by Dan Mitchell | Oct 5, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
In a violation of the 8th Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, my brutal overseers at the Cato Institute required me to watch Wednesday’s debate (you can see what Cato scholars said by clicking here). But I will admit that it was good to...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 2, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation
I try to be self aware, so I realize that I have the fiscal version of Tourette’s. Regardless of the question that is asked, I’m tempted to blurt out that the answer is to reduce the burden of government spending. But sometimes that’s exactly the right prescription,...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 30, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, States, Taxation
I have a handful of simple rules for good tax policy. Keep government small, since it’s impossible to have a reasonable tax system with a bloated welfare state. Keep tax rates low to minimize penalties against income, production, and wealth creation. Since capital...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 29, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Tax Competition, Taxation
I spoke at the United Nations back in May, explaining that more government was the wrong way to help the global economy. But I guess I’m not very persuasive. The bureaucrats have just released a new report entitled, “In Search of New Development Finance.” As you can...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 21, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Europe, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, Taxation
Very few people are willing to admit that they favor protectionism. After all, who wants to embrace a policy associated with the Great Depression? But people sometimes say “I want free trade so long as it’s fair trade.” In most cases, they’re simply protectionists who...
