One year ago, I looked at the worst policy developments of 2012. I had some very good (or should I say bad?) options for that award, including the Supreme Court’s Obamacare decision, the IRS’s lawless decision to make American banks act as tax collectors for foreign…
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.
You Be the Judge: When Should Government Be Allowed to Take Your Children?
As part of my “You Be the Judge” series, I periodically share stories that presumably create moral quandaries for libertarians and other advocates of limited government and individual liberty. Though I’ve been lax in this regard since my last iteration in the series…
Bipartisanship Is Generally a Good Thing…but for Politicians rather than Taxpayers
If you like to go along to get along, I suggest you don’t become a libertarian. At least not if you follow politics or work in Washington. Otherwise, you’re doomed to a life of endlessly pointing out that the emperor has no clothes. Here are three examples. 1. When…
The Biggest Risk Factor Leading to Premature Death Is…?
Nope, the answer isn’t smoking. Or fatty food. Or 16 oz. sodas. And it’s not alcohol, driving too fast, or standing between politicians and a TV camera. In the past 100 years or so, the biggest cause of premature death has been government. Back in 2011,…
A Manifesto for Free Markets in Health Care
Not counting humor-oriented pieces such as this and this, it’s been nearly a month since I’ve written about Obamacare. To make up for this oversight, today we’re going to look at a way out of the Obamacare mess. But the goal isn’t simply to repeal the President’s bad…
From France to California, Holiday Gloom from the Tax Police
It’s time to extinguish any lingering Christmas cheer. Today’s topic is over-bearing and tyrannical tax administration. To be more specific, we’re going to look at the extent to which taxpayers are mistreated during the process of collecting revenue. Yes, the amount…
A Golden Rule Christmas
Jay Leno had the all-time best Christmas joke and the school bureaucrats in Haymarket, VA, win the prize for the all-time worst example of anti-Christmas lunacy. But I must win the prize for being the biggest Christmas policy dork. I make this confession freely…
Merry Christmas Messages
Normal people aren’t thinking about public policy at this time of year, but I’m a libertarian who has decided to fight against big government in Washington, so I’m definitely not normal and I could be a masochist. And since you’re reading this instead of daydreaming…
It’s a Very Merry Christmas for Washington’s Parasite Class
Last year, while writing about the sleazy and self-serving behavior at the IRS, I came up with a Theorem that explains day-to-day behavior in Washington. It might not be as pithy as Mitchell’s Law, and it doesn’t contain an important policy prescription like…
A Victory for the IMF…and a Defeat for Good Fiscal Policy
It’s not easy being a libertarian, particularly if you follow public policy. Thomas Jefferson almost certainly was right when he wrote that “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground.” Heck, just look at how small government…