by Dan Mitchell | Nov 29, 2019 | Blogs
It seems that the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have an ongoing contest to see which bureaucracy can be the biggest cheerleader for bad fiscal policy. They compete (OECD vs IMF) to promote more spending. They...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 2, 2019 | Blogs, Economics
It’s not easy picking the most pessimistic chart about Japan. The country suffered several decades of economic stagnation following the collapse of a bubble about three decades ago. That means it’s a bit of a challenge to identify the worst economic numbers. Is it the...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 8, 2018 | Blogs, Taxation, VAT
The value-added tax was first imposed in Europe starting about 50 years ago. Politicians in nations like France approve of this tax because it is generally hidden, so it is relatively easy to periodically raise the rate. And that’s the reason I am vociferously opposed...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 16, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation, VAT
I’m currently in Tokyo for an Innovation Summit. Perhaps because I once referred to Japan as a basket case, I’ve been asked to speak about policies that are needed to boost the nation’s competitiveness. That sounds like an easy topic since I can simply explain that...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 21, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
I’ve looked at some of the grim fiscal implications of demographic changes the United States and Europe. Now let’s look at what’s happening in Asia. The International Monetary Fund has a recent study that looks at shortfalls in government-run pension schemes and...
