Unexpected Praise for Australia’s Private Social Security System

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 22, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements

One reason I’m so bullish on Australia is that the nation has a privatized Social Security system called “Superannuation,” with workers setting aside 9 percent of their income in personal retirement accounts (rising to 12 percent by 2020). Established almost 30 years...

The Revised Bowles-Simpson Tax-Hike Plan Might Be even Worse than the Previous Version

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 20, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation

I wrote last September that the budget plan put forward by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson was fatally flawed. There were some positive features in the plan, to be sure, such as lower marginal tax rates. And I suppose it’s worth noting that the burden of government...

Entitlement Spending Is America’s Biggest Fiscal Challenge, but Discretionary Spending Is Still Far too High

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 14, 2013 | Blogs, Economics, Government Spending

If America descends into Greek-style fiscal chaos, there’s no doubt that entitlement programs will be the main factor. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Disability are all fiscal train wrecks today, and the long-run outlook for these programs is frightful. Just...

Early Details Show Obama Will Propose a Bait-and-Switch Budget Plan Containing Higher Taxes and More Spending

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 6, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation

Are we about to see a new kinder-and-gentler Obama? Has the tax-and-spend President of the past four years been replaced by a fiscal moderate? That’s certainly the spin we’re getting from the White House about the President’s new budget. Let’s look at this theme,...

Thanks to the Welfare Hammock, Here’s another Horror Story about Deadbeats Sponging Off British Taxpayers

by Dan Mitchell | Jan 29, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements

Here are some odious details from the UK-based Sun. Danny Creamer, 21, and Gina Allan, 18, spend each day watching their 47in flatscreen TV and smoking 40 cigarettes between them in their comfy two-bedroom flat. It is all funded by the taxpayer, yet the couple say...