are the paraphrased words of Congressman Darrell Issa, recently speaking on Saturday Agenda. He said “California has quit trying people for petty crime. So if you’re living on the street, stealing for a living, […]
The Four Progressive Horsemen of Inequality
There’s much talk these days about inequality and how capitalism is a nasty side effect of the disease of inequality. Andy Kessler (WSJ) writes of a discussion he had on equality with John Cochrane, economist and senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. In discussing inequality, Mr. Cochrane, asks, “Are capitalism and free markets the reasons […]
Does Big Government Create Poverty?
Perhaps the best thing about suggestions by candidates like Bernie Sanders and Liz Warren to a welfare model closer to those seen in Europe is that there are years of evidence about what that could mean for Americans. Despite the candidates’ cherry-picking of old and debunked data, there is a lot of evidence in Europe […]
“America’s Middle Class Is Under Attack”
Cries Elizabeth Warren on the campaign trail. But here’s an inconvenient truth: the economy is doing well. Warren’s mantra is that all the benefits have gone to the rich and to big corporations. As Stephen Moore points out in the WSJ, the latest data from the Census Bureau’s numbers tell a different story from Warren’s. […]
Heightened Inequality Baffles Bernie
China has moved millions out of poverty by moving away from socialism, writes Joshua Muravchik, author of “Heaven on Earth.” Sen. Bernie Sanders is well known for praising the Chinese government. But China’s progress in addressing poverty should raise a few eyebrows, or at least Bernie’s socialist ones. Bernie’s surprise at China’s heightened inequality is […]
A Downside to Prosperity this Thanksgiving
Traffic. Lots of it, especially in Boston, NYC, and San Fran. Air travel also will reach historic levels, with predictions of a record 30.6 million passengers flying on U.S. airlines. According to the American Automobile Association: Consumers have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season: higher wages, more disposable income and rising levels […]
Wealthy Politicians: Good for Me, but Not for Thee
Being a millionaire today does not have the same cachet it did say 20 years ago. Still, even by today’s standards, earning $1+ million in one year is pretty darn good, especially for a socialist like Bernie Sanders. As NRO’s Jim Geraghty points out, though, Bernie’s $1 million pales in comparison to Hillary’s $14 million […]
President Barack Obama–“You’ve Made Enough Money”
Do you remember when Barack Obama went off Teleprompter while giving a speech about the need for Wall Street reform? It was in 2010, in Illinois. We’re not, we’re not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success that’s fairly earned. I mean, I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money. […]
(Some) Black Lives Matter
About four weeks ago, the Chicago Tribune reported that on 3 November gang members lured a nine-year-old boy from a Chicago park into an alley and shot him point blank as revenge on the boy’s father. One of the three chatted up Tyshawn [Lee], walked with him to the alley and then shot him five […]