Amity Shlaes, the disinformation bunny, is still going. In the latest issue of Imprimus, a publication of Hillsdale College, is a transcript adapted from a recent talk she gave there during a conference on the Income Tax, sponsored by Hillsdale’s own Center for Constructive Alternatives and the Ludwig von Mises Lecture Series. Right away, you […]
At least on certain issues. I’m not inherently a great pessimist, but with few exceptions each passing month for over a decade now has seen my optimism whither, at least a little. So I can’t help but see the manure-colored lining in this otherwise rosy, fluffy cloud. Steve Benen reports that according to the new […]
For the hundredth time the foreign-born Muslim commie Nazi extends an olive branch across the aisle, and for the hundredth time it’s dashed to the floor, stomped on and set ablaze – along with the latest spokes-liars trousers. It became a conflagration that the infamous water-stop could not staunch. Early in Marco Rubio’s alleged rebuttal […]
This is more or less relevant to Beverly’s post from earlier today. How many times have you heard Boehner, McConnell, Ryan or one of the legion of right-wing talking heads say, “We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem?” I refuted that lie repeatedly in this AB post and at the included […]
If you listen to Randi Rhodes, you know she is still livid over Romney being declared the “winner” in last week’s – we’ll call it a “debate” for the nonce. Alas, though, the reason he won is that poll numbers have moved in his favor. Whether that bounce is robust remains to be seen. But […]
I’m sure you are all feeling kind of blah. You have this final exam for this session and I can tell by your performances on the quizzes that you are still confused. The problem solving portions of the quizzes have been very telling. So lets review. You’re taxes are not too high. It’s your […]
My lovely wife shared this link with me on Facebook. I got into a discussion in comments there with a right winger who suggested that $250,000 was a very reasonable estimate for median income in Boston. As it turns out, median household income in Boston is $51,914, close to the national average, and way below […]
Part III – How to think about time series data. For reference:Part II Federal Spending as a Fraction of GDP Part I Federal Spending Growth Some commentors to the previous posts have rightly concluded that I consider spending under Obama in the context of historical trends. In fact, if you don’t consider historical trends, you […]
A post like this really shouldn’t be necessary, but part of the right wing canard that Obama has been a profligate spender is based on spending as a percentage of GDP. It looks like this – Graph 1. Graph 1. Fed Expenditures/GDP Sure enough, by the end of Clinton’s term the ratio had fallen from […]
Over at Plain Blog, an anonymous wing nut made this off-topic comment. Now, yes, Bill Clinton and his 2000 federal spending level of 18% of GDP doesn’t put him on the fringe, which makes it surprising that you lefties are celebrating him, even as you hysterically condemn anybody who resists the Left’s current massive spending […]