by Dan Mitchell | Feb 13, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs
Since I’m always reading and writing about government policies, both in America and around the world, I’m frequently reminded of H.L. Mencken’s famous observation about the shortcomings of “tolerable” government. If you take a close look at the world’s freest...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 17, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Tax Competition, Taxation
Mancur Olson (1932-1998) was a great economist who came up with a very useful analogy to help explain the behavior of many governments. He pointed out that a “roving bandit” has an incentive to maximize short-run plunder by stealing everything from victims (i.e. a 100...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 31, 2016 | Blogs, Taxation
Even though it has the largest economy in Europe, I routinely ignore Germany. This isn’t because of deliberate malice or neglect, but rather because the country has boring economic policy. Unlike Estonia and Switzerland, it doesn’t have any really good policies that...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 28, 2015 | Blogs, Europe
If you want to pinpoint the leading source of bad economic policy proposals, I would understand if someone suggested the Obama Administration. But looking to Europe might be even more accurate. For instance, I’d be hard pressed to identify a policy more misguided than...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 9, 2015 | Bailouts, Blogs, Economics
I wrote in May 2011 that the situation in Greece was hopeless because nobody with power and/or influence wanted the right policy. So I wasn’t bashful about patting myself on the back later that year when it quickly became obvious that bailouts weren’t working. Ever...
