by Dan Mitchell | Jan 19, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
In an ideal world, Congress would not raise the debt limit. This would force – automatically and immediately – a balanced budget. More important, it would produce a meaningful reduction in the burden of government spending. And contrary to hyperbole from defenders of...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 16, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Keynesian, Taxation
Good fiscal policy doesn’t require heavy lifting. Governments simply need to limit the burden of government spending. The key variable is making sure spending doesn’t consume ever-larger shares of economic output. In other words, follow Mitchell’s Golden Rule. It’s...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 5, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Our number one fiscal problem is an excessive burden of government spending. A big part of the solution is entitlement reform. Our number two fiscal problem is a punitive and corrupt tax code (as captured by images here, here, and here). A big part of the solution is...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 27, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Regulations
In large part because of an excessive burden of government, the American economy is suffering European-style stagnation, with even the Washington Post now confessing that growth far below the long-run trend. This helps explain why job creation has been so dismal in...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 26, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
Back in 2011, I linked to a simple chart that illustrated how handouts and subsidies create very high implicit marginal tax rates for low-income people and explained how “generosity” from the government leads to a tar-paper effect that limits upward mobility. Earlier...
