by Dan Mitchell | Jan 5, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Regulations
It’s time to channel the wisdom of Frederic Bastiat. There are many well-meaning people who understandably want to help workers by protecting them from bad outcomes such as pay reductions, layoffs, and discrimination. My normal response is to remind them that the best...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 4, 2017 | Blogs, Taxation, VAT
I wrote yesterday to praise the Better Way tax plan put forth by House Republicans, but I added a very important caveat: The “destination-based” nature of the revised corporate income tax could be a poison pill for reform. I listed five concerns about a so-called...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 3, 2017 | Blogs, Taxation, VAT
The Republicans in the House of Representatives, led by Ways & Means Chairman Kevin Brady and Speaker Paul Ryan, have proposed a “Better Way” tax plan that has many very desirable features. Death tax repeal Depreciation replaced with expensing Corporate tax rate...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 2, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Regulations
I’ve always viewed Ayn Rand’s most famous novel, Atlas Shrugged, as a warning about the dangers of over-regulation, over-taxation, and excessive redistribution. I won’t spoil the plot for those who haven’t yet read the book, but it’s basically a story about what...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 1, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Regulations, Taxation, Welfare and Entitlements
Since yesterday’s column was a look back on the good and bad things of 2016, let’s now look forward and speculate about the good and bad things that may happen in 2017. I’m not pretending any of this is a forecast, particularly since economists have a miserable track...
