by Dan Mitchell | Apr 24, 2021 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Waste
Today we’re going to mix two things that seem disconnected. Our first topic is federalism, which is the sensible principle that deciding things at the local level, or even state level, is better than being ruled by faraway politicians and a big, centralized...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 6, 2020 | Blogs, States
I asked a couple of years ago, “How long can California survive big government?” Based on migration patterns, the answer is “Not much longer.” Simply stated, bad fiscal and regulatory policy have produced a long-run decline for the Golden State. So we shouldn’t be...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 6, 2020 | Big Government, Blogs
The day after the election, I wrote that “left-wing goals are now very unlikely” because Republicans almost certainly will retain control of the Senate. But perhaps I should have been ever bolder and argued that the election was a rejection of the left-wing agenda....
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 29, 2020 | Blogs, Tax Competition, Taxation
Back in 2013, I wrote about Phil Mickelson escaping high-tax California and moving to zero-income tax Florida. The famed golfer grew up in California, but decided that the 2012 decision to boost the top tax rate to 13.3 percent mattered more than beautiful climate and...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 21, 2020 | Big Government, Blogs, States, Taxation
If you’re a curmudgeonly libertarian like me, you don’t like big government because it impinges on individual liberty. Most people, however, get irked with government for the practical reason that it costs so much and fails to provide decent services. California is...