Alex Tabarrok has a fascinating article in the Wilson Quarterly about the history of bail bondsmen and their role in this privatized segment of the criminal justice system. Let’s start by excerpting some history of the system. Bail began in medieval England as a…
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.
The Public Overwhelmingly Wants Spending Cuts, but Will the GOP Deliver?
We have some very encouraging polling data from CBS News. The American people prefer spending cuts over tax increases by a margin of more than 8-1. Americans strongly prefer cutting spending to raising taxes to reduce the federal deficit. While 77 percent prefer to…
You Be the Judge: Which Example of Tax Collectors Running Amok Is Worse?
You readers have been presented with a series of challenging quizzes on topics such as Sharia law, healthcare, incest, and vigilante justice. Let’s now shift to the world of taxation. We all know governments routinely make life hard for taxpayers. The IRS, for…
Gun Control and the Tuscon Shootings
While some on the left were utterly contemptible in their efforts to blame the Tuscon shootings on anything or anyone other than the nut who pulled the trigger, it is perfectly legitimate for them to claim that the tragedy is a reason to impose gun control are erode…
Texas, California, and the Tale of the Coyote
I’ve already had a couple of blog posts commenting on how Texas is kicking California’s you-know-what. Being a fiscal policy person, I always point to California’s punitive state income tax as an example of bad policy and highlight the absence of any income tax in…
Disastrous U.K. Tax Hike Unleashes a Steroid-Pumped Version of the Laffer Curve
The Laffer Curve is one of my favorite issues (see here, here, here, here, here, etc). But it is a very frustrating topic. Half my time is spent trying to convince left-leaning people that the Laffer Curve exists. I use common-sense explanations. I cite historical…
What Thanksgiving Will Be Like after Six More Years of Obama (Followed by Four Years of Bloomberg)
“Winston, come into the dining room, it’s time to eat,” Julia yelled to her husband. “In a minute, Honey, it’s a tie score,” he answered, stalling for time. Actually Winston wasn’t very interested in the traditional holiday football game between Detroit and…
America Falls to 9th Place in Index of Economic Freedom Ranking
I prefer the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World over the Heritage/WSJ Index of Economic Freedom, not because I’m an expert on the methodology of the two publications, but for the simple reason that I assume Economic Freedom of the World must be slightly…
Animal House, John Galt, the Laffer Curve, and the Race to Commit Fiscal Suicide in Illinois
There is a very bizarre race happening in Illinois. The Governor and the leaders of the State Senate and General Assembly are trying to figure out how to ram through a massive tax increase, but they’re trying to make it happen before new state lawmakers take office…
Which Nation Will Be the Next European Debt Domino…or Will It Be the United States?
Thanks to decades of reckless spending by European welfare states, the newspapers are filled with headlines about debt, default, contagion, and bankruptcy. We know that Greece and Ireland already have received direct bailouts, and other European welfare states are…