The Skeptical Optimist

The right enemy

I've been getting a lot of enthusiastic feedback from people who agree with the premise of a recent article of mine (link here) -- specifically, that the correct enemy in a class war would be the predators, pirates, and parasites. Some of the feedback has been general agreement, some of it names specific people, some of it is worth a chuckle -- and most of it is dead serious.

So, I'm planning a followup piece that will get into more detail, with some specific examples I've been accumulating. If you have any examples you'd like to contribute, please email me. Should be fun (...for most, anyway). Watch for it, or a link to it, here.

A debt ceiling with teeth?

There's a way to build a lot more intelligence into the debt ceiling number. See "The Debt Ceiling Distortion" at American.com. 

The unfair consequences of a Buffett tax

Our past experience with changes in the capital gains tax should be a warning about the potential unintended effects of a Buffett rule. Here's the article at American.com explaining why.

"Fiscal Responsibility": Four possible meanings

Everybody is for "fiscal responsibility" -- but that term has at least four different meanings, not one of which is simple to defend.

To see the four possibilities, check out my latest article at American.com:
"What Does 'Fiscal Responsibility' Mean?"

When to borrow on credit - according to Washington, Jefferson, Reagan, and the Constitution

How is Uncle Sam's credit these days?

According to the free market, U.S. Treasury securities are one of the safest investments on the entire planet—in other words, it's about as good as it gets. Uncle Sam is able to sell U.S. Treasury securities in return for U.S. dollars at near-zero interest rates.

But that begs an important question: SO WHAT?? A world-class credit ranking doesn't necessarily mean the U.S. government should borrow money.

No, it doesn't. Just because we can do it doesn't mean we should do it without a good reason. And this is where we can get some valuable guidance from our past. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ronald Reagan, and our Constitution have told us and showed us when to borrow against our credit.

Hint: it's all about the defense budget and national security. For the details, see my latest article at American.com, the online magazine of the American Enterprise Institute:

Peace—and Prosperity—Through Strength

Two surprises: China doesn't own us; and the debt burden is relatively low

Okay, so those aren't big surprises to anyone who has visited this blog in past seven years. But I expect they will surprise many readers at American.com, the online magazine of the American Enterprise Institute. Here's a link to my latest article there:

Why Growth Matters More than Debt

In the article, I used our familiar pie chart; I also thought of a more public-friendly name for the "debt burden"--specifically, I called it the "Interest Bite." [You may recall that I've tried its inverse, "Times Interest Taxed," at this blog before--but that most certainly does not compress down into a convenient acronym.]

The payroll tax holiday: Throwing FDR under the bus

Four years ago, presidential candidate John Edwards floated an idea that didn't quite die with his campaign. One thread lived on, and has surfaced in today's debate around the payroll tax. The idea boils down to this: FDR advocated an unfair funding method for his social security system; it's time to throw him under the bus.

For a detailed explanation, see my latest article at the American Enterprise Institute's onine magazine, American.com.

Class warfare can be good for us

If we define the enemy correctly, a class war could be just what we need. See why at my latest article at the American Enterprise Institute's online magazine.

Here's the link:

The Class Warfare We Need