Sometimes a picture really does tell a thousand words. Here’s a chart, based on data from the Philadelphia Fed, showing actual economic results compared to the predictions of professional economists. As you can see, my profession does a wretched job. Comparisons…
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.
Karl Rove's Hypocritical Call for Fiscal Rectitude.
Even though I’ve been in Washington for almost 25 years, I still get shocked by the deceit and double-talk that characterizes this town. A perfect example can be found in last week’s Wall Street Journal, which features a column by Karl Rove attacking…
The European Political Elite Will Grab any Excuse to Push Tax Harmonization.
Politicians from high-tax nations hate tax competition. It’s hard to turn people into tax slaves, after all, if they can shift economic activity to a less oppressive nation. But this is old news. What is worth noting, though, is the lengths to which the statists…
Should the Government Subsidize Mortgages for People Who Bought More Home than They Could Afford?
Appearing on Larry Kudlow’s show, Dan Mitchell debates this topic. More important, he asks the fundamental question of whether there should be any government intervention in housing markets. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXpcJkGcrXs
Is France the Best Place in the World to Live?
A new survey from International Living says that France has the highest quality of life, followed by Australia and Switzerland. The United States, meanwhile, is in seventh place, behind nations such as Germany, New Zealand, and Luxembourg: To produce this annual Index…
Higher Tax Rates Causing More Problems in London.
With Barack Obama planning big tax rate increases in America, it’s useful to see how that policy is working in the United Kingdom. According to the Mayor of London, the answer is not very encouraging. Many successful entrepreneurs and investors are fleeing for…
Great Moments in European Waste, Part II.
While American politicians are experts when it comes to squandering money, they may be just amateurs compared to the kleptocrats at the European Commission. The overall burden of government is heavier in Europe, so that certainly suggests that there are greater…
Great Moments in European Waste, Part I.
In the ongoing contest to see which group of politicians can squander money in the most obscene fashion, it appears that the bureaucrats at the European Commission in Brussels might be surpassing their counterparts in Washington. Here’s a story from the…
You Pay while Fannie and Freddie Play.
The Wall Street Journal has more details about the sordid redistribution of our money to the insiders at Fannie Mae and Freddie mac: …there’s still some ugly 2009 business to report: To wit, the Treasury’s Christmas Eve taxpayer massacre lifting the…
Washington vs. America.
One of the dirty little secrets of Washington is that Republicans and Democrats have more in common with each other than either party has with ordinary Americans. Tim Carney has an excellent (but depressing) column in the Washington Examiner exposing how both Democrat…