by Dan Mitchell | May 30, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
America has a major dependency problem. In recent decades, there’s been a significant increase in the number of working-age adults relying on handouts. This is bad news for poor people and bad news for taxpayers. But it’s also bad news for the nation since it reflects...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 25, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
I’m conflicted. I’ve repeatedly expressed skepticism about the idea of governments providing a “basic income” because I fear the work ethic will (further) erode if people automatically receive a substantial chunk of money. Moreover, I also fear that a basic income...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 12, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
Back in 2014, I shared a report that looked at the growth of redistribution spending in developed nations. That bad news in the story was that the welfare state was expanding at a rapid pace in the United States. The good news is that the overall fiscal burden of...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 4, 2017 | Blogs, Economics, Free Market
In prior years, I’ve shared some videos with powerful messages with a common message. Grinding poverty used to be the normal human condition, but then rule of law and limited government enabled a dramatic increase in prosperity. A video from Marginal Revolution on the...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 25, 2017 | Blogs, Economics, Europe
I periodically share data showing that living standards are higher in the United States than in Europe. My goal isn’t to be jingoistic. Instead, I’m warning readers that we won’t be as prosperous if we copy our tax-and-spend friends on the other side of the Atlantic...
