by Dan Mitchell | May 5, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
Okay, I’ll admit right away that the title of this column is an exaggeration. But if you’re a public policy wonk and you worry about the rising level of government dependency and the erosion of self reliance, then you’ll understand why the chart below, which was...
by Dan Mitchell | May 4, 2015 | Blogs, Economics
The standard argument against an easy-money policy is that it creates distortions in an economy that lead to either rapid increases in the price level, like we endured in the 1970s, or unsustainable asset bubbles, like we experienced last decade. Those arguments are...
by Dan Mitchell | May 3, 2015 | Blogs, Economics
Even small differences in economic growth make a big difference to living standards over time. I frequently share this chart, which highlights how long it takes to double economic output based on different growth rates. I also use real-world examples to show how some...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 27, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Welfare and Entitlements
A nation’s prosperity is determined by the quantity and quality of labor and capital that are productively utilized. Which means that it doesn’t make sense to have policies that penalize either saving and investment or working. Yet that seems to be the favorite hobby...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 23, 2015 | Blogs, Economics
When writing about economic growth, my usual approach is to point out that more output is a function of increases in the quantity and quality of labor capital.This is a helpful way of thinking about growth since it becomes easier to understand why certain policies are...
