by Dan Mitchell | Jun 9, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
I’ve half-joked in the past that spending restraint is the answer to every fiscal problem. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the right answer to 98 percent of fiscal problems. Some fiscal discipline is what we need in America, for instance, and it’s certainly an...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 4, 2018 | Blogs, Tax Competition, Taxation
Better economic performance is the most important reason to adopt pro-growth reforms such as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Even small increases in economic growth – especially if sustained over time – can translate into meaningful improvements in living...
by Dan Mitchell | May 29, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
I wrote two days ago about how the country of Georgia has achieved impressive economic performance thanks to major reforms to reduce the size and scope of government. Indeed, Georgia jumped from #56 to #8 in Economic Freedom of the World between 2004 and 2015, a...
by Dan Mitchell | May 20, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics
As a general rule, we worry too much about deficits and debt. Yes, red ink matters, but we should pay more attention to variables such as the overall burden of government spending and the structure of the tax system. That being said, Greece shows that a nation can...
by Dan Mitchell | May 19, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
During the election season, I speculated Trump was a big government Republican, and he confirmed my analysis this past February when he acquiesced to an orgy of new spending and agreed to bust the spending caps. That awful spending spree gave huge increases to almost...