by Dan Mitchell | Mar 8, 2023 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation
The combination of demographic change and poorly designed entitlement programs is producing an ever-increasing burden of federal spending. In my Twelfth Theorem of Government, I pointed out that this inevitably will mean big tax increases on...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 7, 2023 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
Which European nation has the costliest welfare state? Greece would be a good guess, but it’s only in second place. At the top of the list, according to OECD data, is France, where government spending consumes nearly 60 percent of the nation’s economic...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 23, 2023 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
Some American politicians, such as Joe Biden and Donald Trump, are very much opposed to dealing with Social Security, even though the current system has a massive $56 trillion cash-flow deficit. For all intents and purposes, both the current...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 22, 2023 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Back in 2016, here’s what I said about the debt limit during some congressional testimony (and I made very similar points in some 2013 testimony). Near the end of my testimony (about 4:55) I discuss “prioritization,” which is what would happen if the debt limit is not...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 28, 2022 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
Back in July, I made the case for the right kind of entitlement reform in a discussion with the folks at Live and Let Live. Today, I want to underscore why it is important to focus on “the right kind” of reform. On paper, you can save money with “means...