by Dan Mitchell | Sep 8, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
Back in 2013, my colleagues at the Cato Institute, Michael Tanner and Charles Hughes, released a study looking at the value of welfare programs in various states. The most shocking finding was that the overall package of welfare benefits was greater than the median...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 7, 2015 | Blogs, Economics, States, Tax Competition, Taxation
Here’s a quiz for readers. When politicians increase taxes, the result is: a) More spending? b) More red ink? c) Fewer jobs? d) Out-migration of productive taxpayers? e) Reduced competitiveness? f) Less investment? g) A bigger underground economy? h) More corruption?...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 2, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Taxation
There’s a famous quote attributed to George Washington. Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force. Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action. But it’s apparently an urban...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 1, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Regulations
The libertarian message of limited government generally is not warmly received in Washington because politicians, bureaucrats, cronyists, lobbyists, contractors, and other insiders profit from the status quo. The D.C. area is now the richest region of the country,...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 30, 2015 | Blogs, Economics
Socialism is an economic failure. International socialism didn’t work in the Soviet Union. National socialism didn’t work in Germany. And democratic socialism, while avoiding the horrors of its communist and Nazi cousins, also has been a flop. Socialism fails because...
