The Geese with the Golden Eggs Are Preparing to Escape France

by Dan Mitchell | May 7, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Tax Competition, Taxation

Even though he is a foolish statist, I wanted Francois Hollande to win the French presidency. Sarkozy was a statist as well, after all, and my “Richard Nixon Disinfectant Rule” says that it’s better to have the out-of-the-closet statist prevail in such contests in...

Comparing Obamanomics with Reaganomics, Looking at Evidence from the States

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 21, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Tax Competition, Taxation

I’ve done a couple of posts comparing Reaganomics and Obamanomics, mostly based on data from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve on employment and economic output. I even did a TV interview on the subject, which generated some comments on my taste in clothing, and also...

Explaining in the New York Post Why Obama’s Soak-the-Rich Tax Policy Is Doomed to Failure

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 18, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation

I think high tax rates on certain classes of citizens are immoral and discriminatory. If the government is going to collect revenue, all taxpayers should be treated equally, with something akin to a simple flat tax. But most people don’t seem to care about having the...

The Laffer Curve Shows that Tax Increases Are a Very Bad Idea – even if They Generate More Tax Revenue

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 10, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation

The Laffer Curve is a graphical representation of the relationship between tax rates, tax revenue, and taxable income. It is frequently cited by people who want to explain the common-sense notion that punitive tax rates may not generate much additional revenue if...

If Even the International Monetary Fund Acknowledges the Laffer Curve, Why Doesn’t Obama Realize that Higher Tax Rates are All Pain and No Gain?

by Dan Mitchell | Feb 27, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation

I speculated last year that the political elite finally might be realizing that higher tax rates are not the solution to Greece’s fiscal situation. Simply stated, you can only squeeze so much blood out of a stone, and pushing tax rates higher cripples growth and...