The conventional wisdom surrounding the 2024 presidential race is that a handful of “swing” states will determine the outcome. But conventional wisdom is a brittle thing. Surprises, even modest ones, tend to cast the CW into a ditch, leaving pundits and pros alike wondering what the heck happened to their best-laid plans and narratives. It’s […]
In what could quickly become a feature of this column, here is another scene from “how we know it’s an election year and the incumbent is in trouble.” Once again, our star is President Joe Biden, who we last saw plying voters in the Northeast with the release of cheap (he hopes) gasoline from a […]
One surefire way to tell it’s an election year, and the incumbent president is in trouble? Joe Biden answers both questions with a stunt for the ages. As CNBC reports, the president has ordered the release of one million gallons of gasoline in the Northeast to help keep prices down during the summer driving season. […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released its 2024 annual report with the promising title of how the government can “reduce fragmentation, overlap, and duplication and achieve billions of dollars in financial benefits.” Sounds promising. And given the agency’s examples, there are millions of dollars in savings just waiting to be claimed at various agencies. […]
Governments have traditionally relied on a mixture of carrots and sticks to get people to obey laws or engage in (or avoid) certain behaviors. A third way the government attempts to get people to do what it wants is called a “nudge.” It’s a popular tool for enticing people to jump on the energy-saving bandwagon, […]
There are times when populist policies centered on tariffs that shield American companies from competition provide a useful, if entirely unintended, peek behind the political curtain. Consider the example of solar panels. The U.S. has imposed tariffs on Chinese-made solar panels, arguing that these cheap products would otherwise flood the market and put American solar […]
Despite going winless in every primary held so far, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says she intends to stay in the GOP presidential race, at least through Super Tuesday on March 5. That will provide those primary goers who cannot and will not support former President Donald Trump’s candidacy. It will also show that, […]
The federal government has a spending problem, and a gaggle of self-described fiscal hawks in the House GOP caucus want everyone to know they are dead serious about solving it. Except they really aren’t – and arguably never were – serious about federal spending. Yes, their social media bluster overspending is quite something, as seen […]
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is looking for a signature issue to carry him through the remainder of his term in office. Like a Republican of old, he’s latched onto the idea of cutting the state’s income tax. What’s not to like, right? The tax hikes to help cushion the blow to state revenue. Youngkin also […]
There are few things politicians enjoy more, and generates more bipartisan enthusiasm, than committing vast sums of taxpayer money to the construction of new stadiums and arenas for pro sports teams.
