by Dan Mitchell | Feb 15, 2026 | Blogs, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
Let’s start today’s column with two simple and uncontroversial statements. Without real entitlement reform, the burden of government spending will grow dramatically over the next few decades. There are only three ways – taxes, borrowing, and money-printing – to...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 28, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
I often get asked when the United States will suffer a Greek-style fiscal crisis. My answer is always “I don’t know,” though I freely admit we are heading in that direction. My lack of specificity isn’t merely because economists are lousy...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 1, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Government Spending
Let’s look today at European fiscal policy. But instead of focusing on the immediate issue (the likelihood of another fiscal crisis), we’re going to investigate whether we can learn anything by looking at what’s happened in the past. My two cents, based...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 17, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Because economists are lousy forecasters, I don’t pretend to know when a fiscal crisis will occur or which nation will be the first debt domino. But it will happen. Indeed, I suspect it will happen the next time there’s an economic downturn (though I...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 15, 2025 | Blogs, Economics
Back in 2011, I shared two cartoons to illustrate why the welfare state might theoretically collapse. Today, I’m going to examine what I fear will be a real-world example. I’ve written a four-part series about France’s dire fiscal status...
