by Dan Mitchell | Aug 12, 2017 | Blogs, Economics
There are some charming traditions, like the swallows returning every year to the Mission of San Juan Capistrano. But other traditions are far less impressive, most notably the make-believe hysteria that occurs every time the federal government approaches its “debt...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 8, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
According to leftists like Bernie Sanders, European nations have wonderfully generous welfare states financed by high tax rates on the rich. They’re partly right. There are very large welfare states in Europe (though I wouldn’t use “wonderfully” and “generous” to...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 27, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation
It’s depressing to see how Republicans are bungling the Obamacare issue. But it’s also understandable since it’s politically difficult to reduce handouts once people get hooked on the heroin of government dependency (a point I made even before Obamacare was enacted)....
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 17, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
I wrote yesterday about a very depressing development in the United Kingdom. Politicians in that country – including some supposed fiscal conservatives – are contemplating a big expansion in the burden of government spending in order to give pay hikes to the...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 16, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
One of my favorite charts shows how nations achieve great results when they engage in multi-year periods of spending restraint. The most important benefit is that the burden of government shrinks relative to the private sector, but it’s also worth noting that...
