by Dan Mitchell | Nov 22, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation
I shared an astounding chart last month showing that tax increases account for 90 percent of the so-called “austerity” in Europe. The author of the chart, Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center, calls this “private sector austerity” and she correctly argues that her...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 21, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
I appeared on CNBC yesterday to talk about the “fiscal cliff” and the potential impact on economic performance. You won’t be surprised to learn that I’m mostly concerned with how the issue gets resolved. Yes, there is some temporary uncertainty that is probably making...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 20, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Laffer Curve, Taxation
President Obama and other statists in Washington want a big class-warfare tax hike. They claim the additional revenue is necessary to reduce red ink. But their ideological crusade is based on some blatant distortions. They tell us that tax increases are necessary, but...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 19, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation
I agree that Obama inherited a crappy economy, and I think it is silly to assert that he bears any responsibility for the severity of the 2007-2009 recession. But it is very fair to hold him responsible for what’s happened since the recession ended. I’ve cited data...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 8, 2012 | Blogs, Taxation
Augmented by some amusing cartoons, I’ve already warned that the hysteria about the fiscal cliff is basically a ploy by the politicians to extract more revenue to finance bigger government. Elaborating on this concern, I wrote a column for today’s New York Daily News....
