by Dan Mitchell | Jan 4, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
I’ve previously explained why I don’t have a dog in the current shutdown fight in Washington. Simply stated, Trump isn’t fighting to make government smaller. Instead he wants more spending for a wall and isn’t even proposing some offsetting reductions to keep...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 3, 2019 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
I despise the death tax. It should be abolished. My main objection is that it is immoral. If a person earns money, pays tax on the money, and then responsibly saves and invests the money (which generally requires paying another layer of tax), it is reprehensible that...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 30, 2018 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation, Trade
I periodically try to remind people that you can’t explain or understand economic performance by looking at just one policy. I’ve argued, for instance, good tax policy isn’t a panacea if there are many other policies that expand the burden of government. Likewise, bad...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 28, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
In this interview yesterday, I noted that there are “external” risks to the economy, most notably the spillover effect of a potential economic implosion in China or a fiscal crisis in Italy. But many of the risks are homegrown, such as Trump’s self-destructive...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 24, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Free Market
I wrote a column earlier this month about the “world’s most depressing tweet,” which came from the Census Bureau and noted that the suburbs of Washington, DC, are the richest parts of America. To be sure, I was engaging in a bit of hyperbole since a tweet about...
