by Dan Mitchell | Mar 12, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, States, Taxation
When I first started working on fiscal policy in the 1980s, I never thought I would consider Sweden any sort of role model. It was the quintessential cradle-to-grave welfare state, much loved on the left as an example for America to follow. But Sweden suffered a...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 6, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
Germany isn’t exactly a fiscal role model. Tax rates are too onerous and government spending consumes about 44 percent of economic output. That’s even higher than it is in the United States, where politicians at the federal, state, and local levels divert about...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 27, 2014 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
To make fun of big efforts that produce small results, the famous Roman poet, Horace, wrote “The mountains will be in labor, and a ridiculous mouse will be brought forth.” That line sums up my view of the new tax reform plan introduced by Congressman Dave Camp,...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 24, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
There’s an ongoing debate about Keynesian economics, stimulus spending, and various versions of fiscal austerity, and regular readers know I do everything possible to explain that you can promote added prosperity by reducing the burden of government spending. Simply...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 21, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Keynesian
Did you sing Happy Birthday? The nation just “celebrated” the fifth anniversary of the signing of the so-called American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more commonly referred to as the “stimulus.” This experiment in Keynesian economics was controversial when it was...
