by Dan Mitchell | Dec 22, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Yesterday’s column looked at which states had the biggest unfunded liabilities for bureaucrat pensions, with Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Kentucky being the worst of the worst. Today, courtesy of the good work of Geoffrey Lawrence, Jordan Campbell...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 20, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, States
During Trump’s first term, he was a big spender. He even wound up increasing domestic spending at a faster rate than Barack Obama. What can we expect in a second term? A week after the election, as part of my “Second Edition of Trump” series, I speculated...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 13, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
Big government and socialism are bad for prosperity, but are such policies nonetheless popular? Do people want a bigger welfare state? This great video from the Fraser Institute provides the answers (if you’re pressed for time, start watching at 4:15). And if you...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 9, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Fifteen years ago, I explained that the bailout of Greece (by the IMF-EC-ECB “troika“) was a mistake because the net effect was a much bigger tax burden and no reduction in the spending burden. And I did the same thing five years ago and found the same...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 3, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Donald Trump was a big spender during his first term in office. Even if you don’t count the orgy of pandemic-related spending, he spent more and spent faster than Barack Obama. He even increased domestic spending faster than Obama!...