The Democrats' new reconciliation bill isn't just going to be the largest-ever expansion of a government agency. It's going to be the largest expansion of the domestic police state in American history. Only a statist could believe that a federal government, which already collects $4.1 trillion every year – or $12,300 for every citizen…

While peddling the ludicrously named Inflation Reduction Act on CNN this past week, Sen. Joe Manchin claimed that Democrats were merely trying to "close the loopholes and collect the taxes that are owed to the Treasury and the United States people." In Washington, a "loophole" is a euphemism for a perfectly legal policy that Democrats…

With Americans increasingly desperate for a life preserver, Senator Joe Manchin (D – West Virginia) instead just threw them an anvil forged by Chuck Schumer (D – New York).   Although our economy just entered a recession, Manchin inexplicably decided that now’s the perfect time to reverse years of promises by supporting…

The first thing to remember about the reconciliation bill Sens. Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer agreed to Wednesday is that, despite its utterly preposterous name, it has absolutely zero to do with inflation. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is crammed with the very same spending, corporate welfare, price fixing and tax hikes that were part of Build…

If you think runaway inflation is brutal, wait until you get hit by the cure.  Last week, the Federal Reserve raised the interest rate on money it lends to other banks by .75%, the biggest hike in three decades. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the hike is necessary to rein in skyrocketing inflation. He's planning more hikes in the coming months.…

President Joe Biden has written an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal detailing his plan to fight inflation. Well, perhaps the word "detailing" is too generous. The preponderance of the column features Biden taking credit for economic growth that can be attributed to the reopening of the economy that was shuttered by the governing class during…

In today’s polarized culture, debate is characterized more often by normative subjectivity than empirical objectivity.   Even where one side in a debate possesses an advantage of common sense and lessons learned through experience, objective resolution is often impossible and people must simply agree to disagree.   It&rsquo…

“Putin Price Hike.”   If Joe Biden and his enablers lie regarding a subject as amenable to precise mathematical refutation as inflation, one wonders what other lies roam beneath the murk of mainstream media guile and bureaucratic obfuscation.   The simple fact is that inflation commenced its sharp upward trend in January…

The government says inflation rose 8.5% in March compared to last year – the worst it has been in 40 years, since the bad old days of 1981. While inflation has infected virtually every area of the economy, the worst news concerns some very fundamental human activities: eating, finding warmth and shelter, and moving around. Look deep…

U.S. senators need to forgo the posh Capitol dining rooms and go food shopping in the shoes of ordinary Americans. Shoppers are panicking at the meat counter, where beef prices are up more than 20%. Nearly everything in the basket costs more. Most pols are clueless about the pain inflation is causing. Retirees are the biggest victims. Inflation is…

It's been quite a spectacle watching people who credit Democrats with every job created and every percentage point gained in economic growth suddenly arguing that the White House is completely powerless in the face of our current economic predicament. Presidents generally get far too much credit and/or blame for our fortunes, but they can certainly…

White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain recently endorsed the idea that inflation and supply-chain struggles Americans are struggling with are "high class problems." I'm in no position to comment on whether the inflation spike we're experiencing is "transitory" or not (though, metaphysically speaking, isn't everything!). Maybe it…

As economic clouds form both domestically and worldwide, what America and the world need is sober helmsmanship and policies that propel our economy, not weaken it.   Instead, we get preposterous and incoherent whoppers from Joe Biden in defense of his massive tax and spending scheme.   “Every time I hear, ‘This is…

Dems are pushing to pass a multitrillion-dollar spending bill called the Build Back Better Act. It ought to be called the Political Scam Bill.  Buried in the 2,465 pages are numerous billion-dollar grants to unnamed community organizations for vague purposes such as promoting "community engagement" and "creating equitable civic…

In what should still be a presidential honeymoon period, the Biden Administration finds itself rapidly collapsing and unable to execute even rudimentary tasks.   In such deteriorating circumstances, one would expect it to correct course and revive its plummeting credibility by steering in good faith toward unity, the political center and…

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez donned an elegant gown with the slogan "Tax the Rich" painted on the back at the Met Gala in New York, where guests selected by Vogue's Anna Wintour ponied up around $35,000 a pop for tickets. The scene was reminiscent of Tom Wolfe's "radical chic" – though rather than being guests of…

The humongous bill that Democrats in Washington, D.C. are assembling this week is a slap in the face to Americans who work, pay taxes and support their families. The bill demeans work ethic and glorifies government handouts. It sends a message that work and self-sufficiency are for suckers. Better to climb on Uncle Sam's gravy train that will now…

After several months of steady economic recovery, we are once again facing economic uncertainty and peril. Last month, the Federal Reserve significantly raised its projections for inflation and moved up its timeline for interest rate hikes.  Against this backdrop, some lawmakers in Washington, D.C. like Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D – …

What’s wrong with this emerging picture?   Just five months ago, Joe Biden inherited a turbocharging economy, months of record monthly job growth numbers and a vaccination program that was already conquering the Covid pandemic.  Biden himself was vaccinated before he took office.   In the short period since his inauguration…

Believe it or not, until 2017 the United States imposed the developed world’s highest corporate tax rate.   If the Biden Administration has its way, we’ll regress to that punitive rate and inglorious status under his tax proposal.   In an increasingly competitive global economy, and as the U.S. struggles to emerge…

The United States’ economic freedom score is 74.8, making its economy the 20th freest in the 2021 Index.  Its overall score has decreased by 1.8 points, primarily because of a decline in fiscal health.  The United States is ranked 3rd among 32 countries in the Americas region, and its overall score is above the regional and world averages…

In a letter to Congress, the Center for Indiviudal Freedom ("CFIF") today joined a coalition of nearly 30 organizations and activists, led by Americans for Tax Reform, urging opposition to implementation of a financial transactions tax (FTT) on American savers and investors. Read the letter below. VIEW LETTER AS A PDF Dear Member…

In the latest example of the political left cynically leveraging passing events to impose their longstanding wish list, some Congressional Democrats and their outside ideological minders seek to exploit recent stock market volatility centering on the GameStop episode to advance a new array of regulations and taxes.   Topping that list is…

If Senator Elizabeth Warren (D – Massachusetts) described the sky as blue, one would be wise to peek out a window just to reconfirm.   It’s not that every single utterance from Senator Warren is necessarily false, but let’s just say that her reliability falls well below the proverbial broken clock that’s at least…

Of all the people Democrats could’ve featured during the first night of their ratings-deficient convention this week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made for an especially odd choice.   Most notably, Governor Cuomo maligned President Trump’s performance amid the coronavirus pandemic, either brazenly or cluelessly ignoring the…

Friday morning found Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer in a funereal mood, their grim visages one of near-mourning.  The occasion for their gloom came in the form of a stunningly positive monthly jobs report that markets and the rest of America celebrated, but wouldn’t allow them even the hint of a smile during their statements.&…

The current U.S. budget deficit could soon exceed a record $4 trillion. The massive borrowing is being driven both by prior budget profligacy and a hurried effort by the Donald Trump administration to pump liquidity into a quarantined America. The shutdown has left the country on the cusp of a self-inflicted economic collapse not seen since the Great…

A record-high number of Americans – 90% – say they are satisfied with their personal lives, according to Gallup. And 74% are optimistic that they will continue being financially satisfied moving forward. Needless to say, the United States will never be a utopia, but for the vast majority of its citizens, most things are going…

For sheer cognitive dissonance, denial and historical amnesia, today’s leftists and Never-Trumpers provide enough subject material to merit a new research wing within the American Psychological Association.  This week brought another vivid manifestation when Barack Obama reentered the political fray by falsely claiming credit for today&…

Actually, contends every 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful, the economy is in really bad shape. It is only working for the wealthiest among us while leaving behind the poor, the working class and the shrinking middle class. Now, I suppose one could forgive the socialist contingent of the party for offering knee-jerk class-based bromides &ndash…