There is no shortage of examples out there of government waste.  Fiscal conservatives believe that government, especially the federal government, just gets in the way.  In some cases, this is very true. When governments fund programs or initiatives, they often come with a number of strings attached.  This is likely a result of paranoia over [...]

“Call it a consumption tax, a luxury tax, or whatever. The name doesn’t matter. It’s a tax on buying more than you actually need. Taxing for the sake of taxing is bad, but taxing items with externalities on the surrounding world may not be a bad idea. The best example of this, especially in the [...]

Call it a consumption tax, a luxury tax, or whatever.  The name doesn’t matter.  It’s a tax on buying more than you actually need.  Taxing for the sake of taxing is bad, but taxing items with externalities on the surrounding world may not be a bad idea.  The best example of this, especially in the [...]

Local honey is one of the tastiest things in the world.  Maybe I just like the flowers near my home, maybe because when I was a kid it helped with my allergies, maybe I’ve been an eat local enthusiast all my life.  Okay, maybe not the last one.  But I love local honey. It’s not [...]

Obama had it made this spring.  Winning the reelection was going to be a breeze.  The economy was in (a slow) recovery, Bin Laden was dead, and Republicans were showing themselves to be no more useful than Democrats at running a chamber of Congress. But the tides have turned lately.  The economy weakened, Obama didn’t [...]

Boys, everywhere you go you use a urinal to tinkle. I counted yesterday and I used a urinal twice as often as I use a toilet. And it’s only at home when I don’t have access to one. Why is that? Urinals use a lot less water than toilets, and most people don’t subscribe to [...]

For almost a decade, it’s been increasingly popular to embrace efficiency in our daily lives.  We bought compact fluorescent bulbs, the government mandates increased fuel efficiency in cars, and new office buildings go up every day that use less energy and resources.  Nowadays we’re all buying hybrids and car companies brag about fuel economy.  But [...]

You’re probably on top of your game when it comes to personal finance.  You know all the basics and either have a cash hoard for rainy days or are working on one.  Most people, and businesses for that matter, do too.  So do governments, except one.  That’s the federal government which (excluding current battles) can [...]