by Dan Mitchell | Feb 18, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
When I wrote about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s so-called Green New Deal, I mostly focused on the very expensive fiscal implications. I also noted that AOC’s proposed 70 percent tax rate on the rich wouldn’t even pay for a tiny fraction of the multi-trillion dollar cost...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 25, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
I’m conflicted. I’ve repeatedly expressed skepticism about the idea of governments providing a “basic income” because I fear the work ethic will (further) erode if people automatically receive a substantial chunk of money. Moreover, I also fear that a basic income...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 19, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
Most economic policy debates are predictable. Folks on the left urge higher taxes and bigger government while folks on the right advocate lower taxes and smaller government (thanks to “public choice” incentives, many supposedly pro-market politicians don’t follow...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 1, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Welfare and Entitlements
The notion that government should automatically give everyone money – a policy known as “universal basic income” – is now getting a lot of attention. From an economic perspective, I acknowledge that the idea should not be summarily rejected. Here’s some of what I...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 13, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
Since I can’t even keep track of schools of thought on the right (libertarians, traditional conservatives, neocons, reform conservatives, compassionate conservatives, Trump-style populists, etc), I’m not going to pretend to know what’s happening on the left. But it...
