by Dan Mitchell | May 29, 2013 | Blogs, Economics, Health Care, Taxation
I’ve frequently argued that “third-party payer” is the main problem with the healthcare system. In simpler terms, this is the notion that a market won’t function very well if consumers think they’re spending someone else’s money. Why be a careful consumer, after all,...
by Dan Mitchell | May 24, 2013 | Blogs, Economics
Several European nations are suffering from a fiscal crisis. But that’s just part of the story. They also have significantly lower incomes than the United States, with living standards about 30 percent-40 percent below American levels. And while many people are upset...
by Dan Mitchell | May 23, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Keynesian
I don’t like giving international bureaucrats tax-free salaries. And it really galls me when they use their privileged positions to promote statism. So you can understand why I’m not a big fan of the International Monetary Fund. Whether we’re talking more spending,...
by Dan Mitchell | May 17, 2013 | Blogs, Tax Competition, Taxation
I have to start this post with a big caveat. I’m not a fan of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The international bureaucracy is infamous for using American tax dollars to promote a statist economic agenda. Most recently, it...
by Dan Mitchell | May 14, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Europe, Government Spending, Keynesian
Are there any fact checkers at the New York Times? Since they’ve allowed some glaring mistakes by Paul Krugman (see here and here), I guess the answer is no. But some mistakes are worse than others. Consider a recent column by David Stuckler of Oxford and Sanjay Basu...