I wrote last year about the way in which welfare programs lead to very high implicit marginal tax rates on low-income people. More specifically, they lose handouts when they earn income. As such, it is not very advantageous for them to climb the economic ladder…
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.
In Tallinn, Helping to Protect the People of Estonia from Krugmanomics
Last month, I exposed some major errors that Paul Krugman committed when he criticized Estonia for restraining the burden of government spending. My analysis will be helpful since I am now in Estonia for a speech about economic reform, and I wrote a column that was…
The Moral Case for Free Enterprise
A couple of months ago, I discussed a column by Arthur Brooks, in which he explained that libertarians and conservatives need to make a moral argument for capitalism and not just rely on statistics and economic analysis. This is correct, I believe, and I cited myself…
Repealing Obamacare Won’t Solve the Healthcare Mess (but It’s a Good Start)
I’ve often complained that government-created third-party payer is the main problem with America’s healthcare system, and I was making that point well before Obamacare was imposed upon the country. Simply stated, people won’t be smart consumers and providers won’t…
If Tax Policy Is any Indication, Birthers Should Accuse Obama of Being Born in Denmark
I’m not a big fan of government conspiracy theories, largely because the people in Washington are too bloody incompetent to do anything effectively. Heck, sometimes they can’t even waste money properly even though they have lots of practice. But it recently crossed my…
Let’s Enjoy the Whining of Jose Manuel Barrosso as he Attempts to Supplant Herman van Rompuy as the Biggest Clown in Europe
For quite some time, I’ve thought of Herman van Rompuy as the poster child of Europe’s incompetent political elite. Virtually unknown to people in the real world (his sole claim to fame is that a British MEP, in a speech that went viral on YouTube, said he resembled a…
Obama’s Golden Rule of Ever-Expanding Dependency
Regular readers know about Mitchell’s Golden Rule, which is the simple – but essential – notion that the burden of government spending shouldn’t grow faster than the private sector. Well, after reading this utterly depressing news about how the number of people riding…
Another Month of Data Re-Confirms Obama’s Horrible Record on Jobs
Remember back in 2009, when President Obama and his team told us that we needed to squander $800 billion on a so-called stimulus package. The crowd in Washington was quite confident that Keynesian spending was going to save the day, even though similar efforts had…
The Simple and Predictable Story of Fiscal Bankruptcy in Cyprus
With all the fiscal troubles in Greece, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, and Italy, there’s not much attention being paid to Cyprus. But the Mediterranean island nation is a good case study illustrating the economic dangers of big government. For all intents and purposes,…
The Laffer Curve Wreaks Havoc in the United Kingdom
Back in 2010, I excoriated the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, noting that David Cameron was increasing tax rates and expanding the burden of government spending (including an increase in the capital gains tax!). I also criticized Cameron for leaving in…