by Dan Mitchell | Mar 11, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation
There’s a significant debate now taking place in Washington – largely behind closed doors, but sometimes covered by the media – on whether fiscal conservatives should maintain a rigid no-tax-increase position. One side of the debate features Grover Norquist of...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 9, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
In the past 10 years, the burden of federal spending has skyrocketed, more than doubling from$1.86 trillion in 2001 to an estimated $3.82 this year. President Bush deserves a lot of the blame thanks to the no-bureaucrat-left-behind bill that bloated the Department of...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 8, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
In this discussion on Larry Kudlow’s show, I reiterate the central point from my National Review article and explain that the government shutdown in 1995 led to real fiscal restraint. If that was a loss for the GOP, I hope they lose again this year. But will this...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 7, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Kudos to Governor Walker of Wisconsin. Republicans rarely have the intelligence or the fortitude to win battles that reduce the burden of government, but it appears that he is on the verge of prevailing in his effort to limit special privileges for government workers....
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 5, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Flat Tax, Taxation
One of my many frustrations of working in Washington is dealing with perpetual-motion-machine assertions. The classic example is Keynesian economics, which is based on the notion that you magically create additional economic activity by having the government spend...
