We Ought to Join the EU

The Greek Comedy that is playing out in Europe shows the tremendous impact one man can have on the world in his lifetime.

The fellow we owe an attaboy and backslap is Nobel Prize winner Robert Mundell, who I’d argue has done more for the cause of conservatism than maybe our own minor deity Ronald Regan.  A short primer on Mundell:

• Father of Supply-side economics
• Father of the Euro
• Top adviser to Bejing on the Yuan

Imagine that.  Saving us in the 80’s, Europe in 90’s, and China in this century.  Preaching the same gospel wherever he goes… less currency is more.

I’m joking, lightly, about America joining the EU.   I’d prefer we stop printing money, and convince them to adopt the dollar.  Joking again, even less.  It has been great fun watching old socialist Europe become fiscally conservative over the last eleven years as every member country must hold deficits to 3% of GDP. And for that we thank Mundell.  Surely, delicious statements from across the pond, like this:

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Tags: California, dollar, Euro, euro club, European Union
Posted Feb 17th 2010 at 9:35 am in Economics, News, Politics | 7415050 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/mwarstler/2010/02/17/we-ought-to-join-the-eu/We+Ought+to+Join+the+EU2010-02-17+17%3A35%3A00Morgan+Warstler

The Greek Tragedy…and America’s Future?

The fiscal crisis in Greece is fascinating political theater, in part because the Balkan nation is a leading indicator for what will probably happen in many other countries. The most puzzling feature of the crisis is the assumption in other European capitals, discussed in the BBC article below, that a Greek default is the worst possible result. It certainly would not be good news, especially for investors who thought it was safe to lend money to the government, but there are several reasons why the long-term pain resulting from a bailout would be even worse.

1. Bailing out Greece will reward over-spending politicians and make future fiscal crises more likely. In a four-year period between 2005 and 2009, Greek politicians expanded the burden of government spending from an already excessive level of 43.8 percent of GDP to an even more excessive level of 51.3 percent of GDP. Subsidies are rampant, the public sector is bloated, civil service pay is way too high, and entitlements are wildly unsustainable. A fiscal crisis – with no escape options – is probably the only hope of reversing these disastrous policies. So why, then, would it make sense for Germany and other nations to provide an escape option?

2. Bailing out Greece will reward greedy and short-sighted interest groups, particularly overpaid government workers. Greece is in trouble because the the people riding in society’s wagon assumed that there would always be enough chumps to pull the wagon. In reality, Greece is turning into a real-world version of Atlas Shrugged. Government has become such a burden that the job creators and wealth generators have given up and/or moved their money out of the country. Should taxpayers in other nations reward the greed and narcissism of Greece’s interest groups by being forced to pull the wagon instead?

3. Bailing out Greece will encourage profligacy in Spain, Italy, and other nations. The hot acronym in public finance circles is PIIGS, which is shorthand for Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain. Greece is getting all the attention now, but these other countries have the same problems of excessive spending, bloated and dysfunctional public sectors, and unsustainable finances. What happens in Greece will send a very clear signal to the politicians in these nations, much as a parent who lets the oldest child run rampant is sending signals the younger siblings. Does anybody doubt that a bailout of Greece will discourage the other PIIGS from undertaking needed reforms?

4. Bailing out Greece is not necessary to save the euro. This is the most puzzling feature of this Greek tragedy (sorry, I couldn’t resist). There is a pervasive assumption that a default somehow would cripple the common currency of most European Union nations. But why would a default in Greece undermine the euro? If California went under, after all, that would not cripple the US dollar. There are unpleasant things that would probably happen following a Greek default, but the stability and strength of a currency is a function of central bank behavior. And so long as the European Central Bank does not crank up the proverbial printing press to monetize Greece’s debt, the euro should be fine.

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Tags: bankruptcy, Big Government, debt, default, Deficit
Posted Feb 10th 2010 at 12:59 pm in Economics, News, Politics | 7328656 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/dmitchell/2010/02/10/the-greek-tragedy-and-americas-future/The+Greek+Tragedy...and+America%27s+Future%3F2010-02-10+20%3A59%3A18Dan+Mitchell

Cap-n-Trade: Now 10% Fraud-Free!

Here’s something to consider for those who wondered why the usual suspects flew up in arms earlier this week over reports that ‘Circle of Commitment’, countries including the U.S., were seeking to wrest control of the Kyoto revenue mechanism to the World Bank (there’s no such move afoot, incidentally; that was merely an overwrought reaction to said suspects finding something that they hadn’t been allowed to write).

That of course would have implications for the “global carbon offset market” if Kyoto II ropes us in and finally begins chugging down the tracks, next stop “Oil for Food on Steroids”.

Today’s Open Europe press briefing includes the following item (in bold in original):

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Tags: cap-and-trade, climate change, Emissions Trading, Enron, European Union
Posted Dec 10th 2009 at 11:19 am in Economics, Environment, Politics | 4416631 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/chorner/2009/12/10/cap-n-trade-now-10-fraud-free/Cap-n-Trade%3A+Now+10%25+Fraud-Free%212009-12-10+18%3A19%3A50Christopher+C.+Horner

Reasons to be Cheerful in America Today

A few days ago I was thinking that I would like to post something uplifting on Big Government. After all, there is plenty going on right now which is wrong or ludicrous, but perhaps that makes it especially important to focus on what we have to be grateful for in America. Sadly, the best way I can think of to do that is to tell you a few stories about what is wrong and ludicrous in my country, Britain- home of the Magna Carta and the Mother of Parliaments. So here are some stories of common, everyday British madness which I hope will make you feel more optimistic about the USA.

1) From Surrey Today:

A former soldier who handed a discarded shotgun in to police faces at least five years imprisonment for “doing his duty”.

Paul Clarke, 27, was found guilty of possessing a firearm at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday – after finding the gun and handing it personally to police officers on March 20 this year.

The jury took 20 minutes to make its conviction, and Mr Clarke now faces a minimum of five year’s imprisonment for handing in the weapon.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Clarke said: “I didn’t think for one moment I would be arrested.

“I thought it was my duty to hand it in and get it off the streets.”

The court heard how Mr Clarke was on the balcony of his home in Nailsworth Crescent, Merstham, when he spotted a black bin liner at the bottom of his garden.

In his statement, he said: “I took it indoors and inside found a shorn-off shotgun and two cartridges.

“I didn’t know what to do, so the next morning I rang the Chief Superintendent, Adrian Harper, and asked if I could pop in and see him.

“At the police station, I took the gun out of the bag and placed it on the table so it was pointing towards the wall.”

Mr Clarke was then arrested immediately for possession of a firearm at Reigate police station, and taken to the cells.

Reader, try to fathom what kind of country punishes a man for doing his civic duty, what kind of idiots sit on a jury that takes twenty minutes to sentence him, what kinds of imbeciles framed this law.

Do you feel better about America yet?

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Tags: britain, european president, European Union, gun laws, optimism
Posted Nov 19th 2009 at 9:27 am in Congress, News, Politics, Tea Party | 3349892 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/dkalder/2009/11/19/reasons-to-be-cheerful-in-america-today/Reasons+to+be+Cheerful+in+America+Today+++2009-11-19+16%3A27%3A50Daniel+Kalder

2010: The Kyoto Election

The New York Times reports this weekend that:

“SINGAPORE — President Obama and other world leaders have decided to put off the difficult task of reaching a climate change agreement at a global climate conference scheduled for next month, agreeing instead to make it the mission of the Copenhagen conference to reach a less specific “politically binding” agreement that would punt the most difficult issues into the future.”

Read down the article and note the several claims by participants offering the greatest exhibits imaginable at the running absurdity — now in its 18th year! — that is this movable feast of conferences in Rio, Barcelona, Bangkok, Bali, Buenos Aires, Bonn, and next month Copenhagen: We had to declare it a failure in advance in order to ensure its success. Mmm. Yes.

But here’s the far larger point, and Team Tea Party and simpatico coalescences should take note and begin organizing accordingly:

This also makes the Kyoto II, the proposed twenty five-year extension of a five-year plan that was the Kyoto treaty, an inescapable issue for the 2010 U.S. mid-term elections.

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Tags: 2010 midterm elections, Al Gore, carbon emissions, climate change, Copenhagen Summit
Posted Nov 15th 2009 at 2:07 pm in Environment, Obama, Politics | 3130652 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/chorner/2009/11/15/2010-the-kyoto-election/2010%3A+The+Kyoto+Election2009-11-15+21%3A07%3A13Christopher+C.+Horner

ReasonTV: Light Bulbs v. The Nanny State

In September, the European Union banned the sale of 100-watt incandescent light bulbs, with lawbreakers facing up to $70,000 in fines. Over the next few years, bans on lower-wattage bulbs kick in. In the United States, similar legislation comes into play in 2012. The idea is to kickstart the market for compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), which use less energy than conventional incandescents. Although CFLs present any number of problems (even beyond a much higher initial cost), governments all over the globe are determined to make them the new standard.

Invented in its modern form by Thomas Edison in 1879, the light bulb became synonymous with a brilliant idea. Now, it seems, it’s just one more symbol of a nanny state that increasingly dictates more choices in our public and private lives.

“Light bulbs vs. The Nanny State” is produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie. Approximately two minutes.

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Tags: compact fluorescent lights, environmental regulation, European Union, incandescent light bulb, Meredith Bragg
Posted Oct 6th 2009 at 7:07 am in Culture, Environment | 1329065 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/ngillespie/2009/10/06/reasontv-light-bulbs-v-the-nanny-state/ReasonTV%3A+Light+Bulbs+v.+The+Nanny+State2009-10-06+14%3A07%3A07Nick+Gillespie