About: Fergus Hodgson

You have to laugh to keep from crying.

The federal government has run more than $1 trillion deficits for each of the past four fiscal years, as Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center has shown in graphical form. Keep in mind, this is using the federal government’s own misleading cash-basis accounting and does not include all of the unfunded liabilities such asContinue Reading

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Students for Liberty regional conference at UNC-Chapel Hill, and here is a short news clip that one of the other attendees prepared. The key insight I draw from this event is that knowledge of and confidence in libertarianism is growing rapidly among young people, even ifContinue Reading

Given that the state remains delinquent with its Unemployment Insurance system—$2.5 billion delinquent and third worst in the nation—it will fail to meet a November 10 deadline for repayment. The consequence of not resolving this is a mandatory tax increase on employers and continued interest payments. For each year, the federal UI tax increases byContinue Reading

Back in April, I wrote of Janet Cowell’s conflicts of interest and underperformance in her role as state treasurer. Well, the damning news keeps coming in, as reported by Carolina Liberty PAC, the News & Observer, the Civitas Review, and even the Washington Examiner. Cowell (pictured) saw fit to invest $26 million of the state’sContinue Reading

Last week, the founder and CEO of Saxo Bank spoke at UNC-Chapel Hill on the dangers of European socialism, based on his experience with Denmark. He has now migrated to Switzerland, given fears that an exit would grow increasingly difficult as more productive individuals leave and exit taxes rise. The associated article, the basis forContinue Reading

Last week, the Cato Institute released its biennial Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors: 2012. There is a lot in this one, but it measures actions since 2010 and ranks governors based on whether they have increased or decreased taxation and spending. It also includes some consideration for whether a governor has proposed changes butContinue Reading

After a column in the Carolina Journal on the sorry state of freedom in the United States—as highlighted by a recent ranking—I went on Mike Beitler’s show and discuss what to do now. Do tune in (59 minutes), and don’t hesitate to email me feedback. For those curious about the Working Holiday Scheme to New Zealand,Continue Reading