by Dan Mitchell | Feb 7, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Crime, Economics, Education, Government Spending, Society
For both moral reasons and economic reasons, we should have small government. But even a curmudgeonly libertarian like me also thinks it’s important to have effective and efficient government. Fortunately, there’s no contradiction between these views. Indeed, academic...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 30, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Waste
I’ve periodically cited the great 19th-century French economist, Frederic Bastiat, for his very wise words about the importance of looking at both the seen and the unseen when analyzing public policy. Those that fail to consider secondary or indirect effects of...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 27, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Bureaucracy, Government Spending
As a taxpayer, I don’t like the fact that government employees get paid more than folks in the private sector. But the big difference between bureaucrats and regular workers isn’t so much the pay, it’s the fringe benefits. And perhaps the biggest difference of...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 27, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, States
Like the good people of Arizona, I despise speed cameras. But not because I want reckless driving. Instead, my disdain is based on the fact that governments set up cameras where speed limits are preposterously low in order to generate revenue. And I speak from...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 4, 2014 | Blogs, Economics
I like to think that I occasionally put together interesting and persuasive charts on fiscal policy. For instance, I think it’s virtually impossible to make a credible argument for tax hikes after looking at my chart showing how easy it is to balance the budget with...
