by Dan Mitchell | Nov 11, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Government Spending
I’m not a big fan of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That international bureaucracy is controlled by high-tax nations that want to export bad policy to the rest of the world. As such, the OECD frequently advocates policies that...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 10, 2015 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
I’m a big fan of the flat tax because a low tax rate and no double taxation will result in faster growth and more upward mobility. I also like the flat tax because it gets rid of all deductions, credits, exemptions, preferences, exclusions, and other distortions.And a...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 3, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation, VAT
Some honest statists understand and acknowledge that you can’t have bigger government unless you target middle-income taxpayers. The New York Times endorsed higher taxes on the middle class in 2010. The then-House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer also gave a green light...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 31, 2015 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
Last year, I wrote a column for the Wall Street Journal making the case that families would benefit more from lower tax rates rather than targeted tax credits. My argument was simple and straightforward. Child-based tax cuts are an effective way of giving targeted...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 30, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
In my speeches, I routinely argue that an aging population is one of the reasons why we need genuine entitlement reform. A modest-sized welfare state may be feasible if a country has a “population pyramid,” I explain, but it’s a recipe for fiscal chaos when changing...
