by Dan Mitchell | Feb 5, 2016 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation, VAT
The left is very clever about accepting “compromise,” so long as the result is a larger burden of government. This is one of the reasons why I’m so concerned about Senator Cruz’s proposal for a value-added tax. Even though he wants a VAT for good reasons (to finance...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 4, 2015 | Blogs, Tax Competition, Taxation
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is a Paris-based international bureaucracy. It used to engage in relatively benign activities such as data collection, but now focuses on promoting policies to expand the size and scope of government. That’s...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 21, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation, VAT
In early 2013, a reader asked me the best place to go if America suffered a Greek-style economic collapse. I suggested Australia might be the best option, even if I would be too stubborn to take my own advice. Perhaps because of an irrational form of patriotism, I’m...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 19, 2015 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation
Whatever happened to Elizabeth Warren? A couple of years ago, she was the pin-up girl for the crazy left thanks to fatuous statements about “you didn’t build that.” But now she’s faded into the background and other politicians are getting more attention for their...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 13, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation, VAT
Sometimes the best way to help the cause of freedom is to stop a bad idea. And that’s why I’m vociferously opposed to a value-added tax. Here’s what I wrote today for National Review. I start by explaining that it’s a bad idea to give Washington a big new tax to...