by Dan Mitchell | Jul 8, 2021 | Blogs, Economics
When I first looked at the issue of “basic income,” back in 2013, my gut reaction was deep skepticism. That’s because I feared many people would drop out of the labor force if they could live off government handouts (as illustrated by this Wizard-of-Id...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 21, 2021 | Blogs, Economics
Politicians impose higher tax costs on tobacco because they want less smoking. And environmentalists want higher gas prices so there will be less driving. And, as explained in this video, higher minimum wages for low-skilled labor will reduce...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 7, 2021 | Blogs, Economics
During the Obama years, I shared a cartoon strip that cleverly makes the point that some people will choose not to work if they can get enough goodies from the government. That Wizard-of-Id parody has been viewed more than 56,000 times, which suggests many...
by Dan Mitchell | May 26, 2021 | Big Government, Blogs, States
Last year, I compared the economic performance of red states and blue states. My big takeaway from that column is that we should pay attention to the data on internal migration. More specifically, there’s a reason why Americans have been moving...
by Dan Mitchell | May 13, 2021 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Welfare and Entitlements
I wrote two days ago about subsidized unemployment, followed later in the day by this interview. This controversy raises a fundamental economic issue. I explained in the interview that employers only hire people when they expect a new worker will generate at...
