by Dan Mitchell | Mar 8, 2026 | Blogs, States
My First Theorem of Government is the simple observation that insiders are the biggest beneficiaries of government. I was motivated to release that theorem because bad news for taxpayers is good news for bureaucrats, consultants, contractors, lobbyists, and...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 19, 2026 | Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
I wrote last June that Zohran Mamdani’s platform for New York City was akin to a suicide note. Today, let’s see how the “Caviar Communist” wants to deal with fiscal policy. But let’s first look at two graphs so we can understand New York City’s finances....
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 4, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation
What’s America’s worst city? According to some recent research, it’s Oakland. And a few years before, another expert picked Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario in California. But what if we look at major cities? Possible contestants include San...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 15, 2025 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
Economists are lousy forecasters, at least when they try to make specific predictions. But good economists at least can speculate about whether proposed policies will make things better or worse. For instance, Ronald Reagan had the good fortune to...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 3, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs
I’ve written multi-column series on weighty issues such as capitalism, price controls, socialism, entitlement reform, class warfare, and the war on cash. Those are all important topics, but nothing captures the essence of government...
