The world needs more Cleveland

Here's my latest column from Report Magazine.

It's a story about that rarest of all creatures: an honest and principled politician.

His name was Grover Cleveland and he served as American president in the late nineteenth century.

Now you probably don't know much about Cleveland because he never declared war on anybody, but he was a remarkable man.

For one thing, he believed in balanced budgets. Going into deficit was morally wrong, according to Cleveland because it unfairly burdened future generations with debt. And a surplus was equally wrong because it amounted to the government taking more money than it needed.

Plus Cleveland held the notion that the people could put money to better use than government.

Too bad politicians like this are extinct these days on both sides of the border.