Tag: cato

Wednesday Links

  • Even though the government is running massive deficits, interest rates and inflation are low. So, what’s the problem?
Topics: 
Cato Publications, General

Monday Links

  • So, have you been following the health-care debate on C-SPAN? Oh wait…
Topics: 
Cato Publications, General

Tuesday Links

  • Afghanistan: A war we cannot afford. “Democrats say raise taxes. Republicans say no worries. The best policy would be to scale back America’s international commitments.”
Topics: 
Cato Publications, General

Weekend Links

  • How the president’s policies are holding back the economy: “Right now, the best thing Washington can do for our economy is to simply stop what it has been doing.”
Topics: 
Cato Publications, General

Thursday Links

  • Doug Bandow:  “Congress has spent the country blind, inflated a disastrous housing bubble, subsidized every special interest with a letterhead and lobbyist, and created a wasteful, incompetent bureaucracy that fills Washington. But now, legislators want to take a break from all their good work and save college football.”
Topics: 
Cato Publications, General

Are You a Conservative Yet?

By
David Boaz

Cato senior fellow Johan Norberg writes on his blog:

14:49 - A LIBERTARIAN WITH A DAUGHTER:

A Swedish conservative columnist recently expressed surprise - she found it strange that I am still a classical liberal even though I have discovered family happiness and love my son. But she hoped that I would change my mind if I got a daughter: “A conservative is a libertarian with daughters.”

Well, we are about to find out. Because this weekend, my wife gave birth to the cutest little girl I’ve ever seen. They’re both in great condition and so far Alexander is just happy and curious about the little gift we brought from the maternity hospital.

Obviously, I will focus on the family in the coming weeks, so my activity here and elsewhere will be reduced. So any conservative symptoms yet? Well, preliminarily I can only say that I am delighted that she is born into a part of the world and in an era when women have greater freedoms and more equality than they have ever had anywhere else, as a result of liberal reforms over the last 150 years - reforms that conservatives objected to.

Congratulations, Johan and Sofia. And remember: the best conservatives are the ones who embrace and defend the advances that libertarians (liberals) fought for.

Topics: 
Education and Child Policy, General, Political Philosophy

Perceptions of Government Pay

By
Chris Edwards

A new poll by Rasmussen finds that the general public has an accurate assessment of government worker pay.

Compared to the average government worker, most Americans think they work harder, have less job security and make less money.

In fact, 59% of Americans say the average government worker earns more annually than the average taxpayer, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 15% don’t believe that to be true, while another 26% are not sure.

Among those who have close friends or relatives who work for the government, the belief is even stronger: 61% say the average government worker earns more than the average taxpayer.

Feeding that belief is the finding that 51% of all adults think government workers are paid too much. Only 10% say they are paid too little, while 27% say their pay is about right.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data indeed shows that government workers work fewer hours in a year and have much higher job security than private sector workers. And I’ve argued that they are generally overpaid, and by increasing amounts.

For more, check out:

Topics: 
General, Tax and Budget Policy

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