by Dan Mitchell | Jan 20, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
I don’t blame the Democrats for wanting to seduce Republicans into a tax-increase trap. Indeed, I completely understand why some Democrats said their top political goal was getting the GOP to surrender the no-tax-hike position. I’m mystified, though, why some...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 16, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Government Spending, Taxation, VAT
In a recent column for the Wall Street Journal, I explained why Mitt Romney’s interest in a value-added tax is deeply troubling. One of my key points was that the VAT is a money machine for big government. But don’t believe me. Look at Japan, where the politicians see...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 13, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
After saddling the nation with trillion-dollar boondoggles like the faux stimulus and Obamacare, I’m not sure it’s possible for Obama to reinvent himself as a budget cutter before the election. But I welcome converts, even ones that are insincere, so I’m happy he’s at...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 8, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
Austan Goolsbee, the former Chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, has a column in the Wall Street Journal that argues government spending isn’t too high. That’s obviously a silly assertion, as I explain here, here, and here, but I want to focus...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 6, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
As I explained in this set of videos, we desperately need to reform entitlement programs. But not in the wrong way, with price fixing and means testing. Good reform means personal retirement accounts for Social Security. It means vouchers for Medicare. And it...
