The Politics of Accountabilitytag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-17580492010-12-06T12:59:55-06:00Making the case for smaller government, fiscal responsibility, and Libertarian ideals...TypePad"Extending" a few thoughts on the Bush tax cuts...tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0105359aa838970b0147e05c9e6c970b2010-12-06T12:59:55-06:002010-12-06T12:59:55-06:00Am I the only one who gets the feeling that congressional Democrats would simply allow the Bush tax cuts to expire for all Americans if we weren't in the midst of a recession (or at least, the most anemic recovery...Brianhttp://prasifkapolitics.typepad.com/the_politics_of_accountab/2010/12/extending-a-few-thoughts-on-the-bush-tax-cuts.htmlHow Socialist Is Socialist?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0105359aa838970b0133f486b438970b2010-09-28T12:24:00-05:002010-10-04T22:00:40-05:00Peter Orszag sat down with CNN's Fareed Zakaria recently, and attempted to dispel the notion that President Obama is a socialist. He did a piss-poor job.Brianhttp://prasifkapolitics.typepad.com/the_politics_of_accountab/2010/09/how-socialist-is-socialist.htmlLarry Elder: Republican Collectivismtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0105359aa838970b01310f90179d970c2010-03-11T19:56:41-06:002010-03-11T19:56:41-06:00I have been critical of big-government Republicans on this website, although markedly less than Democrats for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Democrats have been in charge of Congress since the blog began, and won...Brianhttp://prasifkapolitics.typepad.com/the_politics_of_accountab/2010/03/larry-elder-republican-collectivism.htmlDid You Notice? Patriot Act Re-Authorizedtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0105359aa838970b0120a91dec37970b2010-03-09T21:21:32-06:002010-03-09T21:21:32-06:00Seems while everyone was caught up in the political theater that was the Health Care Summit between Congressional Democrats and Republicans, and moderated by President Obama, something else happened you might not have noticed. At one point, members of the...Brianhttp://prasifkapolitics.typepad.com/the_politics_of_accountab/2010/03/did-you-notice-patriot-act-reauthorized.htmlHealth Care a Right? Wrong.tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0105359aa838970b0120a90cb712970b2010-03-08T18:53:41-06:002010-03-09T15:30:41-06:00At the heart of the health care reform debate is this assertion that health care is a right. As I argued in my article on health care reform "(h)ealth care is not and cannot be, by definition, a Constitutional right."...Brianhttp://prasifkapolitics.typepad.com/the_politics_of_accountab/2010/03/health-care-a-right-wrong.htmlChicago Tribune: Will More Restaurants Pass on "Health" Taxes to Patrons?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0105359aa838970b01310f59d6dd970c2010-03-06T22:33:00-06:002010-03-06T22:35:12-06:00In the Travel section of this past Sunday's Chicago Tribune, columnist Ed Perkins blasts San Francisco-area restaurants for adding a "'health' charge" to diner's bills in what Perkins labels a "scam...to cover the employers' mandatory contribution to the City's 'Healthy...Brianhttp://prasifkapolitics.typepad.com/the_politics_of_accountab/2010/03/chicago-tribune-will-more-restaurants-pass-on-health-taxes-to-patrons.htmlHealth Care Summit Drinking Gamestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0105359aa838970b01310f36d194970c2010-02-25T07:45:09-06:002010-02-25T14:01:11-06:00A few thoughts on today's "bi-partisan" health care summit. "Bi-partisan" is in quotes because it will only be bi-partisan from the standpoint that both Democrats and Republicans will be in the same room at the same time. They can't do...Brianhttp://prasifkapolitics.typepad.com/the_politics_of_accountab/2010/02/healthcare-summit-drinking-games.html"Plouffe" Piece?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0105359aa838970b0120a8176ec5970b2010-01-27T13:32:30-06:002010-01-27T16:37:07-06:00Seems Democratic Strategist David Plouffe (http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/26/david.plouffe/) is already making his presence in the Obama Administration felt. In an apparent effort to re-brand himself as a fiscal conservative, President Obama yesterday proposed putting a three-year freeze on discretionary spending increases (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/26/AR2010012604154.html?hpid=topnews)....Brianhttp://prasifkapolitics.typepad.com/the_politics_of_accountab/2010/01/spending-freeze.htmlA "Head Start" or Just Another Big-Government Boondoggle?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0105359aa838970b0120a80d5e3e970b2010-01-25T17:25:13-06:002010-01-25T17:25:13-06:00A study released early this year by the federal government's own Department of Health and Human Services concludes that the Head Start program "was found to yield no lasting results." (http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/60001) That hasn't stopped Congress from pouring billions of additional...Brianhttp://prasifkapolitics.typepad.com/the_politics_of_accountab/2010/01/a-head-start-or-just-another-biggovernment-boondoggle.html"Tabloid Trash" - Why the Edwards Affair Matterstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a0105359aa838970b0120a7f9ae73970b2010-01-22T00:44:57-06:002010-01-22T16:00:25-06:00John Edwards is finally, while predictably hiding behind a spokesman, admitting what everyone in this country with an IQ over 70 already knew: that 2-year-old Frances Quinn Hunter, daughter of former Edwards' campaign videographer Reille Hunter, is his child. (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34963767/ns/today-today_people/?GT1=43001)....Brianhttp://prasifkapolitics.typepad.com/the_politics_of_accountab/2010/01/tabloid-trash-why-the-edwards-affair-matters.html