John Stossel: Government Vs. Giving

Step aside Uncle Sam.   It's the season for giving. That doesn't mean it's the season for government. Government creates loyalty in the minds of citizens by pretending to be Santa Claus, doling out gifts and favors. Politicians claim they help those unfortunates who aren't helped by coldhearted capitalism. The truth is, government gets in the    ... MORE

Nick Gillespie: Americans Trust Government Less and Less

Because we know more and more about it.   Fifty years ago, FBI operatives sent Martin Luther King, Jr. was has come to be known as the "suicide letter," an anonymous note suggesting the civil rights leader should off himself before his private sex life was made public. The information about King's extramarital assignations was gathered  ... MORE

National Review: The Fifty Year War On Poverty

Great for Democrats, not-so-good for the poor.    This year marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s proclamation of a “war on poverty,” and the progress in this theater has not been encouraging.  Trillions of dollars have been spent, and the number of Americans living in poverty is higher today than it was ... MORE

John Hinderaker: Is Welfare Spending Futile?

That’s the question raised by this chart, plotting federal welfare spending against the poverty rate. When President Johnson announced the War on Poverty, he said his intention was to abolish poverty in America. That hasn’t happened, of course. And I doubt that any liberal today would proclaim such a goal. Today, welfare spending is mainly a way to funnel dollars into the pockets of Democratic Party constituencies; therefore, for Democrats, the more the better, with no end in sight or even desired. The explosion in    ... MORE