Just as “Fair Trade” Means Protectionism for the Benefit of Special Interests, “Fair Tax Competition” Means Tax Harmonization for the Benefit of Politicians

by Dan Mitchell | Sep 21, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Europe, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, Taxation

Very few people are willing to admit that they favor protectionism. After all, who wants to embrace a policy associated with the Great Depression? But people sometimes say “I want free trade so long as it’s fair trade.” In most cases, they’re simply protectionists who...

Can We Envision a World without a Central Bank?

by Dan Mitchell | Sep 20, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Monetary Policy

I’ve expressed concern about QE3 and other decisions by the Federal Reserve about monetary policy, but I have also admitted that it’s difficult to know the right monetary policy because it requires having a good idea about both the demand for money and the supply of...

QE3: A Risky Ploy to Solve the Problems of Bad Fiscal Policy with Bad Monetary Policy

by Dan Mitchell | Sep 15, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Monetary Policy

I posted this t-shirt about Bernanke’s easy-money approach a couple of days ago, but I should have waited ’til today since it would be a perfect accompaniment to any analysis of the Fed Chairman’s unveiling of QE3. But given the potential economic consequences, I...

If Sweden’s Big Welfare State Is Superior to America’s Medium Welfare State, then Why Do Swedes in America Earn Far More than Swedes in Sweden?

by Dan Mitchell | Sep 14, 2012 | Economics

In my travels through Europe, I often wind up debating whether policy is better in the United States or Europe. I generally try to explain that this is the wrong comparison, both because Europe is not a monolithic bloc and also because most individual nations have...

An Invaluable Economic History Lesson from Thomas Sowell: Politicians Should Only “Do Something” If that Means Doing Less

by Dan Mitchell | Sep 12, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Keynesian

The great Ronald Reagan famously said (and I am paraphrasing, since I do not remember the exact phrase) that the most dangerous words in the English language were “I am from Washington and I am here to help you.” Those are very wise words, especially when we think of...