by Dan Mitchell | Jan 16, 2022 | Blogs, Economics
Back in 2014, I compared the long-run economic performance of Cuba and Hong Kong. Both jurisdictions were roughly equal about 60 years ago. But the data show a dramatic performance gap ever since the communists took power in Cuba, with Hong Kong (which...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 15, 2022 | Blogs, States
When I wrote about the 2018 edition of Freedom in the 50 States, Florida ranked as the nation’s most libertarian state. In the 2021 version, New Hampshire takes the top spot (reclaiming the lead it had back in 2016). Here’s a map showing the...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 14, 2022 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
As a libertarian, I view defense spending with the same jaundiced eye that I apply to domestic spending. I’ve pointed out that the U.S. represents a big share of global military outlays.I’ve pointed out that sequestration wasn’t a threat to...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 13, 2022 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
As part of a recent discussion with Gene Tunny in Australia, I explained why I support “Starve the Beast,” which means keeping taxes as low as possible to help achieve the goal of spending restraint. The premise of Starve the Beast is very simple. Politicians like to...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 12, 2022 | Blogs, Taxation
I wrote back in 2012 that California voters opted for “slow-motion economic suicide” by voting to raise the state’s top income tax rate to 13.3 percent. Sure enough, having the nation’s highest state income tax rate has been bad news. More and...
