I hate taxes more than anyone, but other policies matter as well, so if I had the choice of replacing current government policies with the ones that existed at the end of the Clinton years, I would gladly make that trade. Yes, it would mean higher tax rates, but it…
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.
Obama’s Policy Failure, Part I
Former Senator Phil Gramm had a column last week in the Wall Street Journal that deserves two blog posts. This first post highlights Gramm’s analysis showing that the U.S. has been very Keynesian compared to Europe, with numerous efforts to jump start the economy with…
Here’s How to Balance the Budget
Our fiscal policy goal should be smaller government, but here’s a video for folks who think that balancing the budget should be the main objective. The main message is that restraining the growth of government is the right way to get rid of red ink, so there is no…
The Second-Nicest Thing Ever Written about Me
In the “Five Things About Me” section of my blog, I included this blurb: A left-wing newspaper in the U.K. wrote that I’m “a high priest of light tax, small state libertarianism.” I assume they meant it as an insult, but it’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about…
There Is No Libertarian or Conservative Argument for Higher Taxes
Eli Lehrer has an article on the FrumForum entitled “Five Revenue Raisers the GOP Should Back.” He argues it would be good to get rid of preferences such as the state and local tax deduction and the mortgage interest deduction, and he also asserts that there should be…
Low-Income Workers Are the Second Victims of Obamacare
This blog already has noted that Obamacare crippled the market for “kids only” health insurance policies. Unsurprisingly, that is just the beginning of the bad news. The latest development is that health policies designed to provide insurance to low-income workers may…
U.N. Bureaucracy Provides Right Diagnosis, but Offers Wrong Prescription
The bureaucrats at the International Labor Organization (which shouldn’t even exist) are correct to note that high levels of unemployment threaten social unrest. But like most left-wing international bureaucracies, they think the solution is more government –…
Washington’s Fiscal Nightmare
Here’s an amusing video from our friends at Reason. But there’s a serious point about how our fiscal problems are entirely the result of a rising burden of government spending. For those don’t have 3D glasses, here is the 2D version:
Europe’s Riots, America’s Future
Riots and protests have swept across Europe, as populations lured into government dependency are upset that there’s no longer enough money to maintain the existing level of redistribution. Here’s an excerpt from a BBC report: Tens of thousands of people from around…
Overhauling CBO and JCT Is a Real Test of GOP Resolve, not the “Pledge to America”
While I’m glad Republicans are finally talking about smaller government, I’ve expressed some disappointment with the GOP Pledge to America. Why “reform” Fannie and Freddie, I asked, when the right approach is to get the government completely out of the housing sector….