No, Social Security Is Not the Cause of the National Debt
Fixing Social Security will not shrink the national debt, or even aid in its shrinkage. And that’s not a defense of Social Security.
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Writing by John Tamny and Parkview contributors, from the latest commentary to the collected archive.
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The $40 Trillion Debt Isn't the Crisis, the $40 Trillion Debt Is the Crisis
Government spending is unquestionably the biggest tax on freedom and progress of all. While Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos will work at all manner of tax rates, they quite simply cannot…
'National Debt Disaster' Is the Most Priced Narrative In Markets
If you want to clear a room at a cocktail party don’t talk about monetary policy, talk the national debt. That’s because everyone in the room has almost certainly heard and read what you’re saying…
Paying Down the National Debt Will Not Shrink the National Debt
The parsimonious in Washington won’t always remain in power. Which is a weak attempt at humor, or irony. Still, let’s assume for fun not just major spending cuts by a few thrifty politicians, but…
GDP Is Thoroughly Dishonest. So Is Debt-to-GDP
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a fraud. Centrally planned, politicized consumption of precious wealth (government spending) adds to the number, while massive inflows of global wealth meant to profit…
The $39 Trillion National Debt Is a Loud Tell That the U.S. Isn’t “Printing”
No one buys, sells, borrows, or lends with “money.” Production buys and sells production, while borrowing and lending are an exchange of products over longer stretches of time in return for more…
National Debt Hawks Write Like 1981-Present Didn’t Happen
When economists and pundits write with performative alarm about the urgency of shrinking the national debt, and subsequently search for ways to raise more tax revenue to shrink it, they write as…
No, We Have Soaring Debt Because Elon Musk Pays Too Much Tax
As is well known, SpaceX floated its shares last week. Elon Musk is the world’s first, but surely not last, trillionaire. Let’s refer to Musk as the Frederic Bastiat “seen.” From there, let’s pivot…
Jeff Bezos Missed An Historic Chance to Correct a National Debt Falsehood
Jeff Bezos got the national debt wrong during last week’s CNBC interview. He has to know why. Amazon was founded in 1994, but it didn’t issue debt until 1999. Why did Bezos and Amazon rely for so…
No, the Treasury Market Didn’t Just Discover the National Debt
The markets are never a snapshot of the present. They’re a look ahead. It’s worth keeping in mind as commentators try to make sense of rising Treasury yields. Take the Washington Post editorial…
No ‘Debt Denialism,’ Mitch Daniels, Just a Focus On Markets
Mitch Daniels looks admiringly in the mirror through the words he puts on a page. See his latest Washington Post op-ed, and his comment that “No impulse is more human than wishfulness, the tendency…
If the Kids’ Future Were Doomed, There Would Be Very Little Debt
Government spending is the biggest, most economy-sapping tax of all. While Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will work at all sorts of tax rates, none can work and innovate without capital.…
A Government Limited by Past Debts Is the Ultimate Inheritance
The burden of government consumption is now, and frequently felt in gruesome, heartbreaking ways right now. The debt burden left behind to the sainted grandchildren is easy compared to what we’re…
Economic Growth Is the Cause of the National Debt, Not Its Solution
What’s your limit on a typical credit card in your wallet? And if your borrowing limit is higher today than it was when you turned twenty-one, ask yourself why. To say you can borrow more today…
A $50 Trillion National Debt In 2030 Will Signal Opposite of Debt Problem
No individual, corporation, or government ever gets to choose how much money to borrow. Only in academic and pundit circles is such a fanciful notion accepted as realistic. A recent op-ed penned for…
The Real Debt Crisis Is That There Will Be No Debt Crisis
Budgetary experts have been promising us a future “crisis” related to the national debt for years, and in some instances, decades. If you’re reading this, you likely know some of their names:…
David Bier Is Correct About Immigrants, Incorrect That They Lower Debt
The minute immigrants touch land in the United States, their economic value soars. That’s because the workers, machinery and training that they get to match their talents with in the U.S. well…
If a Debt Crisis Loomed, There Would Be No Federal Borrowing
Conservatives and libertarians talk rhapsodically about markets, while sometimes ignoring the market signals that reject their occasional alarmism. Which is why Montgomery College economics professor…
There Is a Debt Crisis, But It’s Unseen and Not Even Discussed
Scholars at Brookings, Cato, Hoover, along with adjacent pundits, have been promising a “crisis” related to the national debt for decades. Despite so many of the wise so routinely and confidently…
National Debt Solutions That Don’t Address Why There’s Debt
The national debt will continue to soar. Bank on it. See Holman Jenkins’s column from last week for evidence. He wrote in the Wall Street Journal that “The U.S. won’t deal with its looming debt…
On the National Debt, Left and Right Have Become One
Government spending is excessively harmful precisely because it’s the central planning of precious goods, services and labor by the federal government. Conservatives and libertarians at one time…
More Tax Revenue Is a Certain Path to Soaring National Debt
Central planning is bad, which means government spending is bad. Contra the most prominent number in economics (GDP), government spending is by its very name an economic wrecking ball. These truths…
Ray Dalio’s Debt Alarmism Is Belied by His Genius As An Investor
Why is Ray Dalio’s debt alarmism so wrongheaded? The view here is that successful investing (Dalio is brilliant at it) is incredibly difficult, while economics is blindingly simple. The investor in…
California Is the Answer to the Federal Debt Riddle
Why doesn’t West Virginia have more debt? The question rates asking in response to a Wall Street Journal editorial which observes that California “is facing huge budget deficits despite an ebullient…