by Dan Mitchell | Apr 27, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe
Because of their aggressive support for bigger government, my least-favorite international bureaucracies are the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. But I’m increasingly displeased by the European Bank for...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 26, 2018 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
Congratulations to Belgium. According to the new edition of Taxing Wages, average Belgian workers have the dubious honor of surrendering the biggest chunk of their income to government. No wonder part of the country is interested in secession. We can also give...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 25, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
I’m conflicted. I’ve repeatedly expressed skepticism about the idea of governments providing a “basic income” because I fear the work ethic will (further) erode if people automatically receive a substantial chunk of money. Moreover, I also fear that a basic income...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 24, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
A few years ago, John Stossel did an undercover investigation of a government job-training program and he found that the operation was basically a scam. Not that we should be surprised. Back in 2014, I explained to a C-Span audience that a healthy private sector was...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 23, 2018 | Blogs, States, Tax Competition, Taxation
On April 17, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., a case dealing with whether states should have the power to levy taxes on companies in other states. Most observers see this issue as a fight over taxing the Internet, taxing online...
