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…
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.
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…
The Case for Social Security Personal Accounts
There are two crises facing Social Security. First the program has a gigantic unfunded liability, largely caused by demographics. Second, the program is a very bad deal for younger workers, making them pay record amounts of tax in exchange for comparatively meager…
Blaming Tea Party for Giffords Attack Is Political Sleaze of the Worst Sort
A crazy nut in Arizona goes on a shooting spree, wounding a Congresswoman and killing several people – including a nine-year old child. Normal people immediately have two thoughts – grief for the victims and a visceral desire to catch and punish the thug. A lot of…
A Two-Part Quiz for Libertarians and other Advocates of Limited Government
I try to visit the Drudge Report once a day because he has a knack for finding quirky stories. One of his recent gems is a report from the UK-based Sun about an obese man who is suing the government’s healthcare system because he got close to 1200 pounds (assuming…
A French Politician Has a Strong Entry in the “Dumbest Thing Ever Said” Contest
Why hasn’t Europe fought World War III? Could it be because the Soviet Union eventually collapsed? Could it be that the NATO, the western military alliance, was effective? Could it be the mutually assured destruction kept the peace? Could it be that America’s…