Biden’s Crumbling Bridges
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says America’s roads and bridges are “crumbling.” The administration’s infrastructure plan says, “After decades of disinvestment, our roads, bridges, and...
Biden Corporate Tax Increase
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
As part of his infrastructure plan, President Biden is proposing to raise the federal corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28...
Federal Budget Deficits: Path of Doom
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
President Trump approved $900 billion in stimulus spending in December and President Biden approved another $1.9 trillion in March. Biden is...
About Andrew Cuomo
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is in hot water. His handling of nursing homes during the pandemic was tragically flawed and...
More Federal Aid to States Not Needed
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
President Biden and the Democrats are including $350 billion in aid for the states in their $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. But...
President Biden and Labor Unions
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
Joe Biden is old. He has been in politics since 1970 and holds antiquated views. On the campaign trail, he used...
President Biden’s Minimum Wage Proposal
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
As part of his $1.9 trillion relief plan, President Joe Biden proposes to double the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to...
State Budgets: Course Correction Not Crisis
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
Media reports since the pandemic began have claimed that state and local governments are in a “dire fiscal crisis” and face...
Property Taxes on the Ballot
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
The most famous ballot question on fiscal policy is California’s Proposition 13 passed in 1978. Voters passed the constitutional change to...
Complexity in State Government
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
One of the factors undermining efficiency and performance in American government is the rising complexity of laws, regulations, programs, and bureaucratic...
Spending on Police by State
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
Amid the outcry over George Floyd’s death and subsequent protests, some people are calling for defunding the police. Zeroing out the...
U.S. Postal Service in Crisis
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
President Trump has reignited a feud with the U.S. Postal Service calling it “a joke” the other day. He does not like Amazon’s delivery...
Slashing Regulations to Combat Coronavirus
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
The coronavirus is battering the U.S economy as businesses cut back and close down. Unfortunately, federal policymakers are pursuing their usual misguided response...
Coronavirus and NIH/CDC Funding
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
The rapid spread of coronavirus (Covid‐19) is focusing attention on the health agencies that are helping to fight the pandemic. This...
Capital Gains Tax Hike Would Be a Mistake
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
Democrats running for the White House are pushing all kinds of tax increases. One bad idea supported by all the leading...
Wasteful Local Infrastructure
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
Politicians love infrastructure, but many local government projects seem awfully wasteful. We’ve all seen the questionable spending—the half dozen union guys...
Cato’s Letters: 300 Years
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
I grabbed a book off my shelf the other day that I had not read in years. The English Libertarian Heritage is a sampling of essays...
Infrastructure Policy: Eight Lessons
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
The House Ways and Means Committee held hearings on infrastructure yesterday . The testimony by D. J. Gribbin was excellent. He was special assistant...
Neal Peart: An Appreciation
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
Neil Peart, drummer for Canadian rock band Rush, passed away last week after a three-year battle with brain cancer. Peart was...
ITEP Study on Corporate Taxes
CHRIS EDWARDS, CATO INSTITUTE
The liberal tax group ITEP has a new study suggesting that many large corporations did not pay income taxes in 2018. The study...