by Dan Mitchell | Jul 30, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Keynesian
While driving home last night, I had the miserable experience of listening to a financial journalist being interviewed about the anemic growth numbers that were just released. I wasn’t unhappy because the interview was biased to the left. From what I could tell, both...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 29, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs
In a perverse way, I’m glad that there are places such as Greece and Illinois. These profligate jurisdictions are useful examples of the dangers of bloated government and reckless statism. There also are some cities that serve as reverse role models. Detroit is a...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 29, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
In the spirit of the budget battle, readers have to eat their peas (i.e., endure my analysis) before getting to the dessert menu of jokes from the late-night comics. The big news today is that Speaker Boehner had to cancel a vote on his “Budget Control Act” last...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 28, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
In an ideal world, GOPers would hold firm and not pass any debt limit until Democrats agreed to enact something like the Ryan plan/Cut-Cap-Balance. But I’ve never thought that was a realistic strategy. When we got to the drop-dead point, Obama would have Geithner or...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 26, 2011 | Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation, VAT
I testified before the House Ways & Means Committee earlier today. As always, my trip inside the belly of the beast was an interesting adventure. The tax-writing committee was holding a hearing on the value-added tax. I was on a panel with five other witnesses,...