by Dan Mitchell | Feb 25, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
When existing spending authority expires on March 4, the “non-essential” parts of the federal government will shut down unless Republicans and Democrats reach an agreement. This is causing lots of agitation in Washington, both by Democrats who don’t want the money...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 25, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
The showdown in Wisconsin has generated competing claims about whether state and local government bureaucrats are paid too much or paid too little compared to their private sector counterparts. The data on total compensation clearly show a big advantage for state and...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 22, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
America faces a fiscal crisis. The burden of federal spending has doubled during the Bush-Obama years, a $2 trillion increase in just 10 years. But that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Because of demographic changes and poorly designed entitlement programs,...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 21, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
Since February is the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth and I still haven’t gotten over my man-crush on the Gipper, I figured it would be interesting to look at Reagan’s fiscal record, particularly to see whether he was successful in restraining the growth of...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 20, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation, Welfare and Entitlements
One of my presentations at CPAC addressed America’s long-term entitlement crisis. I was part of a panel organized by the National Taxpayers Union, and I discussed how to solve the long-run fiscal problems caused by Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The lighting...
