Policymakers often enact programs for the needy but the benefits go mainly to businesses and special interests.

With the backdrop of the shutdown and federal workers going unpaid, the New York Times published a backgrounder last week on federal compensation.

Ninety years ago, two-thirds of government spending in America was state-local and one-third was federal. Today, it is the reverse with about two-thirds federal and one-third state-local.

We are in the fourth week of the partial federal shutdown, which is starting to disrupt the broader economy because the government exerts control over many major industries.

The National Endowment for the Arts has given hundreds of thousands of dollars in subsidies to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering over the years.

Deregulation and profits are unpopular ideas in some quarters these days.

As the government shutdown drags on, it is starting to damage activities across the economy because federal tentacles are in everything.

Political battles would not impact important activities if they were separated from the federal government.

If you pay state and local taxes or have kids in public schools, you will want to check out this recent Cato study on education spending and education results.

One of the concerns about climate change is that it may generate more natural disasters such as hurricanes and forest fires.