by Dan Mitchell | Apr 30, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Bureaucracy
Economists generally like competition because it promotes economic efficiency, more prosperity, lower prices, and higher wages. But some types of competition can be misguided. For instance, Americans used to dominate membership in the Bureaucrat Hall of Fame. Now,...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 5, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Bureaucracy, Crime, Society
According to Gallup, Americans now identify “government” as the most important problem facing the United States. That doesn’t surprise. Gallup also found last year that big government is considered a far greater danger to the nation that big business or big labor....
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 25, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Taxation
Remember when Paul Krugman warned that there was a plot against France? He asserted that critics wanted to undermine the great success of France’s social model. I agreed with Krugman, at least in the limited sense that there is a plot against France. But I explained...
by Dan Mitchell | May 28, 2014 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation
If you appreciate the common-sense notion of the Laffer Curve, you’re in for a treat. Today’s column will discuss the revelation that Francois Hollande’s class-warfare tax hikes have not raised nearly as much money as predicted. And after the recent evidence about the...
by Dan Mitchell | May 21, 2014 | Blogs, Europe
While I mostly focus on bad government policy in the United States, I also think we can learn lessons from what’s happening in other nations. In some cases, I share positive stories, such as the success of privatized Social Security in Australia, nationwide school...