Think Tank West

The Case for Gold — Again

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:30:44 +0000

In the New York Times, Floyd Norris reminds us: The 1980 presidential election was fought by a Democratic incumbent weakened by a poor economy amid worries that the United States had lost its ability to compete in the world. Gold prices had risen to unprecedented levels as the election approached, and the Republican nominee hinted [...]

The Case for Gold — Again is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

The Real Tragedy of the Komen/Planned Parenthood Flapdoodle

admin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:28:46 +0000

…is that it overshadowed news that the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to repeal one of two new entitlement programs created by Obamacare—the ironically named CLASS Act—with a bipartisan three-fifths majority. (With numbers like that, Congress could even repeal Obamacare’s death panel!) But really, one private organization pulling funding for another private organization is way [...]

The Real Tragedy of the Komen/Planned Parenthood Flapdoodle is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

On Afghanistan, Panetta Leaves Questions Unanswered

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:28:32 +0000

Secretary Panetta’s announcement that the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan will end as early as mid-2013 is a positive development. But it is long overdue and still leaves too many questions unanswered. After more than ten years of war in Afghanistan, the administration should follow through on their commitment to end combat operations and withdraw [...]

On Afghanistan, Panetta Leaves Questions Unanswered is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Photo ID Laws Mean Some Won’t Vote

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:23:44 +0000

Because all of us are with ourselves all day every day, we naturally tend to think that our own lives are pretty standard fare. But that’s just not so in a country of 300+ million people ranging over a vast expanse. So I found worthwhile this NPR story on people who don’t have IDs, people [...]

Photo ID Laws Mean Some Won’t Vote is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

The EU Summit Will Fail to Calm Markets

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:49:41 +0000

By Marian L. Tupy

The European leaders’ meeting in Brussels yesterday will likely fail to reassure the financial markets. First, the intergovernmental agreement on stricter budget controls among the members of the eurozone will still have to be approved by national parliaments and could potentially face legal challenges in one or more countries. Second, there is no guarantee that the agreed penalties for countries that run excessive budget deficits are either enforceable or sufficiently onerous to limit government spending. Third, the European leaders failed to make progress on the most important issue facing the EU economies—slow growth. Indeed, it is difficult to see how EU leaders—many of whom backed higher taxes and support more regulation—can be trusted to do anything useful to spur economic growth and private sector job creation in Europe.

The EU Summit Will Fail to Calm Markets is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Labor Law Professors Defy Death Threats in Italy

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:21:32 +0000

Pietro Ichino, a professor of labor law at the University of Milan and a senator in the Italian legislature, is known as the author of several “neoliberal” books and studies recommending that the Italian government relax its extraordinarily stringent regulation of employers’ hiring and firing decisions. As Bloomberg Business Week reports, that means that Prof. [...]

Labor Law Professors Defy Death Threats in Italy is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Obama’s Wistful Military Metaphor

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:19:00 +0000

George Will takes President Obama to task for the theme in his State of the Union Address that America should be more like the army: War, said James Madison, is “the true nurse of executive aggrandizement.” Randolph Bourne, the radical essayist killed by the influenza unleashed by World War I, warned, “War is the health [...]

Obama’s Wistful Military Metaphor is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Civilian Personnel: The Missing Piece in the Pentagon’s Budget Puzzle

admin — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:12:48 +0000

While most news stories have accurately characterized the Obama administration’s proposed military spending cuts as “modest,” the Pentagon is planning significant reductions in the number of active-duty troops in the Army and Marine Corps. Both forces will be larger than they were in 2001, but the active-duty Army will fall from a post-9/11 high of [...]

Civilian Personnel: The Missing Piece in the Pentagon’s Budget Puzzle is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

‘Virginia Shouldn’t Enable Federal Takeover of Health Care’

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:41:26 +0000

By Michael F. Cannon

Bart Hinkle has an excellent column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about why Virginia—and all states—should refuse to create one of Obamacare’s health insurance “exchanges”:

Any state exchange will have to abide by the Obama administration’s directives… If Washington is going to dictate the terms, why should Virginia foot the bill?

‘Virginia Shouldn’t Enable Federal Takeover of Health Care’ is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog

Biennial Budgeting: Baloney Budget Reform

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:03:34 +0000

I don’t recall ever agreeing with the left-liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), but their new paper on the drawbacks of the federal government switching to biennial budgeting is a good read. Congressional Republicans, including House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-AL), are the [...]

Biennial Budgeting: Baloney Budget Reform is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog