by Dan Mitchell | Feb 7, 2020 | Blogs, Free Market
Back in 2013, I talked to the BBC about Pope Francis and his bizarre hostility to free enterprise. Sadly, it doesn’t appear that the Pope took my advice (though I think it’s amusing that at least someone in the Vatican is paying attention). There’s a wealth of...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 26, 2020 | Blogs, Education
Barack Obama’s strategy during the 2008 campaign was very shrewd. His statist policy positions and doctrinaire Senate voting record (almost identical to Bernie Sanders) made him very appealing to the left, yet he also made himself acceptable to other voters with a...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 17, 2019 | Blogs, Taxation
I generally identify three big problems with the tax code. High tax rates on productive behavior. Double taxation of saving and investment. Loopholes to encourage inefficiency. But it may be time to include another item. Politicians have learned how to use...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 6, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation
Arthur Okun was a well-known left-of-center economist last century. He taught at Yale, was Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors for President Lyndon Johnson, and also did a stint at Brookings. In today’s column, I’m not going to blame him for any of LBJ’s...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 5, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
Building on the success of state-level reforms in Kansas, Maine, Wisconsin, Alabama, and Georgia, the Trump Administration has proposed to tighten rules that impose work requirements on childless and able-bodied adults who receive food stamps. Since I want to get...
