Building on Success of Clinton-Era Reforms, Let’s Eliminate all DC-Based Income Redistribution

by Dan Mitchell | Jan 14, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Welfare and Entitlements

The modern welfare state is a disaster. But rather than go into lengthy details, let’s simply look at some very powerful images (click for enlarged view). Probably the most damning evidence is that the poverty rate in America was steadily falling after World War II....

New Member of the Moocher Hall of Fame Demonstrates the High Cost of Eroding Social Capital

by Dan Mitchell | Nov 17, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements

I wrote the other day about the importance of “social capital,” which is a catch-all phrase for a society’s attitudes about things such as the work ethic, a sense of self-reliance, and the spirit of independence. Today we’re going to look at the flip side of social...

Message for the Pope: Caring for the Poor Doesn’t Make You a Communist, but Advancing Statism Makes You Misguided

by Dan Mitchell | Nov 6, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Welfare and Entitlements

The Pope recently made news by urging more compassion for the less fortunate, and he specifically said that raising the issue will lead some to think he’s a communist. Here are some excerpts from a news report in the U.K.-based Independent. In one his longest speeches...

In the 50-Year War on Poverty, Bureaucrats Have Won while Both Taxpayers and Poor People Have Lost

by Dan Mitchell | Sep 22, 2014 | Blogs, Economics, Welfare and Entitlements

We know the welfare state is good news for people inside government. Lots of bureaucrats are required, after all, to oversee a plethora of redistribution programs. Walter Williams refers to these paper pushers as poverty pimps, and there’s even a ranking showing which...

Worried About Inequality? Then Focus on Helping the Poor, not Punishing the Rich

by Dan Mitchell | Jun 2, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Free Market, Welfare and Entitlements

I haven’t spent much time writing about Thomas Piketty’s inequality book for the simple reason that my goal is economic liberty, not equality. That being said, I think that Piketty is fundamentally misguided even if the goal is helping the poor. Simply stated,...