Snowmaggedon

Writes Doug Bandow at the Cato Institute about the recent snowstorm that shut down the government three days straight:

In theory the government closure is costing all of us. Some 230,000 D.C. area employees stayed home, costing an estimated $300 million "in lost productivity per day," according to federal officials. But is the shutdown really hurting the public?

Using the term "productivity" in the same sentence as "federal government" is a dubious exercise. No doubt, in the sense of performing a task efficiently, the Feds can be productive. Just watch how quickly and completely the IRS attempts to clean out the average taxpayer.