What’s the relationship between the Rahn Curve and the Laffer Curve? For the uninitiated, the Rahn Curve is the common-sense notion that some government is helpful for prosperous markets but too much government is harmful to economic performance. Even libertarians,…
Dan Mitchell
Daniel J. Mitchell is the President of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity and the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation. Dr. Mitchell advocates limited government and fundamental tax reform, and is the nation’s leading opponent of tax harmonization schemes developed by the Brussels-based European Union, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations.
In addition to fiscal policy, Dr. Mitchell is a trenchant observer of economic developments and an expert on Social Security reform – particularly the fiscal policy impact of reform and what the US can learn from other nations that have created personal retirement accounts.
Texas Is Booming…but CNN Doesn’t Want You to Know Why
Much of my writing is focused on the real-world impact of government policy, and this is why I repeatedly look at the relative economic performance of big government jurisdictions and small government jurisdictions. But I don’t just highlight differences between…
Landslide Vote against Single-Payer Healthcare Confirms that Switzerland Is an Outpost of Rationality in a Statist Continent
I’m a huge fan of Switzerland, largely because its voters approved a spending cap that should be a role model for other nations. It’s called the “debt brake” and it has helped reduce the burden of government spending in Switzerland at a time when most nations in…
America’s Anti-Competitive and Anti-Comity International Tax System, Part I
Most of us will never be directly impacted by the international provisions of the internal revenue code. That’s bad news because it presumably means we don’t have a lot of money, but it’s good news because IRS policies regarding “foreign-source income” are a poisonous…
Slovenia: A Case Study of Missed Opportunities and Economic Decline
I’m a big believer that real-world examples can teach us about the benefits of good fiscal policy (think Hong Kong, Estonia, Canada, and the U.S. under Reagan and Clinton) and the costs of bad fiscal policy (France, Cyprus, Greece, and the U.S. under Bush and Obama)….
The Radical Environmental Agenda Should Be Rejected, even if Global Warming Is Real
I believe that protecting the environment is both a good thing and a legitimate function of government. But I’m rational. So while I want limits on pollution, such policies should be determined by cost-benefit analysis. Banning automobiles doubtlessly would reduce…
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall, which Nation and State Punish Success Most of All?
I’ve shared some interested rankings on tax policy, including a map from the Tax Foundation showing which states have the earliest and latest Tax Freedom Days. There’s also a depressing table showing that the United States “earns” a lowly 94th place in a ranking of…
A Two-Question Challenge for Supporters of Intervention and Big Government
I want to challenge supporters of intervention and big government. Here are two simple questions. I’ll be happy if I can get a semi-reasonable answer to either of them. 1. Can you name a nation that became rich with statist policies? Before you say Sweden, or…
The OECD’s Scheme to Raise Tax Burdens on Workers, Consumers, and Investors
People pay every single penny of tax that politicians impose on corporations. The investors that own companies obviously pay (more than one time!) when governments tax profits. The workers employed by companies obviously pay, both directly and indirectly, because of…
In the 50-Year War on Poverty, Bureaucrats Have Won while Both Taxpayers and Poor People Have Lost
We know the welfare state is good news for people inside government. Lots of bureaucrats are required, after all, to oversee a plethora of redistribution programs. Walter Williams refers to these paper pushers as poverty pimps, and there’s even a ranking showing which…