Category: Analysis

Geert Wilders, Bogeyman to the Left, Now in Driver’s Seat

The Dutch populist Right’s historic victory shows just how disconnected the liberal establishment was from the people, although the road to a right-wing coalition government might be a rocky one.

National Conservatism and the Welfare State, Part I

Freedom conservatives continue to attack us national conservatives. The latest example is U.S. economist Steve Moore, who ignores the poor and doesn’t like pro-family tax policy.

Who To Watch in the Knife-Edge Dutch Elections

With Mark Rutte quitting after 13 years as PM, and the rise of new parties, the question on everyone’s lips is what the Netherlands will look like after November 22nd.

Macron’s Dangerous Game on Israel

The French president quickly had to call his Israeli counterpart, President Herzog, in an attempt to put out the diplomatic fire he had started.

Fiscal Authoritarianism

When government centralizes control over social benefits, it can easily cross the line from democracy to authoritarianism. These three examples, from Russia, Europe, and America, have too much in common for our own comfort.

Fiscal Forecast America: Farewell to State Independence

Fiscal Forecast America: Farewell to State Independence

America’s states are supposed to be sovereign jurisdictions. Yet when the federal government is their main source of revenue, how independent are they really?

April 26, 2023
Fiscal Forecast Europe: Financial Markets Bad for Tax Revenue

Fiscal Forecast Europe: Financial Markets Bad for Tax Revenue

Financial markets are important to governments that need a lot of tax revenue to pay for their welfare states. The problem with taxes levied on financial markets is that they generate unstable revenue.

April 20, 2023
Fiscal Forecast America: Financial Markets and the Federal Budget

Fiscal Forecast America: Financial Markets and the Federal Budget

The more a tax system relies on financial markets, the more volatile and unpredictable those tax revenues will become. There is no doubt that the U.S. government is experiencing that in real time in 2023.

April 19, 2023
Beyond TikTok: Let’s Talk About Another Chinese Trojan Horse

Beyond TikTok: Let’s Talk About Another Chinese Trojan Horse

As dangerous as TikTok is, it’s not the only Chinese creation that deserves closer attention.

April 17, 2023
Fiscal Forecast Europe: ECB Will Soon Return to Money Printing

Fiscal Forecast Europe: ECB Will Soon Return to Money Printing

With a welfare state that dominates their budgets, European governments are exceedingly vulnerable to a recession. When tax revenue declines and entitlements force governments to spend more, the inevitable result is larger budget deficits. What will the ECB do in response to that?

April 13, 2023
Macron Sets the World on Fire With Statements on Taiwan

Macron Sets the World on Fire With Statements on Taiwan

Did Macron speak in the name of Europe, or in the name of France? The key to Emmanuel Macron’s untimely declaration is perhaps to be found in his desire to conform to French opinion, still driven by an old Gaullist reflex.

April 12, 2023
Fiscal Forecast America: Update on Recession and Debt Crisis

Fiscal Forecast America: Update on Recession and Debt Crisis

If government size and employment rate had been the same in 2022 as they were in 2000, the cost of today’s government would have been $47,000 per employed person. That is a lot of money—until we do the same arithmetic with today’s government size and employment rate. Then the cost comes out to $59,700.

April 12, 2023
Migration: A Key Issue for Greek and Turkish Elections

Migration: A Key Issue for Greek and Turkish Elections

Ever since 2015, migration has been a central issue for most European nations. It is expected to become increasingly debated

April 10, 2023
Male: Presumed Guilty

Male: Presumed Guilty

The 2021 law on Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents against Violence distorted the basic meaning of lawmaking, leading to human tragedies, economic abuse, and child alienation.

March 30, 2023
Left-leaning Majority Hijacks Migration Vote

Left-leaning Majority Hijacks Migration Vote

The final deal has “made the proposal even worse,” Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers said, denouncing it for laying the foundation for undemocratic migrant quotas while leaving the migratory pressure unchecked.

March 29, 2023
China’s Mediterranean Exploits Deserve Far More Attention

China’s Mediterranean Exploits Deserve Far More Attention

What is going on in the Mediterranean must be viewed through a much broader lens. Around the world, from southern Africa to South America, China is gaining control of an increasing number of ports.

March 27, 2023
Return of the Old Left: A Look at the Spanish Worker’s Front

Return of the Old Left: A Look at the Spanish Worker’s Front

Economic precariousness and a general assault on identity, from gender to nation, clear the way for the rise of a patriotic, pre-woke, pro-work Left.