A tipping point is a condition that seems to be reached suddenly but is in fact the end result of a longer chain of events. The tipping point is a place where there is no going back to a previous condition- the change is permanent. The only remedy is to start over.One of the best examples of tipping point is an avalanche. The pile up of snow is vis...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff Every time I open the Casper Star Tribune I feel the urge to write another "set the record straight" piece. Just last week I had to correct the Tribune's account on the corporate income tax; this week's exhibit of biased reporting is their July 21 story on government spending reform. The article gives the reader a fir...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff Government spending in Wyoming is under scrutiny, in part because of proposals to raise taxes as an alternative to spending cuts. This Report examines three spending areas with reference to government charges, calculating the net spending by those areas. Main finding: Because of the net balance between spending on the...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff It is sometimes suggested that Wyoming needs more government spending per capita because we are a rural state. As recently as on July 21, the Casper Star Tribune suggested as much: According to a 2018 analysis by USA Today, state and local government spending per capita in Wyoming is the second-highest in the nation, ...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff Some citizens who have corresponded the Revenue Committee in opposition to tax hikes have been asked for input on where the state can make budget cuts. This is a welcome question, one that legislators have asked before. Before I respond to this request, I would like to point out that there is not exactly a vacuum wher...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff Whenever politicians write bills about taxes and government spending they do so based on a an idea of how government relates to the private sector. This idea is rarely spelled out, and most of the time the politicians themselves are not even aware of how it affects their work. More often than we might want to admit, l...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff My previous work looked at state and local government wages in the state of Wyoming. On average, in the state of Wyoming, there is a wage premium of 23% in state government. This analysis uses wages data from the Bureau of Labor and Statics, that does not include benefits. Local government employees' wages are similar...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff This blog is the first of two on the future of highway funding, here in Wyoming as well as nationally. As we have previously shown here at Wyoming Liberty Group, there are different views on how to fund our state's highway system, especially the interstates. We have presented arguments both for tolling the I-80, and a...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff The persistent deficits in the federal budget, as well as in the Wyoming state finances, are painful reminders of government overspending. Understandably, we often hear calls for drastic spending reductions, and they will become necessary soon enough, unless we begin reforming our state and local governments in the di...

by Wyoming Liberty Group Staff As I have noted on a couple of occasions now, 2019 is shaping up to be a great year to start reforming government spending here in Wyoming. Two sessions in a row, the legislature has rejected massive tax hikes and even refused to appoint a commission to overhaul our tax system. Time is ripe to talk about spending refo...