James R. Harrigan
Senior Research Fellow
James R. Harrigan is a former Senior Research Fellow at AIER. He is also co-host of the Words & Numbers podcast.
Dr. Harrigan was previously Dean of the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani, and later served as Director of Academic Programs at the Institute for Humane Studies and Strata, where he was also a Senior Research Fellow.
He has written extensively for the popular press, with articles appearing in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, and a host of other outlets. He is also co-author of Cooperation & Coercion. His current work focuses on the intersections between political economy, public policy, and political philosophy.
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Biden’s Tax Plan Is a Middle-Class Death Tax Dressed as a Capital Gains Tax on the Rich
“Say what they will about using the tax code to reduce income inequality, the fact is that multi-trillion dollar deficits have made politicians desperate for new sources of tax revenue. And, having eaten the rich, they’re now turning their eyes to the middle class.” ~ James R. Harrigan & Antony Davies
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A Subtle Catastrophe
“This is not what winning looks like. This looks like yet another President declaring his way to the policy outcomes he wants by executive order, Covid style.” ~ James R. Harrigan
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A Letter from the Editor
“So join us, starting tomorrow, for what comes next from Great Barrington and AIER. It is my honor to help steer this wonderful ship, and I look forward to sharing our content with all of you.” ~ James R. Harrigan
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Bureaucracy as Constituency
“As long as the federal bureaucracy remains largely unchecked, expect to see that bureaucracy grow unabated. Expect to see laws getting longer and more complex by the year. And expect to see no one in Washington taking responsibility for a federal government that has been out of control for the better part of a century.”…
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Go East, Young Man.
“What matters now is whether California will do anything at all to make it a more palatable possibility for people who would be inclined to live there. If not, we’ll see continued erosion of the tax base, as it is only people who pay taxes who are inclined to leave, and a smaller congressional contingent…
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The War on Retirement
“The American version of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the event that began the steady march toward oblivion, was the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935. The dominos have been falling ever since, and the last ones are about to tip over, intentions be damned.” ~ James R. Harrigan & Antony Davies
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What Happened to All Those Jobs?
“We have far fewer jobs than we expected to have and, at the current tepid recovery, a decade’s journey to return to the health we had just prior to Covid-19. This is, of course, bad enough. Sober reflection, though, should lead quickly to the conclusion that the ruling class in Washington will manage to do…
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When Politicians Say Fair Tax, They Only Mean More Tax
“So what exactly is anyone’s ‘fair share?’ That’s a hard question, and it’s made harder still when people tasked with answering it do everything they can to avoid answering it. As long as this continues, calls for the rich to pay ‘their fair share’ will never end because, in light of the numbers, proponents seem…
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Blinded by a Blizzard of Data
“What’s important is that we address each risk with commensurate care. That the media has consistently reported on Covid without appropriate context suggests that historians will look back on 2020 less for its outbreak of Covid than for its outbreak of hysteria.” ~ Antony Davies & James R. Harrigan
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•
The Covid-19 Catastrophe
“When the next crisis comes along they will land on the same sorts of heavy-handed solutions they did this time. The only thing that will chasten them is the anger of the American people. Politicians did far more harm to Americans than Covid-19 did, and that’s what the American people need to remember next time…
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•
Biden’s Tax Plan Is a Middle-Class Death Tax Dressed as a Capital Gains Tax on the Rich
“Say what they will about using the tax code to reduce income inequality, the fact is that multi-trillion dollar deficits have made politicians desperate for new sources of tax revenue. And, having eaten the rich, they’re now turning their eyes to the middle class.” ~ James R. Harrigan & Antony Davies
-
•
A Subtle Catastrophe
“This is not what winning looks like. This looks like yet another President declaring his way to the policy outcomes he wants by executive order, Covid style.” ~ James R. Harrigan
-
•
A Letter from the Editor
“So join us, starting tomorrow, for what comes next from Great Barrington and AIER. It is my honor to help steer this wonderful ship, and I look forward to sharing our content with all of you.” ~ James R. Harrigan
-
•
Bureaucracy as Constituency
“As long as the federal bureaucracy remains largely unchecked, expect to see that bureaucracy grow unabated. Expect to see laws getting longer and more complex by the year. And expect to see no one in Washington taking responsibility for a federal government that has been out of control for the better part of a century.”…
-
•
Go East, Young Man.
“What matters now is whether California will do anything at all to make it a more palatable possibility for people who would be inclined to live there. If not, we’ll see continued erosion of the tax base, as it is only people who pay taxes who are inclined to leave, and a smaller congressional contingent…
-
•
The War on Retirement
“The American version of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the event that began the steady march toward oblivion, was the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935. The dominos have been falling ever since, and the last ones are about to tip over, intentions be damned.” ~ James R. Harrigan & Antony Davies
-
•
What Happened to All Those Jobs?
“We have far fewer jobs than we expected to have and, at the current tepid recovery, a decade’s journey to return to the health we had just prior to Covid-19. This is, of course, bad enough. Sober reflection, though, should lead quickly to the conclusion that the ruling class in Washington will manage to do…
-
•
When Politicians Say Fair Tax, They Only Mean More Tax
“So what exactly is anyone’s ‘fair share?’ That’s a hard question, and it’s made harder still when people tasked with answering it do everything they can to avoid answering it. As long as this continues, calls for the rich to pay ‘their fair share’ will never end because, in light of the numbers, proponents seem…
-
•
Blinded by a Blizzard of Data
“What’s important is that we address each risk with commensurate care. That the media has consistently reported on Covid without appropriate context suggests that historians will look back on 2020 less for its outbreak of Covid than for its outbreak of hysteria.” ~ Antony Davies & James R. Harrigan
-
•
The Covid-19 Catastrophe
“When the next crisis comes along they will land on the same sorts of heavy-handed solutions they did this time. The only thing that will chasten them is the anger of the American people. Politicians did far more harm to Americans than Covid-19 did, and that’s what the American people need to remember next time…