As Humorously Explained by Henry Payne, the World Amazingly Didn’t End When Uncle Sam Got Put on a Sequester Diet

by Dan Mitchell | Mar 10, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending

When I last checked, Henry Payne was winning the bronze medal in the contest to identify the best political cartoonist. You can see why by checking out this cartoon about Washington’s reaction to sequestration, which (gasp!) slightly slows the growth of the federal...

The IMF, Higher Taxes, and Mitchell’s Law

by Dan Mitchell | Mar 8, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation

Here are three common-sense principles. Higher taxes are misguided. They undermine prosperity and finance bigger government. Bailouts also are misguided. They facilitate corruption and encourage moral hazard. And international bureaucracies are misguided. They promote...

Challenge for Keynesian Anti-Sequester Hysterics: Why Did America’s Economy Boom When Reagan and Clinton Reduced the Burden of Spending?

by Dan Mitchell | Mar 6, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Keynesian

Triggered by an appearance on Canadian TV, I asked yesterday why we should believe anti-sequester Keynesians. They want us to think that a very modest reduction in the growth of government spending will hurt the economy, yet Canada enjoyed rapid growth in the...

Challenge for Keynesian Anti-Sequester Hysterics: Why Did Canada’s Economy Boom When the Burden of Spending Was Sharply Reduced?

by Dan Mitchell | Mar 5, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Keynesian

In this appearance on Canadian TV, I  debunk anti-sequester hysteria, pointing out that “automatic budget cuts” merely restrain government so that it grows $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years rather than $2.5 trillion. I also point out that we shouldn’t worry about...

Obama Suffers a Painful Loss in the First Big Fiscal Battle of His Second Term

by Dan Mitchell | Mar 4, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation

The statist agenda of ever-growing government requires more money going to Washington, which is why I think that proponents of limited government should do everything they can to block tax increases. This is the “starve the beast” theory, and I’ve previously explained...