by Dan Mitchell | Jan 4, 2026 | Blogs, Economics, Flat Tax, Taxation
CF&P released this video back in 2010, but I don’t think I’ve re-shared it since 2016, so let’s begin today’s column with a reminder that it is possible to have a simple and fair tax system. But since I’m an economist, I couldn’t resist pointing out in the video...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 27, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation
Looking at the title of today’s column, the answer is yes, and it’s been yes for a long time. But what’s been happening so far in California is slow-motion suicide. Every year, it seems, there is more taxing, more...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 20, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
Let’s start today’s column with a refresher look at my video on the Rahn Curve. Though maybe it should be called the Armey Curve. Or even the Barro Curve since Professor Robert Robert Barro from Harvard graphed the relationship between government...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 18, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation, Welfare and Entitlements
The United States faces a huge long-run fiscal problem because government is growing too fast. Entitlement programs are the main problem. For example, a rising burden of Social Security spending means that outlays will exceed revenues by $65.8...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 16, 2025 | Blogs, Economics, Welfare and Entitlements
In Part I of this series, I explained that modern welfare states are in deep trouble because of falling birth rates. The core of the problem is that entitlement programs generally tax young people to subsidize old people. And fewer babies today means fewer workers...