Self awareness is supposed to be a good thing, so I’m going to openly acknowledge that I have an unusual fixation on the size of government. I don’t lose a wink of sleep thinking about deficits, but I toss and turn all night fretting about the overall burden of…
Daily Analysis
A “Human Right” to Other People’s Money
One of the many differences between advocates of freedom and supporters of statism is how they view “rights.” Libertarians, along with many conservatives, believe in the right to be left alone and not molested by government. This is sometimes referred to in the…
The Worst Feature of the Income Tax Is…?
In the famous “Bridge of Death” scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, some of the knights are asked to name their favorite color. One of them mistakenly says blue instead of yellow and is hurled into the Gorge of Eternal Peril. I can sympathize with the…
Even the Establishment Media Is now Admitting the French Economic Model Is Fatally Flawed
Some things in life are very dependable. Every year, for instance, the swallows return to Capistrano. And you can also count on Dan Mitchell to wax poetic about the looming collapse of French statism. Back in 2011, I said France was engaged in economic…
In the OECD’s Fantasy World, Higher Business Taxes and more Government Spending Are Good for Growth
Over the years, I’ve shared some ridiculous arguments from our leftist friends. Paul Krugman, for instance, actually wrote that “scare stories” about government-run healthcare in the United Kingdom “are false.” Which means I get to recycle that absurd quote every time…
Boost Worker Pay – and Make the United States More Competitive – by Gutting the Corporate Income Tax
The business pages are reporting that Chrysler will be fully owned by Fiat after that Italian company buys up remaining shares. I don’t know what this means about the long-term viability of Chrysler, but we can say with great confidence that the company will be better…
From France to California, Holiday Gloom from the Tax Police
It’s time to extinguish any lingering Christmas cheer. Today’s topic is over-bearing and tyrannical tax administration. To be more specific, we’re going to look at the extent to which taxpayers are mistreated during the process of collecting revenue. Yes, the amount…
A Victory for the IMF…and a Defeat for Good Fiscal Policy
It’s not easy being a libertarian, particularly if you follow public policy. Thomas Jefferson almost certainly was right when he wrote that “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground.” Heck, just look at how small government…
OECD Appeasement is a Losing Strategy
Writing for Hong Kong’s Harbour Times, CF&P President Andrew Quinlan and I recently coauthored a piece explaining why appeasing the radical demands of the OECD is a losing strategy. Simply put, the global tax collectors will not be satisfied with anything…
Ryan-Murray Budget Deal Replaces Real Spending Restraint of Sequester with Budget Gimmicks and Back-Door Tax Hikes
How Disappointing, but how predictable. Politicians approved legislation in 2011 that was supposed to impose a modest bit of spending restraint over the next 10 years. It wasn’t much. The enforcement mechanism, known as sequestration, merely was supposed to guarantee…