Michelle Obama unveiled her $3.2 billion plan to end childhood obesity. She wants regulations to reduce "fatty, salty, sugary foods" from public schools and replace them with mouthwatering items like "jicama," and Rachael Ray's "turkey tacos."

"We want the food they get at school to be the same kind of food we would serve at our own kitchen tables."... continue reading »

Just now, during his State of the Union address, President Obama promised a "blueprint for an economy."

How silly. Politicians always think they can concoct a simple "blueprint" to make life fairer and better for all. But I say: No, thanks. We don't need more planning and more taxes. We need to shrink government.

In this week's syndicated column, I write what I wish the president would have said:... continue reading »

Tonight, I will host a special live edition of my show after the President's State of the Union Address... continue reading »

My older brother, who used to hold me down and torture me, has finally seen the light. Okay, he was ten; I was five; and it wasn't really "torture," but he did go on to become another one of those ivy league socialists. At Princeton and Harvard, they taught him that business was nasty and that government needed to create an "orderly marketplace."

... continue reading »

Tonight on my show we'll debate whether the trillions of dollars we spend on defense (and offense?) really make us safer.

One excess of government that we don't cover tonight is covered ably this week in the Wall Street Journal.

Arthur Herman writes about unconscionable excesses in the way our military acquires equipment and weapons.

"Pentagon acquisition," Herman says, "employs more than 30,000 people--the equivalent of two full Army divisions."... continue reading »

Government does too much, but defense is what government is supposed to do: keep us safe from our enemies.

But Ron Paul says our current government goes too far. This week, we debate that.

David Henderson, an economist at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School says Ron Paul is right, but Colonel David Hunt with 29 years in counter-terrorism operations, says Rep. Paul's foreign policy ideas are naive... continue reading »

On my show last week - clips of it are here - I argued that our instincts about politics and economics are generally wrong.

A most dangerous aspect of that is this: When a problem comes up: people instinctively think that government should do something. There ought to be a law!

In my syndicated column, I explore how these bad intuitions come from the way humans evolved:... continue reading »

The pointless regulations keep coming. But this one is dumber than most:

I had to read it a few times and then contact the officials who required it to discover that the only point of the sign is: it's illegal to not have it. Is this some bureaucrat's idea of a practical joke?... continue reading »

Today I was shocked to see the new Mercedes Benz advertising campaign:

Great. Mercedes goes Communist? It had something to do with a new web application that is supposed to make it easier for people to car pool. Car pools-sharing-Communism-Che Guevera and Revolution...get it? And Che is so good looking!... continue reading »

Instinct tells us flying is dangerous, charity helps the poor, price gouging is evil, and every adult should vote.

This week, I challenge those instincts and so do some of our guests, including Leda Cosmides, a UC Santa Barbara psychologist and Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine. They will explain why evolution makes us bad economists... continue reading »