Since I don’t like nuisance taxation and mindless bureaucracy, I’ve never been a big fan of having to get a license for pet dogs and cats. But the folks across the pond have pushed this to a new level and are considering licenses for dog owners. These…
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 Fox Butterfield Effect and the Laffer Curve.
A former reporter for the New York Times, Fox Butterfield, became a bit of a laughingstock in the 1990s for publishing a series of articles addressing the supposed quandary of how crime rates could be falling during periods when prison populations were expanding. A…
Europe Lags Behind.
Since many of the politicians want America to be more like Europe (including full government-run healthcare), it’s worth contemplating what that would mean for the economy. America today is richer than Europe. Indeed, per-capita living standards are about 30…
The Greek Farce Continues.
There doesn’t seem to be much union in the European Union. Greek politicians are wetting their pants that Germany isn’t bending over fast enough to provide bailout money, so they pulled out the Nazi card. I’m sure the Germans raped Greece during…
Don't Trust (Macro) Economists.
I posted an amusing (and disappointing) graph in January showing how economists consistently failed to predict major changes in GDP. Russ Roberts of George Mason University explains that we should blame the practitioners of macroeconomics. They want the profession to…
Hypocrite of the Year Award.
The Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador (akin to a state governor in the U.S.) defended his decision to get surgery in America with the statement that it was “my heart, my choice, and my health.” This is an admirably libertarian statement, and the…
Bureaucrats vs. Taxpayers, Part XI.
When even the Democratic mayor of an overwhelmingly Democratic (and pro-union) city is accusing government workers of being obstinate and unrealistic, that pretty much cements the argument that there are too many bureaucrats and that they are vastly overpaid. The…
The Fiscal Equivalent of Defining Deviancy Down.
Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky may be the most unpopular man in Washington right now. And, as you may surmise, this means he is doing something admirable (envision Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and you’ll have the right context). Republicans and…
UK Taxpayer Group Mocks Climate Nazis for Wasting Money.
The Taxpayers Alliance in London has an amusing video highlighting different ways the government has wasted money on global warming/climate change propaganda. Or maybe it’s only amusing because I’m American and my tax dollars weren’t being wasted on the projects in…
Competition Between Nations Can Help Thwart Over-Regulation.
A new study from the University of Michigan Law School’s Empirical Legal Studies Center finds that it is more difficult today for politicians to impose excessive financial regulation because firms can migrate to jurisdictions with more pro-market policy. The…