by Dan Mitchell | May 7, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
When I wrote about “crazy Bernie Sanders” in 2016, I wasn’t just engaging in literary hyperbole. The Vermont Senator is basically an unreconstructed leftist with a disturbing affinity for crackpot ideas and totalitarian regimes. His campaign agenda that year was an...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 19, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs
The good news is that some honest leftists have thrown in the towel and now openly admit that capitalism generates more prosperity. They still don’t want free markets, of course. For ideological reasons, they continue to push for a big welfare state. But at least they...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 27, 2018 | Blogs, Economics, Regulations
Let’s look at some absurd examples of the regulatory state in action. We’ll start with bone-headed pizza regulation, as explained by the Wall Street Journal. FDA released guidance for posting calorie disclosures at restaurants with more than 20 locations, and the...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 26, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Bureaucracy
I’m not a fan of conspiracy theories. When people ask me whether there is some sinister, behind-the-scenes cabal running Washington, I tell them that petty corruption, self-interest, and “public choice” are much better explanations for the nonsensical policies being...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 20, 2018 | Blogs, Financial Privacy
Beginning in the 1980s, money-laundering laws were enacted in hopes of discouraging criminal activity by making it harder for crooks to use the banking system. Unfortunately, this approach has been an expensive failure. They don’t reduce crime or discourage bad...