by Dan Mitchell | Apr 11, 2014 | Blogs, Economics, Free Market
In the pre-World War I era, the fiscal burden of government was very modest in North America and Western Europe. Total government spending consumed only about 10 percent of economic output, most nations were free from theplague of the income tax, and the value-added...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 7, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
My tireless (and probably annoying) campaign to promote my Golden Rule of spending restraint is bearing fruit. The good folks at the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal allowed me to explain the fiscal and economic benefits that accrue when nations limit the...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 4, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation, VAT
I’m a supporter of a single-rate tax regime, especially if there’s no double taxation of income that is saved and invested. That’s why I like the flat tax. But I’ve expressed concern about the national sales tax, even though it’s basically the same as a flat tax (the...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 1, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
Congressman Paul Ryan, the Republican Chairman of the House Budget Committee, has unveiled the GOP’s latest budget plan. Is this proposal deserving of applause or criticism? The answer is yes and yes, with a bit of emphasis on the former. Let’s start with some...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 31, 2014 | Uncategorized
Based on what’s happened in Greece and other European nations, we know from real-world evidence that even nations from the developed world can spendthemselves into debt trouble. This has led to research that seeks to pinpoint when debt reaches a dangerous level....