The real rate is 2.5%, but the Census Bureau inflates it by excluding most social-welfare benefits. By Phil Gramm and John Early Dec. 5, 2023 6:33 pm ET The credibility of the Census Bureau’s official measure of poverty didn’t survive the pandemic. Though government payments for social benefits rose by...
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WSJ-Biden Gets European Help for His Big-Government Agenda
When Congress and the courts say no, his agencies recruit foreigners to apply pressure here at home. By Phil Gramm and Jeb Hensarling Oct. 17, 2023 6:15 pm ET American exceptionalism, the product of economic freedom and source of our prosperity, is being threatened by the Biden administration, which seeks...
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WSJ-Trump’s Trade War Was a Loser
Tariffs destroyed jobs in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and made all Americans worse off. By Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux Sept. 11, 2023 5:29 pm ET Donald Trump boasts that his protectionist policies were “historically successful,†which suggests that he thinks he’s exempt from the old dictum that we are...
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WSJ-Biden’s IRS Chases Chump Change
The amount of improper pandemic payments dwarfs what its new agents stand to recoup for taxpayers. By Phil Gramm and Jodey Arrington Aug. 10, 2023 5:37 pm ET Criminals stole at least $1 trillion from taxpayers during the pandemic. To date the Biden administration has offered only lip service and...
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WSJ-How Congress Can Stop Biden’s Regulatory Onslaught
If they stay united, House Republicans can use the power of the purse to restrain unilateral executive action. By Phil Gramm and Mike Solon July 13, 2023 5:38 pm ET Before the rise of the regulatory state, America’s economic exceptionalism flowed from clear constitutional boundaries between the spheres of individual...
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