Veronique de Rugy is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a nationally syndicated columnist.
Author Archive
-
Jul 30, 2026Researchers estimate that discouraging just one-third of international STEM graduates could leave the American economy 0.7 percent to 1.3 percent smaller—equivalent to losing the... -
Jun 18, 2026No poor country has ever achieved decent living standards without first getting richer. -
Jun 11, 2026Thomas Piketty's plan is a comprehensive program for global managed decline dressed up in the language of climate justice and equality. -
Jun 5, 2026Vermont passed single-payer legislation in 2011 and abandoned the plan after three years of failure. Why? -
May 28, 2026One upcoming ballot measure would expand the state's taxing power. A lesser-known measure would limit it. Which will win? -
May 21, 2026They cost each American household roughly $1,000 in 2025, with more coming in 2026. -
May 15, 2026Central planning from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump, and others reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes private markets work. -
May 9, 2026The fiscal objection is serious. But the deeper problem is that the proposal misunderstands the saving behavior of the households it aims to help. -
Apr 30, 2026Every dollar of well-intentioned government assistance comes with a behavioral price tag that we've largely refused to count. -
Apr 25, 2026Soaring health care costs are fueling deficits, inflation risks, and an unsustainable fiscal trajectory. -
Apr 16, 2026The United States has the most progressive income-tax system in the developed world. -
Apr 3, 2026The World Bank recently published a 276-page report supporting the idea that industrial policy belongs "in the national policy toolkit". -
Mar 31, 2026A debate focused almost entirely on permitting and regulatory reform is insufficient. The tax code cannot remain a footnote. It is the missing villain. -
Mar 27, 2026The $300 billion question is whether Congress will admit that nothing the government does is free, and that the bill always comes due. -
Mar 20, 2026The state's funding crisis is driven by a third-party payment system in which roughly 90 cents of every American health care dollar is paid by someone other than the patient. -
Mar 13, 2026The problem is not that the government collects too little. The problem is that the government spends too much.
-
Mar 10, 2026History has a very clear answer to what "one-time" and "only the wealthy" mean in the long run: ongoing, and not only the wealthy. -
Mar 6, 2026The core structural problem of the health care market is simple: The person receiving care is almost never the person actually paying for it. -
Feb 27, 2026Trade isn't zero sum and Americans are paying them -
Feb 12, 2026Inflation is a silent tax—and the most painful way to finance government promises. -
Feb 6, 2026They have repeatedly been narrowed or repealed after disappointing revenue, tax avoidance, capital flight, and costly administrative battles. -
Jan 31, 2026Industrial policy is producing wasted resources, distorted incentives, and fragile outcomes that collapse when political support shifts. -
Jan 28, 2026The door is once again open to growth-first thinking. -
Jan 22, 2026Many Republicans are now openly embracing ideas and policies from the progressive playbook. Call them 'Depublicans.' -
Jan 16, 2026When more families cross into the upper middle class, that's a success. Don't let politicians sabotage upward mobility. -
Jan 2, 2026Yes, the status quo is unsustainable. But Romney's proposed solution risks making those problems harder to fix while foreclosing opportunities for the next generation.
