Cigarette butt, to be more specific. All over the world, governments impose draconian taxes on tobacco, and then they wind up surprised that projected revenues don’t materialize. We’ve seen this in Bulgaria and Romania, and we’ve seen this Laffer Curve effect in…
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.
Lessons from Cyprus
It doesn’t create a lot of confidence in Europe that tiny little Cyprus, with a GDP less than Vermont, is now causing immense turmoil. Though to be more accurate, events in Cyprus aren’t causing turmoil as much as they’re causing people to examine both government…
If Obama Wants More Tax Revenue, He Should Lower the Corporate Tax Rate
Regular readers know that I’m a big advocate of the Laffer Curve, which is the common-sense notion that higher tax rates will cause people to change their behavior in ways that reduce taxable income. But that doesn’t mean “all tax cuts pay for themselves.” Yes, that…
The Ryan Budget: Is Returning to Clinton-Era Levels of Fiscal Restraint Really Asking too Much?
It can be very frustrating to work at the Cato Institute and fight for small government. Consider what’s happened the past couple of days. Congressman Paul Ryan introduces a budget and I dig through the numbers with a sense of disappointment because government…
Senator Patty Murray Is Right…and Completely Wrong…about the 1990s
I wrote about the Ryan budget two days ago, praising it for complying with Mitchell’s Golden Rule and reforming Medicare and Medicaid. But I believe in being honest and nonpartisan, so I also groused that it wasn’t as good as the 2011 and 2012 versions. Now it’s time…
More Entrepreneurs Say “Au Revoir” to the Administration Fiscale, Escape France’s Confiscatory Tax Regime
As a general rule, it’s not right to take pleasure at the misfortune of others. But I think we’re allowed an exception to that Schadenfreude rule when the “others” are greedy politicians pursuing spiteful policies. We want the political elite to suffer misfortune…
Everything You Need to Know about the Ryan Budget
Sigh. Even when they’re sort of doing the right thing, Republicans are incapable of using the right argument. Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House Budget Committee, has unveiled his proposed budget and he and other Republicans are bragging that the plan will balance the…
Sequestration’s Impact on HUD: Just 358 More Days and Mission Accomplished
As part of my “Question of the Week” series, I had to decide which department of the federal government was most deserving of abolition. With a target-rich environment of waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington, that wasn’t an easy question to answer. But I decided to…
My Heart Breaks and Tears Flow When I Read about Sequestration Being a Big Defeat for Lobbyists
I believe in the First Amendment, so I would never support legislation to restrict political speech or curtail the ability of people to petition the government. That being said, I despise the corrupt Washington game of obtaining unearned wealth thanks to the sleazy…
As Humorously Explained by Henry Payne, the World Amazingly Didn’t End When Uncle Sam Got Put on a Sequester Diet
When I last checked, Henry Payne was winning the bronze medal in the contest to identify the best political cartoonist. You can see why by checking out this cartoon about Washington’s reaction to sequestration, which (gasp!) slightly slows the growth of the federal…