by Dan Mitchell | Jul 14, 2015 | Bailouts, Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Government Spending
I’ve shared lots of analysis (both serious and satirical) about the mess in Greece and I feel obliged to comment on the latest agreement for another bailout. But how many times can I write that the Greek government spends too much money and has a punitive tax system...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 9, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Europe, Government Spending
The European Commission’s data-gathering bureaucracy, Eurostat, has just published a new report on government finances for the region. And with Greece’s ongoing fiscal turmoil getting headlines, this Eurostat publication is worthwhile because it debunks the notion,...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 30, 2015 | Blogs, Economics, Free Market
Folks on the left sometimes act as if the Nordic nations somehow prove that big government isn’t an impediment to prosperity. As I’ve pointed out before, they obviously don’t spend much time looking at the data. So let’s give them a reminder. Here are the rankings...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 14, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Tax Competition, Taxation, Welfare and Entitlements
One would think that Europeans might finally be realizing that an ever-growing welfare state and an ever-rising tax burden are a form of economic suicide. The most obvious bit of evidence is to look at what’s happening in Greece. Simply stated, public policy for too...
by Dan Mitchell | May 31, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Society, Welfare and Entitlements
When I write about the “suicidal” welfare state in Europe, I’m generally making an economic argument that involves demographic change, labor participation rates, and fiscal burdens. And that’s a non-trivial argument, based on very sobering data from the Bank for...
