by Dan Mitchell | Apr 28, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
For those who haven’t followed this issue, Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart wrote an influential paper in 2010 arguing that government debt above 90 percent of GDP was associated with weaker economic performance. It turns out that the Rogoff and Reinhart made a...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 25, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation
The fiscal policy debate often drives me crazy because far too many people focus on deficits. The Keynesians argue that deficits are good for growth and this leads them to support more government spending. The “austerity” crowd at places such as the International...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 20, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
I wrote last September that the budget plan put forward by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson was fatally flawed. There were some positive features in the plan, to be sure, such as lower marginal tax rates. And I suppose it’s worth noting that the burden of government...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 15, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Remember the Spending Quiz from 2010, which asked people to guess whether absurd examples of government waste were true or false? Well, we have a new video on government waste, though bureaucrats and politicians have become so profligate it doesn’t even bother to...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 14, 2013 | Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
If America descends into Greek-style fiscal chaos, there’s no doubt that entitlement programs will be the main factor. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Disability are all fiscal train wrecks today, and the long-run outlook for these programs is frightful. Just...
