by Dan Mitchell | May 16, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics
There’s an old saying that you shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds you. Unfortunately, politicians in Washington don’t follow that advice. Let me explain. All economic theories – even Marxism and socialism – agree that capital formation is a necessary condition for...
by Dan Mitchell | May 12, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation
In the past week, I’ve written two columns (here and here) extolling the benefits of federalism. So I now feel compelled to warn that my support for decentralization is not motivated by some Pollyannish view of sub-national governments. State and local...
by Dan Mitchell | May 11, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
America has a giant long-run problem largely caused by poorly designed entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. So when I wrote last month about proposals by some Democrats to expand Social Security, I was less than enthusiastic....
by Dan Mitchell | May 1, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
For the people of China, there’s good news and bad news. The good news, as illustrated by the chart, is that economic freedom has increased dramatically since 1980. This liberalization has lifted hundreds of millions from abject poverty. The bad news is that China...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 18, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
I don’t know whether to be impressed or horrified by Paul Krugman. I’m impressed that he’s always “on message.” No matter what’s happening in America or around the world, he always has some sort of story about why events show the need for bigger government. But I’m...
