by Dan Mitchell | Dec 22, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation, Welfare and Entitlements
Here are a few predictions for next year. It will be hot in Dallas in July, it will be cold in Stockholm in February, and Governor Jerry Brown of California will ask Uncle Sam for some sort of bailout. I’m actually not sure about the first two predictions, but I think...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 12, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
When big-spending politicians in Washington pontificate about “deficit reduction,” taxpayers should be very wary. Crocodile tears about red ink almost always are a tactic that the political class uses to make tax increases more palatable. The way it works is that the...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 11, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
There are plenty of reason to like and dislike the tax deal between President Obama and congressional leaders. On the plus side, we dodge a big tax increase for the next two years. We also replace a goofy and ineffective “make work pay” tax credit with a supply-side...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 7, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation
Compared to ideal policy, the deal announced last night between congressional Republicans and President Obama is terrible. Compared to what I expected to happen, the deal announced last night is pretty good. In other words, grading this package depends on your...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 6, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
In his latest Bloomberg column, Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute notes that research from places such as Harvard and the International Monetary Fund confirms that spending restraint is the way to successfully reduce red ink – and it’s also the way to...
