by Dan Mitchell | May 8, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Europe, Government Spending, Keynesian
With both France and Greece deciding to jump out of the left-wing frying pan into the even-more-left-wing fire, European fiscal policy has become quite a controversial topic. But I find this debate and discussion rather tedious and unrewarding, largely because it pits...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 27, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Europe, Laffer Curve, Taxation
One year ago, I wrote about how the French government was getting unexpected additional revenues following the implementation of lower tax rates. This is the Laffer Curve in action, and it’s happening again in France, only this time because the government reduced the...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 21, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Europe, Government Spending, Taxation
The German Chancellor and French President have put together a plan to boost growth. Sounds like a good goal, but what specifically are they proposing? Some of the obvious ideas include: Lowering tax rates to boost incentives for productive behavior. Reducing the...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 11, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
I realize this is about as productive as talking to a brick wall, but I’m going to explain some basic economics to statist French policymakers (oops, pardon the redundancy). This heroic – albeit surely futile – impulse is triggered by a recent proposal from President...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 16, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
Appearances can be deceiving. I saw an article with a blaring headline that warmed my heart: “France’s Sarkozy Eyes Welfare Rethink, Fraud Clampdown.” Could it be, I thought, that the political elite finally realized that the welfare state was the wrong model? Had...
