by Dan Mitchell | Apr 22, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
About one year ago, I decided to create a “Moocher Hall of Fame” to highlight how certain people went above and beyond the call of indolence in their efforts to sponge off taxpayers. This award isn’t for ordinary deadbeats. You have to do something really special (the...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 14, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Government Waste, Taxation
Last year, I conducted an informal poll at a conference in Paris. I explained to the audience that the public sector consumed about 57 percent of the French economy and I asked them whether they got more services and better government than the people of Germany (where...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 7, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
My tireless (and probably annoying) campaign to promote my Golden Rule of spending restraint is bearing fruit. The good folks at the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal allowed me to explain the fiscal and economic benefits that accrue when nations limit the...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 4, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation, VAT
I’m a supporter of a single-rate tax regime, especially if there’s no double taxation of income that is saved and invested. That’s why I like the flat tax. But I’ve expressed concern about the national sales tax, even though it’s basically the same as a flat tax (the...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 1, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
Congressman Paul Ryan, the Republican Chairman of the House Budget Committee, has unveiled the GOP’s latest budget plan. Is this proposal deserving of applause or criticism? The answer is yes and yes, with a bit of emphasis on the former. Let’s start with some...
