Time to Get Rid of Tax Preferences for Housing in the Internal Revenue Code

by Dan Mitchell | Dec 24, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation

Even though I knew some people would call me Scrooge, I wrote a few days ago about why we should get rid of the tax deduction for charitable contributions in exchange for lower tax rates. Simply stated, I’m a big advocate of fundamental tax reform, and I would like to...

A Case Study of How Interest Groups “Milk” the Public

by Dan Mitchell | Dec 16, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending

Since I want to shut down the Department of Agriculture, that obviously means getting rid of the various subsidy programs that line the pockets of politically connected agri-businesses. To get an idea of how these corrupt programs operate, I strongly encourage you to...

Who Should Be Blamed for the Rising Cost of College?

by Dan Mitchell | Dec 13, 2012 | Blogs, Education

Notwithstanding the title of this post, perhaps nobody deserves blame. Sometimes, a good or service rises in price solely as a result of changes in supply and demand. And if the price of something climbs because of market forces, then it’s merely a reflection of...

The Link Between High Tax Rates and Corruption

by Dan Mitchell | Dec 9, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation

I’ve been very critical of Obama’s class-warfare ideology because it leads to bad fiscal policy. But perhaps it is time to give some attention to other arguments against high tax rates. Robert Samuelson, a columnist for the Washington Post, has a very important...

Learning from the European Experience: Do Higher Tax Burdens Lead to Less Red Ink?

by Dan Mitchell | Dec 8, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Flat Tax, Taxation

I’ve been arguing against higher taxes because of my concerns that more revenue will simply lead to a bigger burden of government spending. Yes, I realize it is theoretically possible that a tax hike could be part of a political deal that produces a good outcome, such...