by Dan Mitchell | Feb 27, 2017 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Supply Side, Taxation
In my never-ending strategy to educate policy makers about the Laffer Curve, I generally rely on both microeconomic theory (i.e., people respond to incentives) and real-world examples. And my favorite real-world example is what happened in the 1980s when Reagan cut...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 16, 2017 | Blogs, Financial Privacy, Tax Competition, Taxation, VAT
Back in 2009, I shared the results of a very helpful study by Pierre Bessard of Switzerland’s Liberal Institute (by the way, “liberal” in Europe means pro-market or “classical liberal“). Pierre ranked the then-30 member nations of the Organization for Economic...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 11, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
I don’t have strong views on global warming. Or climate change, or whatever it’s being called today. But I’ve generally been skeptical about government action for the simple reason that the people making the most noise are statists who would use any excuse to increase...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 9, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
When I debate one of my leftist friends about deficits, it’s often a strange experience because none of us actually care that much about red ink. I’m motivated instead by a desire to shrink the burden of government spending, so I argue for spending restraint rather...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 5, 2017 | Blogs, Taxation
I’m obviously a big fan of a simple and fair flat tax. In part, my support for fundamental reform is driven by my desire for a low rate, for no double taxation, and for the elimination of loopholes. Those are the economic reasons for reform. But I also am very much...
