Things that Caught My Eye this Week Add $239 more to the budget hole: If things weren’t bleak enough for the state’s fiscal outlook, more bad news came this week in the form of a $239 million federal court judgment against Louisiana....
Budget Politics Back in my teaching days, many years ago, one of the things I liked to ask the class to consider was this: Imagine a government agency with only two tasks: (1) building statues of Benedict Arnold a...
The Carbon Tax: A bad idea whose time has not come President Obama was mostly silent about the “climate change” issue during his re-election campaign last year. That was undoubtedly due to the low standing the topic has with voters. In his State of...
Shepherds and Sheep John Stuart Mill’s classic essay “On Liberty” gives reasons why some people should not be taking over other people’s decisions about their own lives. But Professor Cass Sunstein of Harvard has give...
March Madness Unless the unlikely happens, on March 1 the much cussed and discussed federal sequester will automatically trigger, cutting some $1.2 trillion over 10 years across the board in both defense and dis...
Guns and Pensions
A nation's choice between spending on military defense and spending on civilian goods has often been posed as "guns versus butter." But understanding the choices of many nations' political leaders ...
Tax Reform for Louisiana’s Future
When deciding where to place major job-creating projects, corporate executives often choose among several states with comparable location advantages. Taxes usually are amongtheir top site-selection...
Random Thoughts I can't get excited by the question of whether Senator Robert Menendez had sex with a prostitute in Central America. It is her word against his -- and when it comes to a prostitute's word against a...
Court says 'No' to NLRB Recess Appointments The National Labor Relations Board (board) is the federal agency responsible for ensuring the rights of employers and unions under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). President Obama appoints ...
Prophets and Losses Now that the federal government is playing an ever larger role in the economy, a look at Washington's track record seems to be long overdue.
The recent release of the Federal Reserve Board's transc...
Tax Reform Questions The buzz in the media and governmental circles focuses on the yet undefined composition of Governor Jindal’s tax reform proposal for the legislative session that begins April 8. The plan is still i...
