Talking Taxes on Freedom Watch with Judge Napolitano

I'm not a big fan of multi-guest panels, but I think this interview went well.

Bashing Bailouts and Inflexible Unions

No CAP bedwetter to debate in this segment.

A Wide-Ranging Interview Covering Everything from the Gold Standard to the Value-Added Tax

The Free Market Mojo site asked me a number of interesting questions about public policy. I'm not sure all of my answers were interesting, but here are some snippets that capture my curmudgeonly outlook.

I think it’s important to divide the topic into two issues, the policies that cause short-run fluctuations and the policies that impact long-run growth. Generally speaking, I try to avoid guessing games about what is happening today and tomorrow (or even yesterday), and instead focus on the policies that will boost the economy’s underlying productive capacity. ...the Fed’s easy-money policy was a mistake. If the central bank had behaved appropriately, we presumably would not have suffered a financial crisis and recession. And if we go back in history, we find the Fed’s fingerprints whenever there is an economic meltdown. ...I would not want the government to impose a gold standard. Competitive markets should determine the form of money and/or what backs up that money. Perhaps gold would emerge in such a competitive system, but a gold standard should not be imposed. ...I don’t trust politicians. They would pass a bill to impose a VAT while simultaneously phasing out the income tax over a five-year period. But inevitably there would be some sort of “emergency” in year three and the income tax would be “temporarily” extended. When the dust settled, temporary would become permanent and we would be a decrepit European-style welfare state. ...There are many great economists, but for my line of work, Milton Friedman has to be at the top of the list. He had an incredible ability to explain the benefits of liberty and the costs of statism in a way that reached average people.

"I Wish Republicans Had a Secret Plan for Personal Accounts"

Here's my debate on Larry Kudlow's show about Social Security personal retirement accounts.

"Dump Fannie and Freddie in the Potomac"

I appeared on CNBC earlier today to explain why a stake should be driven through the heart of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. My debate opponents seems to be somewhat on the right side and admits that Fannie and Freddie are bad news, but inexplicably wants to keep them alive.

Tea Parties, Defense Spending, Overpaid Bureaucrats, Green Energy, and International Taxation

These are the issues I discuss in this wide-ranging Fox Business News interview.

Congressman Barton, BP, Obama, and the Oil Spill

I was interviewed by CNN about the issues relating to Congressman Barton's apology to BP. The network only used one of my quotes from the interview, and I was happy to see that I was not taken out of context (always a danger when you are taped in advance).



To augment my limited quote from the story, my main gripe with the $20 billion fund is that compensation claims should be part of the regular legal process and not the result of pressure from the White House. That being said, I won't be too agitated about the fund - assuming that the money does not become a piggy bank for White House vote buying. On the broader issue of BP and the spill, protecting people from harm (either intentional harm, which is addressed by the criminal justice system, or unintentional harm, which should be addressed through the tort system) is one of the few legitimate functions of government.

One final comment. The CNN story, shortly after the 2:00 mark, makes it appear as if polling data shows the American people favor Obama's approach. That is not the case. The polling data simply shows that people don't think the spill is under control and that they think BP should pay all damages. That's not contrary to Obama's position, but neither is it contrary to the libertarian position.

Replacing Arnold Schwarzenegger with Pee Wee Herman?!?

That's my reaction to Robert Reich's crazy idea to put the nation's least competent people in charge of British Petroleum. I'm not a big fan of BP, especially since it oozes political correctness (just think of their stupid ads where they claim BP stands for "beyond petroleum"), but mangers and shareholders at the firm have a huge financial incentive to fix the problem. Giving politicians control of the company, by contrast, is a recipe for incompetence and bungling.

Obama Is a Liar (like most politicians)

The only question is whether he deliberately and knowingly lied, and I say to Fox News that there is no alternative explanation. The only issue now is whether he pays a price like the first President Bush, who also lied to the American people about taxes.

Debating another Neurotic Silver-Spoon Leftist

I've always thought it would be nice to inherit a big pile of money, but whenever I debate some trust-fund collectivist, it makes me wonder whether there's too much risk that unearned wealth causes...well, let's just say causes strange opinions. Here's my recent debate on Kudlow's show with a rich guy who wants to pay more tax to the crooks in Washington.

The VAT Interview on Fox Business Network

This is the interview that Rush excerpted on his show, so it must be worth watching.

Talking About the VAT on the Rush Limbaugh Show

I wasn't exactly a guest on the show, but he played a clip of me bashing the VAT from an interview on Fox Business Network. Kind of cool.

Talking about Overpaid Bureaucrats on CNBC

It's only a two-minute clip, but Larry and I cover the key reasons why excessive government pay in bad for taxpayers and bad for the economy.



By contrast, Ben Stein has a video defending bureaucrats, but he never addresses whether they are overpaid or whether there are too many of them. His argument isn't very focused, but he cleverly selects the handful of categories (cops, firefighters, etc) where government workers perform useful services, and wants us to have positive feelings for all bureaucrats. He also implies that the term "bureaucrat" is some sort of slur, which is a surprise to me. Anyhow, if this is the best the other side can do, I feel confident that they have no legitimate defense.

My Tail is Tucked Between My Legs

I've definitely been off my game the past couple of days. I put a correction in a previous post, and now I feel compelled to issue a groveling mea culpa on another matter.

I did an interview for NBC affiliate stations on the financial mess at the Postal Service. I haven’t spent any time on that issue, so I quickly scanned some material from my Cato colleagues Chris Edwards and Tad DeHaven and saw that Congress had given an indirect bailout to the Postal Service by suspending $4 billion of required pre-funding for retiree health benefits. I then went on the air and said that this was a taxpayer subsidy for the Postal Service’s lavish pay and benefits. The Postal Service does have lavish pay and benefits, and the indirect bailout may lead to a direct infusion of taxpayer money at some point in the near future, but what I said I was wrong because no taxpayer money is currently being allocated (and I would have avoided the mistake if I paid closer attention to what Chris and Tad wrote). So, please, postal workers, don’t go…um…postal on me.

I don't know if this matches my most embarrassing moment, when my cell phone rang during a live interview with Britt Hume, but I'm definitely feeling a bit sheepish.

The Final Day Channeling Larry Kudlow

I've already received some reasonably positive feedback on Wednesday's show, though I don't think it was any better than Tuesday's performance.

I'd be delighted to get feedback. You can watch the segments here, here, here, here, and here.

A Big Improvement for my Second Night Hosting the Kudlow Report

I gave myself a gentleman's C for my performance Monday. Last night's performance was much better, at least I think.

Watch here, here, here, here, here, and here and let me know what you think.

The first three clips are the most interesting (at least to me) since we're talking public policy. When we shift to talking about investments during the last half of the show, I don't have any special insight, though I do manage to cause a bit of controversy in the final segment.

My First Night Hosting Kudlow's Show on CNBC

I can't figure out how to embed the videos from the CNBC website, but you can watch me here, here, here, here, and here.

So how did I do? I felt a bit wooden in the beginning, but then got into the flow of things. My only faux pas occured when my co-host asked me a question in one of the segments, but I assumed he said my name by accident and meant the question for one of the guests.

Regarding tonight and tomorrow night, there is no way to watch the show live online, so you'll have to wait for the video to get posted. Unless you get CNBC World, of course.

Exciting News (though with a big asterisk)

For the next three days, I'll be guest-hosting The Kudlow Report on CNBC.

That's the great news. The not-so-great news is that the show is pre-empted inside the United States by olympic hockey. Nonetheless, it's quite an honor to be sitting in for Larry.

I'll post an update later today with more information.

Bashing Obama's Class-Warfare Tax Policy on CNBC

No left-winger to debate in this appearance.

Higher Bank Fees Are Part of Washington's "Corrupt Version of Recycling"

For a change of pace, I get to debate a leftist other than Christian Weller. As always, feedback would be appreciated. What parts of the interview went well? What opportunities did I miss?