by Dan Mitchell | Feb 19, 2022 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Is “austerity” a good thing? Depends on how it is defined. Johan Norberg points out that spending restraint is the right approach. Since I’m a fan of spending restraint, I obviously like the video. But let’s expand on two points. First, the definition of...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 12, 2022 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation
The Laffer Curve is a method for illustrating the relationship between tax rates, taxable income, and tax revenue. But it’s important to realize that there are actually lots of varieties. The Laffer Curve for capital gains taxes, for instance, will...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 10, 2022 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
I’ve repeatedly heaped praise on Ronald Reagan. I’ve also lauded Calvin Coolidge on several occasions. And I even once extolled the virtues of Grover Cleveland. Today, we’re going to celebrate the fiscal achievements...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 3, 2022 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
The title of this column is an exaggeration. What we’re really going to do today is explain the main things you need to know about government debt. We’ll start with this video from Kite and Key Media, which correctly observes...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 19, 2022 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Back in 2017, the Center for Freedom and Prosperity released this video to help explain why spending caps are the most sensible and sustainable fiscal rule. Switzerland actually has a spending cap in its constitution, and similar fiscal rules also exist...
