by Dan Mitchell | Jun 30, 2018 | Blogs, Economics
During the Obama years, I used data from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve to explain that the economic recovery was rather weak. And when people responded by pointing to a reasonably strong stock market, I expressed concern that easy-money policies might be creating an...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 27, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
There are many threats to prosperity, both in the short run and long run. A tit-for-tat global trade war that would repeat the mistakes of the 1930s. Punitive class-warfare taxes stifling investment and entrepreneurship. Financial bubbles fueled by the easy-money...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 20, 2018 | Blogs, Economics
Back in January, I compared Reagan’s pro-trade views with Trump’s cramped protectionism. Well, here’s another video of the Gipper talking about trade. I especially like how he used “destructionism” to describe protectionism. And let’s consider exactly the kind of...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 15, 2018 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
One of the core principles of economics is that prices are determined by supply and demand. That includes the price of labor – i.e., the wages received by workers. Another core principle is that taxes create distortions by reducing demand and supply. Which is why it’s...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 12, 2018 | Blogs, Economics
Back in 2015, I wrote about the scandal involving former House Speaker Dennis Hastert and said we got the right result (legal trouble for Hastert) for the wrong reason (government spying on financial transactions). Something similar happened over the weekend with the...