It’s Wrong for Federal Tax Deductions to Encourage Bad Fiscal Policy by State and Local Governments

by Dan Mitchell | Sep 30, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, States, Taxation

I have a handful of simple rules for good tax policy. Keep government small, since it’s impossible to have a reasonable tax system with a bloated welfare state. Keep tax rates low to minimize penalties against income, production, and wealth creation. Since capital...

Another Push for Global Taxation from the United Nations

by Dan Mitchell | Sep 29, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Tax Competition, Taxation

I spoke at the United Nations back in May, explaining that more government was the wrong way to help the global economy. But I guess I’m not very persuasive. The bureaucrats have just released a new report entitled, “In Search of New Development Finance.” As you can...

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...