Thomas F. Schaller - baltimoresun.com

Markets are less competitive than you think

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 29 May 2012 18:14:00 GMT

And government is not always monopolistic

In my previous column, I argued that American citizen-consumers seem far more likely to complain about government failures than about similar problems arising in the free market. Waste, fraud, inefficiency and other frustrations resulting from government action are considered endemic, yet similar patterns of failure in the private sector are discounted if not overlooked.

Government is flawed, but markets are too

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:01:00 GMT

Tom Schaller asks: Why don't private-sector inefficiencies, which drive up costs, drive us crazy the way public-sector waste does?

This column may stress you out. It stressed me out just writing it.

America avoids Europe's austerity nightmare

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:00:00 GMT

President Obama's approach to the recession was more prudent

As the global economic crisis grinds into its fourth year, we now have a clearer sense of which countries responded appropriately to the crisis and those that perpetuated or aggravated their situation. That discussion must begin with a comparison of the differing approaches taken by European governments and the United States.

Worry about Romney's positions, not his gaffes

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:35:00 GMT

Candidate's misstatements or personal defects deserve less attention than his flip-flops, economic policies

Mitt Romney has been treated rather roughly, even unfairly, by the national media.

In Md.'s 6th District, a different kind of candidate

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:25:52 GMT

Pooran offers an alternative to careerist politicians

Democrats living in Maryland's Sixth Congressional District have a rare opportunity in their upcoming primary. There's a different kind of candidate running for the seat held by longtime Republican incumbent Roscoe Bartlett. His name is Milad Pooran.

Limbaugh apology: He did it for the money

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:38:25 GMT

Thomas F. Schaller says the radio host comes off not just as cruel but hypocritical on contraception

Rush Limbaugh apologized.

An American recipe for class immobility

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:10:00 GMT

The U.S. now has less 'rising and falling' than Europe, and it didn't happen by accident

Returning from a two-week speaking tour to Finland, Norway and Sweden, I kept thinking about that scene early in Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning film "The Departed" where Leonardo DiCaprio's character is grilled about his personal background by Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg, who want him to become an undercover agent for the Boston Police Department.

The truth about corporate taxes

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:13:55 GMT

American companies have a high nominal rate, but most don't pay it; what matters is the effective rate

Turn on conservative talk radio or television pundits and soon enough you'll hear that the United States has a too-high corporate tax rate that is undermining American business competitiveness and weakening the U.S. economy. This talking point is not spouted just by Republicans and anti-tax conservatives: Democrat-in-chief President Barack Obama made the same claim during his State of the Union address two weeks ago, lamenting how American companies "get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world."

Where is the campaign's conservative populist?

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:06:00 GMT

Tom Schaller says the GOP nominees are failing to appeal to millions in the middle

If you didn't see MSNBC'snew weekend morning show "Up w/Chris Hayes" this past Sunday, you missed a fascinating roundtable debate featuring the eponymous host and his guests discussing how the remaining Republican presidential candidates might tap into economic populist angst among working-class conservatives. The panelists agreed that the candidate who can do so has a good chance to separate himself from the field, and they're right.

Rick Santorum's moral flexibility

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:10:00 GMT

Tom Schaller says even the voice of conservative rectitude has been influenced by the pull of party unity

Rick Santorum speaks with the force of moral certainty. His sweater vests convey an inner calm during a time of national angst. Like him or not, the former Pennsylvania senator projects the image of a staunch, straight-shooting conservative.

Ron Paul disavows…Ron Paul?

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:45:00 GMT

Libertarian candidate tries to duck responsibility for racist, homophobic and conspiratorial writings that bore his name

To look at him, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul seems harmless. He's cute and contrarian. He wears poorly fitting suits. He's decidedly un-slick. You almost want to pat him on the head.

Vote suppression tactics all too familiar

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:54:00 GMT

Tom Schaller says that, the Schurick case aside, national Republican strategy is to restrict ballot access, enforce voter ID requirements

Paul Schurick's recent conviction for voter fraud is a sad coda to the 2010 Martin O'Malley-Bob Ehrlich gubernatorial rematch: Sad because Mr. Schurick tainted his reputation as one of the state's best political strategists, and sadder because Governor O'Malley almost certainly would have been re-elected no matter what late-campaign shenanigans Mr. Schurick pulled.

Newt Gingrich is the GOP's only serious candidate

Thomas F. Schaller — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:12:00 GMT

Former House speaker has a deeper fund of knowledge and a greater ability to debate the president than any of his competitors

For over a year, I've been bullish about Newt Gingrich's presidential candidacy. Friends and fellow pundits mocked my insistence that the former House speaker be taken seriously, that he had a real chance of winning the GOP nomination.