by Dan Mitchell | Jan 1, 2013 | Blogs, Economics, Europe, Taxation
Back in mid-2010, I wrote that Portugal was going to exacerbate its fiscal problems by raising taxes. Needless to say, I was right. Not that this required any special insight. After all, no nation has ever taxed its way to prosperity. We’re now at the end of 2012 and...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 21, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Government Spending, Taxation
There aren’t many fiscal policy role models in Europe. Switzerland surely is at the top of the list. The burden of government spending is modest by European standards, in part because of a very good spending cap that prevents politicians from overspending when...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 30, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Government Spending, Taxation
Washington frustrates me. The entire town is based on legalized corruption as an unworthy elite figure out new ways of accumulating unearned wealth by skimming money from the nation’s producers. But one thing that especially irks me is the way people focus on the...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 2, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation
I try to be self aware, so I realize that I have the fiscal version of Tourette’s. Regardless of the question that is asked, I’m tempted to blurt out that the answer is to reduce the burden of government spending. But sometimes that’s exactly the right prescription,...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 22, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Taxation
I realize it’s wrong, but I can’t help cheering for France’s socialist president. Francois Hollande seems determined to raise every tax, expand every program, and augment every bit of red tape that afflicts the French economy. I fully expect this to end poorly, but at...
