by Dan Mitchell | Jul 21, 2020 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe
In its early days, the European Union increased economic liberty since it largely existed as a free-trade pact for member nations. Unfortunately, it has subsequently shifted to a more statist approach, with countries like France and Germany pushing for ever-increasing...
by Dan Mitchell | May 20, 2020 | Bailouts, Blogs, Europe
I wrote earlier this month about coronavirus becoming an excuse for more bad public policy. American politicians certainly have been pushing all sorts of proposals for bigger government, showing that they have embraced the notion that you don’t want to let a “crisis...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 13, 2020 | Blogs, Europe
Libertarians and other supporters of limited government historically have mixed feelings about the European Union (and its various governmental manifestations). On the plus side, there are no trade barriers between nations that belong to the EU, and membership also...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 28, 2020 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe
Motivated in part by a sensible desire for free trade, six nations from Western Europe signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957, thus creating the European Economic Community (EEC). Sort of a European version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (now known as USMCA)....
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 3, 2019 | Blogs, Europe
The Department of Agriculture should be abolished. Yesterday, if possible. It’s basically a welfare scam for politically connected farmers and it undermines the efficiency of America’s agriculture sector. Some of the specific handouts – such as those...