by Dan Mitchell | Jan 30, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Flat Tax, Government Spending, Taxation
Leftists want higher tax rates and they want greater tax compliance. But they have a hard time understanding that those goals are inconsistent. Simply stated, people respond to incentives. When tax rates are punitive, folks earn and report less taxable income, and...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 22, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
I don’t expect a good outcome to the European fiscal crisis, largely because nobody seems to understand that the real problem is excessive government spending. The economic illiterates in the press sometimes say the fight in Europe is between austerity and...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 22, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
I’ve written a couple of times about the Food Stamp program, citing ridiculous examples of waste, fraud, and abuse. These include: Using food stamps to buy luxury coffee at Starbucks. Buying steaks and lobster with food stamps. The Obama Administration rewarding...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 21, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Laffer Curve, States, Taxation
Two days ago, I explained that tax increases are bad policy. More specifically, I warned that giving more money to government exacerbates fiscal problems because politicians respond to the expectation of more revenue by spending more than otherwise would be the case....
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 21, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Europe, Government Spending, Taxation
The German Chancellor and French President have put together a plan to boost growth. Sounds like a good goal, but what specifically are they proposing? Some of the obvious ideas include: Lowering tax rates to boost incentives for productive behavior. Reducing the...
