I debated a couple of pro-tax increase folks on the Diane Rehm show Monday. If you have a spare 51 minutes and want to hear me spar with Alice Rivlin and David Walker on National Public Radio, you can listen to the discussion by clicking this link. Feedback actually…
Daily Analysis
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Tax Deal
Compared to ideal policy, the deal announced last night between congressional Republicans and President Obama is terrible. Compared to what I expected to happen, the deal announced last night is pretty good. In other words, grading this package depends on your…
Even Folks at Harvard and the IMF Are Beginning to Realize You Don’t Solve an Over-Spending Problem with Higher Taxes
In his latest Bloomberg column, Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute notes that research from places such as Harvard and the International Monetary Fund confirms that spending restraint is the way to successfully reduce red ink – and it’s also the way to…
Words I Don’t Say Very Often: “I Applaud Senate Republicans”
Much to my surprise, Senate Republicans held firm earlier today and blocked President Obama’s soak-the-rich proposal to raise tax rates next year on investors, entrepreneurs, and small business owners. I fully expected that GOPers would fold on this issue several…
Fiscal Commission Is Using Washington’s Dishonest Budget Math
The Chairmen of President Obama’s Fiscal Commission have a new draft proposal that is filled, according to Reuters, with “sharp spending and benefit cuts.”
That’s music to my ears, so I quickly flipped to the back of the report in hopes of finding hard number…
Untangling Sherrod’s Keynesian Nonsense
Nancy Pelosi was rightly mocked for her nonsensical assertion that subsidizing unemployment is the best way to stimulate the economy. Unfortunately, as we pointed out at the time, such claims reflect nothing more than standard Keynesian economics as understood by so…
Three Cheers for Switzerland as Voters Reject Class-Warfare Tax Hike in National Referendum
I’ve always had a soft spot for Switzerland. The nation’s decentralized structure shows the value of federalism, both as a means of limiting the size of government and as a way of promoting tranquility in a nation with several languages, religions, and ethnic groups….
“Daniel Mitchell Is Insane”
At least, that’s what a left-wing blogger thinks. So what did I do to earn this honor? I had the gall to say that tax loopholes should be removed, but that all the revenues should be used to finance lower tax rates. Call me crazy, but I don’t think either our economy…
Is Austan Goolsbee Smarter than a 6 Year Old?
We’re not the only ones who have taken issue with Austan Goolsbee’s high tax propaganda video. Here’s 6 year old Josh’s take: Even the 6 year olds aren’t buying the class-warfare propaganda. Meanwhile, here’s our own response to the Goolsbee video:
Tax Loopholes Are Corrupt and Inefficient, but They Should only Be Eliminated if Every Penny of New Revenue Is Used to Lower Tax Rates
There’s been a lot of heated discussion about various preferences, deductions, credits, shelters, and other loopholes in the tax code. Some of this debate has revolved around whether it is legitimate to refer to these provisions as “tax expenditures” or “subsidi…