Health Care Update: Everything from Medicaid’s Ever-Rising Fiscal Burden to a (Very Tepid) Defense of Jonathan Gruber

by Dan Mitchell | Nov 14, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Health Care

I’ve been fretting for a long time that poorly designed entitlement programs are going to turn America into a decrepit welfare state. Medicare obviously is a big part of the problem, but the fraud-riddled Medicaid program may be even worse. The program is a...

The New York Times Accidentally Admits Superiority of Privatized Social Security

by Dan Mitchell | Oct 17, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements

I confess that I get a bit of perverse pleasure when a left-leaning media outlet screws up and inadvertently shares information that helps the cause of limited government. A New York Times columnist, for instance, pushed for a tax-hiking fiscal agreement back in 2011...

Obamacare, Cost Curves, the Ever-Worsening Entitlement Crisis, and the Case for Spending Restraint

by Dan Mitchell | Sep 13, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements

I’m very worried about the burden of government spending. Moreover, I’m quite concerned that poorly designed entitlement programs will lead to fiscal disaster. And I’m especially irked that Obama made the problem worse by ramming through yet another misguided and...

The Medicare Money Pit of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

by Dan Mitchell | Aug 20, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Waste, Welfare and Entitlements

Since I primarily work on fiscal policy, I normally look at the budgetary impact of entitlement programs. And the numbers are very grim. But I’m also an economist, so I periodically comment on how government intervention undermines the efficient functioning of...

Social Security’s Looming Fiscal Nightmare

by Dan Mitchell | Aug 10, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements

With all the controversy over the failed and costly Obamacare program, it’s understandable that other entitlements aren’t getting much attention. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t serious problems with Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. Indeed, the...