by Dan Mitchell | Apr 12, 2021 | Blogs, Economics
While debunking OECD and IMF research on inequality, I explained that it’s important to distinguish between income that is earned honestly and loot that is obtained thanks to government cronyism. That’s also the message of this video from the...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 2, 2021 | Blogs, Economics, Minimum Wage
Assuming they behave ethically and earn money honestly, I applaud big companies and their wealthy owners. That’s why I recently defended Jeff Bezos’ large fortune. The owner of Amazon mostly (but not entirely) became rich by providing value to...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 21, 2020 | Big Government, Blogs, Regulations
When I wrote yesterday that Trump’s overall rating on economic policy was “bad,” a few people wrote to complain. I did acknowledge in the column that it may be too soon to give the current president a grade, but it’s not looking good. He not only has a bad record on...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 29, 2020 | Bailouts, Big Government, Blogs
Since government officials have imposed severe restrictions on economic activity, I’m sympathetic to the notion that businesses should be compensated. But, as I warn in this CNBC interview, I have major concerns about big government and big business getting in bed...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 27, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Socialism
In pure socialist systems, governments own and operate companies (the “means of production“). Such an approach also requires central planning and price controls. But you don’t need socialism to have government-controlled companies. There are plenty of “state-owned...