Medicare's Dim Horizon
The Center for Public Integrity is publishing a series of articles this week on wasteful spending in the Medicare program. Politicians talk a big game about saving Medicare by eliminating wasteful...
View ArticlePresident Obama's Puzzling Political Strategy for After the Midterms
Richard Wolffe reports: The White House plans to test Republicans' unity and political resolve on three controversial issues: repealing the Bush tax cuts, implementing the deficit commission's...
View ArticleThe PC Revolution Devours Its Own Children, Part CLVII, NPR Edition
An amusing press release from the National Alliance on Mental Illness just crossed the old NR transom: Did NPR 'Psychiatrist' Remark about Juan Williams Violate the Americans with Disabilities Act?...
View ArticleTune In Before the World Series
One benefit of MLB's decision to start these World Series games so late (perhaps the only one) is that you can catch me on Kudlow tonight at 7:15ish talking about this Wall Street Journal article on...
View ArticleWorld Series Undercard
Last night it was Spruiell vs. Reich on Kudlow. I really enjoyed this one: The game that followed was great, a pitchers' duel for the ages -- until the 8th inning. What a meltdown. But here's my...
View ArticleNo, We Do Not Need More Fiscal Stimulus
It’s a line you’re seeing with surprisingly frequent regularity: Ben Bernanke wants more fiscal stimulus. So does Peter Orszag. (Hat tip for these links goes, naturally, to Ezra Klein’s blog.)...
View ArticleOn Not Repeating the Mistakes of 1995
Ezra Klein tries to game out the coming fights over Obamacare: So what happens if Republicans won't pass any appropriations bills that fund the health-care law and President Obama won't sign any...
View ArticleThe Reid Win
Democrats will spin Harry Reid's victory and cling to it like the American people allegedly cling to their Bibles and guns, but I see a huge silver lining here for conservatives. What did we lose in...
View ArticleFlake for Appropriations
John Boehner said it best Tuesday night: “This is not a time for celebration.#...#This is a time to roll up our sleeves.” There is a lot of work to be done, and the work will require a high degree of...
View ArticleFlake for Appropriations
Naming the five-term Republican from the land of Goldwater to the crucial spending committee would be a great way for John Boehner to begin the hard work he talked about last night.
View ArticleNo, Milton Friedman Would Not Have Supported QE2 (or 3, or Whatever Round...
So argues John Taylor, who supplies this great cartoon by way of illustration: Chairman Bernanke, if you're reading, I'd be willing to part with my 1991 Nolan Ryan tuxedo card for a few thousand...
View ArticleThe Root of the Problem
It isn't tax cuts, or the lack thereof. It isn't stimulus, or the lack thereof. It isn't monetary policy that's either too loose or too tight. It's the balance sheets of the major banks, which, like...
View ArticleRe: Olby's Ethics
I agree with Jonah. However, just because it is so cringe-inducing and unintentionally hilarious and really deserves to be re-posted at every available opportunity, here is the clip from the time that...
View ArticleSo Long, Solyndra
Back in May, I used Obama's visit to a solar plant in California as a springboard to launch into a lament about the unsustainable nature of the "green-energy economy." I figured that at some point the...
View ArticleAmerican Exceptionalism
Food guru Dave Arnold writes, "American Country Ham is a national culinary treasure... Hams from Virginia, Kentucky and other states hold their own against Italian and Spanish hams and should be...
View ArticleJerry Lewis Endorses Flake for Appropriations
The feedback from my piece about why John Boehner should put Jeff Flake on the Appropriations Committee went roughly as follows: "Great suggestion, except for that whole part about giving Jerry Lewis...
View ArticleWhat's the Ratio, Kenneth?
Remember when part of the president's big plan for dividing Republicans following the midterms was going to be to force them to vote on the fiscal commission's recommendations? Richard Wolffe, who has...
View ArticleCantor Pushing Flake, Other Reformers for Approps
Corner favorite Jason Chaffetz is mentioned in this Politico story as another solid conservative who is angling for a seat: Cantor continues to push for reform-minded conservatives on committees such...
View ArticleKorea: Too Green for Democrats
The Bush administration negotiated and signed a free-trade agreement with South Korea in 2007, but enough members of Congress found the deal unacceptable that it was never ratified. For years it...
View ArticleIt's about Getting Our Own House in Order
Senator Inhofe is one of the best we've got, but he's just wrong on earmarks, for the reasons laid out by Senator Coburn and Representative Flake. To their arguments, I would just add one small point:...
View ArticleHas Obama Finally Found an Environmental Regulation that He Doesn't Like?
Do you want to know why Obama's attempt to renegotiate the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement has failed? You wouldn't believe it if I told you . . .
View ArticleI'm on Bloggingheads
In the latest episode of bloggingheads.tv, Tim Fernholz and I recap the debate over the fiscal commission's co-chairmen's report and talk about the lame-duck session and the G-20 as well. In the clip...
View ArticleObama and Free Trade
If you enjoyed my piece about the Obama administration's ridiculous South Korea trade debacle last week, then you should really follow up by reading trade blogger Scott Lincicome's coverage of the...
View ArticleSchakowsky’s Lack of Principle
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D., Ill.) has come out with her own alternative to the Bowles-Simpson deficit-reduction plan. Under the Schakowsky plan, two-thirds of the deficit reduction would come from tax...
View ArticleThe Left's Deficit Reduction Plan
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D., Ill.), who is a member of Obama's fiscal commission, has put forward an alternative to the co-chairmen's mark released last week. My take: "Many conservatives greeted the...
View ArticleStimulus Spending as Deficit Reduction: An Idea that Just Needs to Die
Both the Schakowsky deficit reduction plan, which I wrote about today, and the Rivlin-Domenici plan, which Veronique wrote about below, call for increases in Keynesian stimulus spending to happen...
View ArticleGM's IPO
Regarding the triumphalism attending GM's IPO, let this post serve as a friendly reminder that GM still owes the U.S. government $43 billion; that its financing arm still owes $14.6 billion; and that...
View ArticleAn Invitation to Our Post-Election Conference
On Monday, November 22nd, the National Review Institute and AEI are teaming up to host a post-election conference in Washington. Panelists include budget expert James Capretta, former congressman (and...
View ArticleCowboys Draft Preview
For the Cowboys, there's no need to swing for the fences on offensive stars. Everyone's happy with the way Dez Bryant turned out, so now it's time to focus on defense. The 'Boys secondary was terrible...
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