by Dan Mitchell | Jun 1, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Keynesian, Taxation
I want a smaller burden of government spending, so you can only imagine how frustrating it is for me to observe the fight in Europe. On one side of the debate you have pro-spenders, who call themselves “growth” advocates, but are really just Keynesians. On the other...
by Dan Mitchell | May 8, 2013 | Uncategorized
I’ve cited some remarkable examples of Orwellian language abuse. The World Bank published a study of national tax systems and countries with higher tax burdens were rewarded with a grade of “high effort.” A German bureaucrat accused a Czech politician of “obstructing...
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...
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...
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...
