Industrial Policy Isn't About Creating Jobs
It's a short-sighted approach that distracts us from the more important question.
Tax credits
Movie Industry Says Georgia's Film Tax Credits Are Great. State Auditors Say They're a Waste of Money.
Contradicting a new report funded by entertainment industry advocates, state auditors have cast significant doubts on the tax credit program's actual effectiveness.
Michigan Has Given the E.V. Industry $1.4 Billion and Counting
Carmakers don't need a crony-capitalist slush fund.
Conservatives Pushing 'Common Good Capitalism' Sound a Lot Like Progressives
The ideology champions the same tired policies that big government types predictably propose whenever they see something they don't like.
Don't Believe the Media Fearmongering About Spending Cuts
In 2019, discretionary spending was $1.338 trillion—or some $320 billion less than what Republicans want that side of the budget to be.
Auditors Asked the IRS To Figure Out Why So Many Taxpayers Make Mistakes. The IRS Said 'No.'
Maybe taxpayers would make fewer mistakes if the federal tax code weren't so hopelessly complex.
Georgia Is Shoveling Cash Into a Failing Electric Vehicle Company
In 2021, the state of Georgia made an expensive bet on an unproven company that could be headed for financial catastrophe.
Electric Car Prices Are Falling, With or Without Tax Credits
The Inflation Reduction Act imposes byzantine requirements to qualify for the credits. Some automakers are simply ignoring them and finding other ways to lower prices.
I Gave Myself Severe Diarrhea for Science. Don't Tax Me for It.
Eliminating taxation on compensation for being a human guinea pig is just good public policy.
Tennessee Will Use Eminent Domain To Evict Black Farmers for Ford E.V. Factory
The state promised Ford nearly $900 million in incentives, including new and upgraded roads. But it chose to run that new road through a number of black-owned farms.
The Inflation Reduction Act Is Screwing Up the Market for Electric Vehicles
Volkswagen unveiled a cheap new electric concept car, but protectionist policies mean it's not worthwhile for the company to introduce it in the U.S.
Bringing the Child Tax Credit Back to Life Is Too Costly
Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation reported that a permanent expansion would cost more than $1.4 trillion over a decade.
Electric Truck Manufacturer Featured in Super Bowl Ad Got $186 Million in Taxpayer Subsidies
Stellantis, one of the largest automakers on the planet with billions in cash on hand, got a generous handout from the state of Indiana for choosing to build its battery manufacturing plant there.
The Fight Over the Debt Ceiling Is Just Beginning
Legislators will increasingly argue over how to spend a diminishing discretionary budget while overall spending simultaneously explodes.
Biden Promotes a Hummer That Doesn't Even Qualify for His Electric Vehicle Tax Credits
Biden sat in a truck that costs as much as $120,000 to promote a tax credit that only applies to electric vehicles retailing for up to $80,000.
Youngkin Nixes Ford Electric Vehicle Plant Over Anti-China Paranoia
The factory may have been a bad deal for Virginia, but tying the decision to Chinese aggression is the wrong move.
Trump's Tax Returns Show What Sort of Tax Reform We Need
But partisans are having the wrong debate.
Free Market Think Tank Names Georgia Electric Vehicle Plant the 'Worst Economic Development Deal of 2022'
Rivian, an electric truck manufacturer that hopes to compete with Tesla, received a lucrative deal to build a new factory in Georgia despite concerns about its finances.
Congress Can Reduce the Deficit by $7.7 Trillion in 10 Years
The Congressional Budget Office projects that future deficits will explode. But there's a way out.
Subsidies To Help Workers Would Hurt Poor People
Some people would benefit. Others would lose money or be rendered unemployable.
Congress' Lame-Duck Legislators Want To Spend Money Like We're Still in a Pandemic
It's especially outrageous when considering the billions of dollars in fraud that took place thanks to COVID-19 relief programs.
A Lame-Duck Congress Should Reject the Extended Child Tax Credit
The policy has some bipartisan support, despite the fact that it has mostly been a failure since its inception.
A GOP-Led Congress May Focus on Owning the Libs. Instead, It Should Focus on Owning Inflation.
If the midterms favor Republicans, their top priority needs to be the fight against inflation—whether or not they feel like they created the problem.
Ohio Pledges Over $150 Million in Taxpayer Money for Honda Factories
Honda, one of the world's largest automakers, announced it would spend $4 billion building and upgrading factories in Ohio. The state is showering it with public funds anyway.
Divided Government Is Good. In 2023, Bipartisanship Would Be Better.
From immigration to drug reform, there is plenty of potential for productive compromise.
The Government Should Be Pro-Market, Not 'Pro-Business'
Businesses are all in favor of competition, tax cuts, and deregulation only until they aren't—meaning only until subsidies might benefit them.
IRS Sent $1.1 Billion in Child Welfare Payments to the Wrong People
Possibly the federal government's most efficient pandemic spending effort.
A Few Ideas for the Better Government Americans Desperately Want
From cronyist subsidies to an unfair tax code, there are several key fixes Congress could make to better serve the public.
How To Waste $1 Trillion
Why should we believe that this boondoggle will produce better results than hundreds of other corporate welfare programs?
The Disappearing Differences Between Republicans and Democrats on Federal Family Spending
Many conservatives no longer appear to care much for fiscal conservatism.
The Democrats' New Inflation Bill Includes Tax Credits for Electric Vehicles That Don't Exist
Even Democrats are criticizing the bill's unrealistic expectations.
The CHIPS Act Is Corporate Welfare Disguised as Industrial Policy
If you believe that moving most of our chip production onshore is good for national security, you should labor for regulatory reforms rather than subsidies.
Biden Says the Deficit Is Falling. Actually, It's Rising.
Under Biden, Trump, and Obama, government federal spending almost doubled.
Biden's Plan for Reducing Inflation Will Actually Make It Worse
The president's argument is amazing for its tone-deafness, inconsistent thinking, and sheer economic ignorance.
Blame Insane Government Spending for Inflation
Some want to solve the problem with subsidies for gas, housing, child care, and more. That only risks greater stagnation.
When 'Pro-Worker' Policies Hurt Workers
Both Republicans and Democrats want to address poverty with big government.
In 2022, Pay Attention to Right-Wing Authoritarianism
For decades, libertarians have focused on illiberalism coming from the political left. But authoritarianism has taken root among many conservatives across the world.
Private Property Rights Made the First Thanksgiving Possible
Something to be grateful for.
The Build Back Better Bill Will Give You $12,000 for Buying an Electric Car. Unless It's a Tesla.
Only vehicles made in unionized U.S. factories qualify for the full amount.
Joe Manchin Isn't the Fiscal Conservative We Need, but He's the Best We've Got
"Spending trillions more on new and expanded government programs, when we can't even pay for the essential social programs...is the definition of fiscal insanity."
The $700 Billion Gimmick at the Center of Biden's Tax Plan
Biden's plan will raise taxes on individuals earning as little as $30,000 annually by 2027, but that's just a trick to make the overall cost of the bill look lower than it really is.
Big Government Is Back, Baby!
And hope for the future (still) lies outside of the state.
The Bipartisan War on Work
Urban Democrats may be leading the charge, but Republicans, too, have enlisted.
Expanding the Child Tax Credit Will Do Very Little To Help the Poor. Here's Why.
No country gets out of poverty through redistribution of income.
Stop Using the IRS To Subsidize Parenting
In response to Biden's child tax credits, Sen. Josh Hawley proposes paying parents $1,000 per month—if they're married—and $500 per month if they're single.
Bipartisan Support of Child Tax Credits Is Too Hasty
The jury is still out about whether broad parental subsidies improve outcomes for children
Have Kids? Mitt Romney and Joe Biden Want the Government To Pay You Thousands Every Year
In most circumstances, parents would be eligible to receive $3,000 per child annually, doled out in monthly checks. It could be a major overhaul of how the federal government handles welfare.