by Dan Mitchell | Oct 17, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
The Congressional Budget Office just released a Monthly Budget Review showing a $782 billion deficit for the 2018 fiscal year. My recommendation is to mostly ignore data on red ink. Yes, it is possible that a country can get in trouble because of deficits and debt,...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 11, 2018 | Blogs
I’m not a big fan of the International Monetary Fund and I regularly criticize the international bureaucracy for its relentless advocacy in favor of higher taxes. But that’s not what worries me most about the IMF. To be sure, higher fiscal burdens undermine economic...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 10, 2018 | Blogs, States
I recently wrote about the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index, which is a snapshot of current competitiveness (New Jersey is in last place, which shouldn’t surprise anyone). But what if we want to know which states are moving in the right direction or...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 9, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
I’ve been in Lebanon for the past few days, but not because I’m seeking a replacement for the Princess of the Levant. Instead, I’m here because the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies arranged a briefing in the Parliament on the perilous state of the nation’s...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 7, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
I explained last year that there is an inverse relationship between government efficiency and the size of government. And Mark Steyn made the same point, using humor, back in 2012. Interestingly, we have some unexpected allies. In a recently released study, two...
