Tax Loopholes Are Corrupt and Inefficient, but They Should only Be Eliminated if Every Penny of New Revenue Is Used to Lower Tax Rates

by Dan Mitchell | Nov 22, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Taxation

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 “subsidies.”...

Earmarks are the Gateway Drug to Big Government Addiction

by Dan Mitchell | Nov 21, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending

I haven’t commented much on earmarks, but an oped in today’s Washington Post was has goaded me into action. A former Reagan Administration appointee (the Gipper must be spinning in his grave), who now makes a living by selling our money to the highest bidder, made...

Another Tax-Hike Scheme from another “Bipartisan” Group of Washington Insiders

by Dan Mitchell | Nov 17, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation, VAT

I’ve already commented on the proposal from the Chairmen of President Obama’s Fiscal Commission (including a very clever cartoon, if it’s okay to pat myself on the back). Now we have a similar proposal from the so-called Debt Reduction Task Force. Chaired by former...

Savage New York Post Column on How Obama Economic Policy Is Causing Global Concern

by Dan Mitchell | Nov 15, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Monetary Policy

I have a column in today’s New York Post, where I pull no punches as I comment on how the rest of the world is increasingly worried about Obama’s policies of easy money and deficit spending. I note that other nations often are guilty of the same mistakes, but that’s...

Co-Chairmen of Obama’s Fiscal Commission Unveil Real Tax Increases and Fake Spending Cuts

by Dan Mitchell | Nov 11, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation

I have many pet peeves, but one that causes me endless frustration is the Washington “spending cut” scam. This happens when politicians increase spending, but claim that they’re cutting spending because they previously had planned to make government even bigger. The...