by Dan Mitchell | Oct 2, 2022 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
I often cite the OECD’s data on “actual individual consumption” to show that the average American enjoys higher living standards than the average European. In this clip from a recent presentation, I compare the United States and France. I’m...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 26, 2022 | Big Government, Blogs
Back in 2012, I endorsed a wretched socialist, Francois Hollande, to be president of France. I knew he was terrible, but the supposedly right-wing incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, also was a proponent of dirigisme. As I wrote at the time, “it’s always better to...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 8, 2021 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics
I periodically write about the importance of long-run growth and about the importance of convergence (whether poorer countries are catching up with richer countries, as suggested by theory). This is because such data, especially over decades,...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 25, 2021 | Big Government, Blogs
If asked to describe French economic policy, rational people will use phrases such as “big government” and “high taxes.” Or perhaps “dirigisme” and “bureaucracy.” And they would be correct. Here’s a chart from the OECD, showing spending burdens for major European...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 12, 2020 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation, Welfare and Entitlements
As part of my collection of honest leftists, I have a bunch of columns highlighting how some advocates of big government (including, to their credit, Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang) don’t hide from reality. I’m unalterably opposed to their policies, but at least they...
