Many European welfare states have been caught in a downward spiral of taxes, spending, and debt. This mini-documentary from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation identifies key lessons for policymakers seeking to avoid the inevitable fiscal crisis caused by the welfare state.

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Competition promotes innovation and results in higher quality and lower costs. Government-run schools are a tragic example, by contrast, of why monopolies generate bad results. This video uses the example of school choice to explain why competition is a better approach. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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Huge budget deficits and record levels of national debt are getting a lot of attention, but this video explains that unfunded liabilities for entitlement programs are Americas real red-ink challenge. More important, this CF&P mini-documentary reveals that deficits and debt are symptoms of the real problem of an excessive burden of government spending. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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This CF&P Foundation's Economics 101 video discusses the Moral Hazard, which occurs when bad choices are subsidized. This often happens when government intervention lets people take risks while having little or no skin in the game. Housing policies, for instance, subsidized mortgages, thus enabling irresponsible borrowing and leading to bubbles and bailouts. Politicians may be setting the stage for the next crisis with a too big to fail policy that will subsidize the biggest financial institutions. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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The capital gains tax is a perverse form of double taxation that should be abolished. This bad tax is especially damaging because families often are taxed on gains that are solely the result of inflation. This video explains how taxpayers could be protected by indexing the capital gains tax so the levy only applies to inflation-adjusted gains. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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This mini-documentary from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation explains how the statist policies of Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt lengthened and deepened the Great Depression. The video also briefly explains how reductions in the burden of government spending helped the economy recover from a deep recession after World War I and to grow after World War II.

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The tax system is a complicated nightmare that forces taxpayers to devote ever-larger amounts of time, money, energy, and other resources in hopes of complying with the internal revenue code and avoiding IRS persecution. This CF&P Foundation video shows that this corrupt mess is the result of 97 years of social engineering and industrial policy that began almost immediately after that dark day in 1913 that the income tax was created. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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Sweden is a powerful example of the importance of public policy. The Nordic nation became rich between 1870 and 1970 when government was very small, but then began to stagnate as welfare state policies were implemented in the 1970s and 1980s. The CF&P Foundation video explains that Sweden is now shifting back to economic freedom in hopes of undoing the damage caused by an excessive welfare state. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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The so-called War on Poverty has failed. Making government bigger and creating more federal redistribution programs has been bad news for taxpayers. But the welfare state also has been a disaster for the less fortunate, creating a flypaper effect that makes it difficult for people to lead independent and self-reliant lives. This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation video shows how the poverty rate was falling after World War II -- but then stagnated once the federal government got involved. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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This Economics 101 video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity gives seven reasons why the political elite are wrong to push for more taxes. If allowed to succeed, the hopelessly misguided pushing to raise taxes would only worsen our fiscal mess while harming the economy. The seven reasons provided by the video against this approach are as follows: 1) Tax increases are not needed; 2) Tax increases encourage more spending; 3) Tax increases harm economic performance; 4) Tax increases foment social discord; 5) Tax increases almost never raise as much revenue as projected; 6) Tax increases encourage more loopholes; and, 7) Tax increases undermine competitiveness

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Government programs and intervention were making a mess of the healthcare system, even before Obamacare was enacted. Repealing Obamacare is a good idea and will prevent a bad situation from becoming worse. This CF&P Foundation video explains, however, that repeal is just the first step if we want to genuinely restore a free market and create an efficient and cost-effective healthcare system. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation Economics 101 video succinctly explains why tax competition restrains excessive government since politicians realize that jobs and investment can cross bordes if they get too greedy and impose punitive tax policy. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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Politicians and journalists who fixate on consumer spending are putting the cart before the horse. Consumer spending generally is a consequence of growth, not the cause of growth. This Center for Freedom and Prosperity video helps explain how to achieve more prosperity by looking at the differences between gross domestic product and gross domestic income. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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This Economics 101 video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity explains that excessive government spending undermines prosperity by diverting resources from the productive sector of the economy. Moreover, the two main ways of financing government -- taxes and borrowing -- cause additional economic damage. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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Minimum wage laws seem like a good idea, but arbitrarily mandating a certain wage can have terrible consequences. This CF&P Foundation mini-documentary reveals that business are not charities, so if the minimum wage is set above the market level, this eliminates job opportunities -- particularly for the less fortunate members of society. Since employees and employers should have freedom of contract, the right minimum wage is zero. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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