by Dan Mitchell | Jan 3, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
The goal of fiscal policy should be limited government and that means complying with the Golden Rule of spending restraint. When countries control the disease of excessive spending, that also seems to be the only effective way of reducing...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 2, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Many people mistakenly think that America’s main fiscal problem is annual budget deficits that are now approaching $2 trillion. It is not good to have so much red ink, to be sure, but the real problem is that the federal government is spending...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 23, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Part I of this series looked at unfunded pension debt of states and Part II examined the unfunded pension debt of cities. In Part III, let’s look at the degree to which state taxpayers are exposed to big unfunded liabilities for “Other Post-Employment Benefits” such...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 17, 2024 | Blogs, Economics, Supply Side, Taxation
Some people say the Laffer Curve is the economic version of Goldilocks. But instead of being a story about whether the porridge is too hot, too cold, or just right, it’s a story about whether tax rates are too high, too low, or just right. But I’ve never...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 9, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Fifteen years ago, I explained that the bailout of Greece (by the IMF-EC-ECB “troika“) was a mistake because the net effect was a much bigger tax burden and no reduction in the spending burden. And I did the same thing five years ago and found the same...
