It’s not as sophisticated as Professor Bryan Caplan’s Purity Quiz and it doesn’t have the simple elegance of the World’s Smallest Political Quiz, but at least you don’t need to answer any questions to see where you stand in this Venn Diagram that my intern shared with…
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.
No More Stealing by Government? A Long-Overdue Attack on Asset Forfeiture
Since I’m a public finance economist, I realize I’m supposed to focus on big-picture issues such as tax reform and entitlement reform. And I do beat those issues to death, so I obviously care about controlling the size and power of government. But I like to think I’m…
Copy Sweden or Greece? Learning from the Global Economic Experiment
While theory is important, I suspect most people are more likely to be convinced by real-world evidence. This is why I frequently compare nations when arguing that free markets and small government are the best way of generating prosperity. Simply stated, I want…
Free Markets vs. Racism
Although I play basketball (poorly), I’m not a fan of the NBA. As such, I don’t pretend to have much interest in the Donald Sterling controversy. Some people have wondered whether his rights to free speech are being infringed, but I disagree. He obviously has the…
The Economics of Creative Destruction
In the battle of ideas, supporters of capitalism and economic liberty sometimes face an uphill climb because of a perception of heartlessness. When companies get in trouble, we’re the mean people who don’t want to give bailouts. When workers are laid off, we’re the…
A Taxapalooza: More Taxpayer-Subsidized Agitation for Class Warfare by the OECD
I’ve already written about how the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is heavily subsidized by American taxpayers, is advocating for bigger government. I’m especially irked that the OECD has gotten in bed with nutjobs from…
Like Father, Like Son: Thanks in Part to a Disastrous Tax-Hike Deal, the First President Bush Was a Statist
The establishment fervently believes that more money should come to Washington so that politicians have greater ability to buy votes. That’s why statists from both parties are so viscerally hostile to Grover Norquist’s no-tax-hike pledge. They view it as an obstacle…
Repeal the Gas Tax…and Get Rid of the Department of Transportation
More than three years ago, I wrote that the Department of Transportation should be dismantled for the simple reason that we’ll get better roads at lower cost with the federalist approach of returning responsibility to state and local governments. I echoed those…
The Slow-Motion Train Wreck of Entitlement Programs
The Census Bureau just released a report on America’s aging population. The big takeaway is that our population will be getting much older between now and 2050. And since I’m a baby boomer, I very much like the fact that we’re expected to live longer. But as a public…
Laughing at Another Spectacular Obamacare Failure
As you can imagine, there’s a lot to choose from in the contest for the most spectacular waste of tax dollars. But the politicians in Oregon must really want the prize, because they managed to flush several hundred million dollars down a rat hole by putting together a…