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!...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 27, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
In Part I of this series about Javier Milei, I shared some IMF data showing a big decline in the overall burden of government in Argentina. I focused on overall spending (national, provincial, and local) for two reasons. That’s the only data I had in English...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 25, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
I’m in Argentina this week, where I will be giving a speech about the flat tax on Wednesday. But I’m not going to use today’s column to regurgitate my thoughts about tax reform. Instead, I want to dedicate today and the next few days to analyzing the...
