by Dan Mitchell | Jan 25, 2020 | Big Government, Blogs
Government intervention has made a mess of health care in America. Programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, along with the tax code’s healthcare exclusion, have created a massive third-party-payer problem. The inevitable result is systemic inefficiency and ever-rising...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 24, 2020 | Blogs, Europe, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, Taxation
There are many boring topics in tax policy, such as the debate between expensing and depreciation for business investment. International tax rules also put most people to sleep, but they’re nonetheless important. Indeed, the United States government is currently...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 23, 2020 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics
Back in 2010, I wrote about the absurd contention, promoted by some advocates of Keynesian economics, that wars are good for prosperity. According to this crackpot theory, destroying wealth is a net positive because people then have to spend money to rebuild. Now this...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 22, 2020 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
Given their overt statism, I’ve mostly focused on the misguided policies being advocated by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. But that doesn’t mean Joe Biden’s platform is reasonable or moderate. Ezra Klein of Vox unabashedly states that the former Vice President’s...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 21, 2020 | Big Government, Blogs
In this podcast discussion with Gene Tunny, I pontificate on several fiscal issues, including the ideal size of government, Wagner’s Law, and the importance of quality governance. The conversation is a good introduction to the debate about “state capacity” generally...
