by Dan Mitchell | Jun 12, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Keynesian
Time for an update on the perpetual motion machine of Keynesian economics. We’ll start with the good news. The Treasury Department commissioned a study on the efficacy of the so-called stimulus spending that took place at the end of last decade. As discussed in this...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 11, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
The Moocher Hall of Fame highlights people who have some special trait that sets them apart from normal welfare recipients. They may get on the list because they are undeservingly rich, malignantly evil, incredibly entitled, or downright weird. I also have a terror...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 10, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs
If there was a ranking of international bureaucracies, the World Bank would be my favorite (or, to be more accurate, least unfavorite). Yes, it sometimes produces bad studies, but it also is the source of good research on topics such as government spending, Social...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 9, 2017 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation
Since I’m a fiscal wonk, it’s sometimes tempting to overstate the importance of good tax policy. So I’m always reminding myself that all sorts of other factors matter for a jurisdiction’s competitiveness and success, including regulation and government effectiveness...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 8, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
There are a lot of positive things to be said about Norway. Most impressive, it is the world’s #2-ranked nation for high-quality rule of law. It is in the top quartile of countries for economic liberty. When measuring non-fiscal factors, it is in the top-10 percent...
