Author Archives : Dan Mitchell
Growing the Global Economy Through Offshoring and Tax Competition
This article appeared in China Offshore.
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Will Chile’s Politicians Ruin the Latin Tiger?
here aren’t any nations with pure libertarian economic policy, but there are a handful of jurisdictions that deserve praise, either because they have comparatively low levels of statism or because they have made big strides in the right direction. Hong Kong and Singapore are examples of the former, and Switzerland deserves honorable mention. And if we look at […]
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Let Markets Work, even for Folks Who Want to Buy and Sell Human Organs
Back in 2011, I shared a video making the moral argument that adults should be allowed to buy and sell kidneys. After all, if one person is made better off by selling a kidney and another person is made better off by buying a kidney, why should the rest of us be allowed to ban that voluntary […]
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Unofficial Death Panels at the VA Show Where Obamacare Will Lead
In hopes of warning people about the dangers of Obamacare, I’ve shared horror stories from the United Kingdom about patients languishing on waiting lists and being left to die. Now, thanks to whistleblowers, we have horror stories from America. The government-run system operated by the Veterans Administration has maintained secret waiting lists that have led to lots of delayed care […]
read more...Four Great Moments in Foreign Government Stupidity
While I mostly focus on bad government policy in the United States, I also think we can learn lessons from what’s happening in other nations. In some cases, I share positive stories, such as the success of privatized Social Security in Australia, nationwide school choice in Sweden, and genuine spending cuts in the Baltic nations. In most cases, though, I’m pointing […]
read more...Mocking Politicians and Government
Regular readers know that I like to mock big government and the hacks who are drawn to politics. This explains why I’ve always enjoyed cartoons that portray the state as a blundering, often-malicious, overweight nitwit. You can see some of my favorite examples here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. So in that tradition, let’s set aside serious issues today and enjoy […]
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Sensible Swiss Voters Crush Proposed Minimum Wage Mandate
I’m beginning to think that people from some nations are smarter and more rational than others. That may explain, for instance, why voters in Estonia support fiscal restraintwhile voters in France foolishly think the gravy train can continue forever. But I’m not making an argument about genetic ability. Instead, what I’m actually starting to wonder is whether […]
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Obamacare Could Cause Two Million additional Adults to Leave Labor Force and Become Trapped in Government Dependency
What’s the worst economic development during Obama’s reign? Some would say it’s the higher tax burden. Some would say it’s the wasteful faux stimulus. Others would say it’s the fiscal nightmare of Obamacare. And others would say it’s the loss of millions of workers from the labor force. I suppose there’s no objective way to pick the most ill-conceived policy, […]
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The Right to Proclaim that Guns Save Lives
I’ve explained on several occasions (here, here, and here) that we can be optimistic about the fight to preserve our rights to keep and bear arms. Simply stated, politicians are increasingly scared to go after gun owners and we keep seeing more and more evidence that Second Amendment freedoms make society safer. And courts are beginning to do a better job of upholding […]
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