by Dan Mitchell | Nov 21, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
I’m speaking today in Uruguay and, since this is my first visit, I want to take this opportunity to analyze that country’s economic policy. The good news is that the current president, Luis Lacalle Pou, has been more fiscally responsible than his...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 13, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
Back in August, I shared a chart showing that nearly 100 percent of America’s 30-year deficit was because of Social Security and Medicare. Well, Brian Riedl of the Manhattan Institute has unveiled the 2024 version of his...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 12, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
During his first term, Donald Trump did not do a good job on government spending. Instead of draining the swamp, he expanded it. The most damning evidence is that he increased domestic spending at a faster rate than Barack Obama. And that’s not even...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 9, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Last April, I shared some data showing that Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights had forced politicians in the Centennial State to return $8.2 billion of tax revenue. The state’s politicians did not want to return the money. But TABOR is a...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 8, 2024 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
If you want to understand Washington’s fiscal profligacy, this chart based on OMB data shows what has happened to the federal budget over the past 15 years. There are two big things to understand. We had some very admirable spending restraint...