Defending his federal budget proposal slashing support for the poor, Congressman Paul Ryan protests that he simply wants to avoid transforming "our social safety net into a hammock, which lulls able-bodied people into lives of complacency and dependency."

It's a noble thought. But if Ryan and his Republican...

"Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future" -- Niels Bohr

Mitt Romney's top economic advisors recently released a white paper arguing that over the last four years, "uncertainty over policy -- particularly over tax and regulatory policy -- limited both the recovery and job creation." Other commentators...

President Obama recently released his 2011 tax return, showing an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $789,674 on which he paid federal income tax of $162,074, or 20.5 percent. The president noted that, like Warren Buffett, his secretary paid a slightly higher rate than he did.

I still haven't...

Wall Street Journal editor Stephen Moore recently called me a hypocrite because I am a rich American who favors higher taxes on the wealthy yet do not voluntarily pay more to the federal government than I legally owe. Mr. Moore wishes he "had a dollar for every time...

In 2009, the median U.S. family had an income of just under $50,000, on which they would have paid roughly $2,761 (or about 5.5%) in federal income tax. I, by contrast, enjoyed an income of $207,415 in 2009, but paid only $2,173 (or 1.0%) in income tax.

Economist Paul Krugman recently decried "zombie economics," policies advocated by "free-market fundamentalists [who] have been wrong about everything yet now dominate the political scene more thoroughly than ever." I share his chagrin, but suggest that the problem is that Krugman was wrong to also assert that...