by Dan Mitchell | May 24, 2015 | Blogs, Economics, Education, Health Care
What’s the most effective way of screwing up a sector of the economy? Since I’m a fiscal policy economist, I’m tempted to say that bad tax policy is the fastest way of causing damage. And France might be my top example. But other forms of government intervention also...
by Dan Mitchell | May 22, 2015 | Blogs, Economics, Immigration, Society
I can understand why immigration reform is so contentious since it touches on all sorts of hot-button issues, such as jobs, politics, national identity, and the welfare state. But I don’t understand why there’s a controversy just because Governor Walker of Wisconsin...
by Dan Mitchell | May 21, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation, Welfare and Entitlements
The American Enterprise Institute has published a comprehensive budgetary plan entitled, “Tax and spending reform for fiscal stability and economic growth.” Authored by Joseph Antos, Andrew G. Biggs, Alex Brill, and Alan D. Viard, all of whom I know and admire, this...
by Dan Mitchell | May 20, 2015 | Blogs, Economics, Flat Tax, Taxation
In my ultimate fantasy world, Washington wouldn’t need any sort of broad-based tax because we succeeded in shrinking the federal government back to the very limited size and scope envisioned by our Founding Fathers. In my more realistic fantasy world, we might not be...
by Dan Mitchell | May 16, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics
There’s an old saying that you shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds you. Unfortunately, politicians in Washington don’t follow that advice. Let me explain. All economic theories – even Marxism and socialism – agree that capital formation is a necessary condition for...
