Expert Commentary by Antony Davies

The Film Tax Credit Farse

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan |
May 22, 2013
Everyone loves a good movie, but with an average cost of more than $8, most Pennsylvanians have to choose carefully what they will spend their money on. Too bad we don't have that same luxury with our tax dollars, which subsidize the film industry to the tune of $60 million a year.…

For Whom the Taxpayer Toils

Philadelphia Inquirer
By Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan |
Apr 17, 2013
Each July Fourth, Americans celebrate their freedom, the result of a revolution over "taxation without representation." This month, we celebrate another type of freedom - from our own tax man. It turns out that taxation with representation is no picnic either.…

Let Cyprus Be the Lesson

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan |
Mar 22, 2013
Greece's chronic overspending led to economic near-collapse last year. Now it is Cyprus' turn. Were it not for years of overspending, Cyprus might have been able to bail out its banking sector. Instead, the EU and IMF are faced with yet another European economy in financial distress. This time, though, the EU has put a price on its aid to Cyprus.…

How Big Business Benefits From Regulation

Washington Times
By Antony Davies, Ryan McCarl |
Mar 13, 2013
When government enacts policies to micromanage our decision-making, it erodes our personal freedom. Yet that’s not the whole story. It turns out that big business often loves regulation, because the regulations frequently end up applying only to small or disfavored businesses.…

Runaway Federal Debt Means Our Money Is Worth Less

Investor's Business Daily
By Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan |
Jan 11, 2013
From 1954 through 2012, the federal government shelled out a total of almost $72 trillion on all spending, combined. Over the same period, it collected revenues of under $56 trillion from all sources. The $16 trillion difference is today's federal debt.…

Lies and Politicians

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan |
Jan 07, 2013
Once upon a time, politicians worked very hard to render their lies believable. That time has passed.…

The Debt Ceiling Is a Financial Fiction

By Antony Davies |
Jan 04, 2013
The debt ceiling is a financial fiction -- every time we approach the ceiling, Congress raises it. Congress has raised the ceiling almost 80 times since 1962. …

America's Massive Debt Has Come Back to Bite Us?

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan |
Dec 29, 2012
Politicians once again are debating the debt ceiling. The reason we teeter at the edge of a $16.4 trillion-high fiscal cliff is that politicians can‘t stop spending money that we don‘t have. Congress has raised the debt ceiling nearly 80 times since 1962. Most recently, the Treasury secretary has suggested doing away with the ceiling entirely.…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Didn't Work

U.S. News and World Report
By Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan |
Dec 19, 2012
In early 2009, President Obama predicted that his American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would "jump-start our economy," "create new jobs," and provide "many years of economic growth." He claimed that this growth would "cut the deficit in half by the end of [his] first term in office" and put "our nation on sound fiscal footing." Terrified of a repeat of the Great Depression, Am…

Ben Bernanke's War On Senior Citizens

Forbes
By Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan |
Dec 12, 2012
Uncle Sam has been waging an undeclared war on seniors for the past decade. With interest rates at historic lows and with the Federal Reserve (“the Fed”) poised to keep them artificially low for years, senior citizens will be left standing alone at the Great American Debt Dance.…