by Dan Mitchell | Jan 19, 2016 | Big Government, Blogs
George Santayana was certainly was right when he wrote, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Consider, for instance, the foolish American politicians who want to rejuvenate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other forms of housing subsidies even...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 15, 2016 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation, VAT
It’s not my role to pick sides in political fights, but I am very interested in trying to make bad ideas radioactive so that politicians won’t be tempted to do the wrong thing. This is why I’m a big fan of the no-tax-hike pledge. The folks in Washington salivate at...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 10, 2016 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics
I wouldn’t be completely distraught to have Clinton in the White House in 2017. But before concluding that I’ve lost my mind, I’m thinking of Bill Clinton, not hisfar more statist (though similarly dodgy) spouse. You’ll see what I mean below. In a column for National...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 9, 2016 | Big Government, Blogs
Okay, the title for today’s column is a bit grandiose. It implies weighty and ponderous analysis of America’s ever-growing entitlement state and potentially dour predictions about when we reach a tipping point of too much dependency. But let’s focus on the short run,...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 4, 2016 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics
I remember feeling like an outlier a few years ago when so many people were waxing rhapsodic about a glowing economic outlook for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. These so-called BRICS nations were enjoying some decent growth at the time, but I was not...
