by Dan Mitchell | Sep 3, 2021 | Blogs, Economics
I’m a big believer in focusing on results rather than reputation or rhetoric. For instance, many Republican politicians talk a good game about spending restraint. But when you crunch the numbers, it turns out that they often increase spending even faster than...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 2, 2021 | Blogs, Crime, Society
When people ask me why I’m a libertarian, I rarely mention high taxes and wasteful spending. Nor do I make philosophical arguments about the non-aggression principle. And it’s also unlikely that I’ll cite Ayn Rand. Instead, I point out...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 1, 2021 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
In an ideal world, Americans would have personal retirement accounts, just like workers in Australia, Sweden, Chile, Hong Kong, Israel, Switzerland, and a few dozen other nations. But we’re not in that ideal world. We are forced...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 31, 2021 | Blogs, Capital Gains, Taxation
Yesterday’s column cited new scholarly research about the negative economic impact of Biden’s plans to increase capital gains taxation. In today’s column, let’s start with a refresher on why this tax shouldn’t exist. But if you don’t want...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 30, 2021 | Blogs, Capital Gains, Economics, Taxation
Public finance theory teaches us that the capital gains tax should not exist. Such a levy exacerbates the bias against saving and investment, which reduces innovation, hinders economic growth, and lowers worker compensation. All...