America is in fiscal peril in the short run because of a 10-year spending binge by Bush and Obama and in the long run because of a toxic combination of entitlement programs and demographics. Congressman Paul Ryan has introduced a budget plan to address America’s…
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.
Yes, We Should Cut the Defense Budget
There are very serious ways to save huge amounts of money from the defense budget, largely by making smarter choices about defining America’s national security. This obviously involves high-profile decisions about whether it is smart to engage in nation-building in…
The Boundless Stupidity of State Governments
I’m an over-protective parent. Even now, with my kids ranging between 18 and 23, I will try to herd them together while skiing so I can follow them down the slopes and watch for potential injuries. And I never got them a jungle gym when they were young, even though I…
Greetings from Argentina – An Obamaesque Land of Crony Capitalism and a Warning to America
After reading below about Argentina’s decline, several people have emailed to ask how Chile compares. Ask and ye shall receive. This post from last month shows shows Chile, Argentina, and Venezuela. Very powerful, which is why I gave the post such a grandiose title….
This Cartoon Is Very Funny, but also Does a Great Job of Teaching Economics
Economists often do a crummy job of teaching people about the impact of fiscal policy on the labor force, largely because we put people to sleep with boring discussions about “labor supply” decisions (my blog post from last year perhaps being an example of this…
America’s Awful Tax System
Happy Tax Day! Or, if you’re like me, happy tax extension filing day. In the past couple of days, I’ve posted about the benefits of a better tax system and the unfairness of the current system. Those were compelling posts, at least I hope. But now let’s tie these…
The IRS: Even Worse Than You Think
Since it is tax-filing season and we all want to honor our wonderful tax system, let’s go into the archives and show this video from last year about the onerous compliance costs of the internal revenue code. Narrated by Hiwa Alaghebandian of the American Enterprise…
Imagine How Simple Life Would Be if America Had a Non-Corrupt Tax System
If you go to the IRS website, there are about one thousand forms (and accompanying material such as instruction documents) that you can download. Fortunately, most of us only have to worry about a small fraction of what’s on that list, but it’s still a nightmare – and…
Washington’s Make-Believe Spending Cuts
The recent agreement between Obama and Boehner supposedly cuts spending by $38 billion. I’ve already explained that this number is disappointingly small and noted that the effect on spending for the current fiscal year is almost too small to measure. But my analysis…
Why Are Geithner and Bernanke Trying to Panic Financial Markets with Debt Limit Demagoguery?
By taking advantage of “must-pass” pieces of legislation, Republicans have three chances this year to restrain the burden of government. They didn’t do very well with the ‘CR fight” over appropriated spending for the rest of FY2011, which was their first…