by Dan Mitchell | Dec 22, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Yesterday’s column looked at which states had the biggest unfunded liabilities for bureaucrat pensions, with Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Kentucky being the worst of the worst. Today, courtesy of the good work of Geoffrey Lawrence, Jordan Campbell...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 20, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, States
During Trump’s first term, he was a big spender. He even wound up increasing domestic spending at a faster rate than Barack Obama. What can we expect in a second term? A week after the election, as part of my “Second Edition of Trump” series, I speculated...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 13, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
Big government and socialism are bad for prosperity, but are such policies nonetheless popular? Do people want a bigger welfare state? This great video from the Fraser Institute provides the answers (if you’re pressed for time, start watching at 4:15). And if you...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 11, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
Given the dirigiste mindset of the nation’s politicians, I’ve joked that France’s national sport is taxation. And I mocked a former French President for graciously and mercifully deciding that no residents should pay more than 80 percent of their income...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 9, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Fifteen years ago, I explained that the bailout of Greece (by the IMF-EC-ECB “troika“) was a mistake because the net effect was a much bigger tax burden and no reduction in the spending burden. And I did the same thing five years ago and found the same...
