by Dan Mitchell | Apr 18, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
There are two things everyone should understand about the federal budget. First, America faces a grim future because Washington spending will consume an ever-larger share of economic output because of demographic changes and poorly designed entitlement programs....
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 22, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
In the absence of genuine entitlement reform, the United States at some point is going to suffer from a debt crisis. But red ink is merely a symptom. I used numbers from Greece in this interview to underscore the fact that the real problem is government spending. The...
by Sven R. Larson | Oct 29, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
We certainly have reasons to celebrate the success of the U.S. economy in 2018. In September, the unemployment rate was at the lowest it has been since 1969, and GDP growth is bound for its highest annual rate in more than ten years. These are times when government...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 28, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
I wrote yesterday about the continuing success of Switzerland’s spending cap. Before voters changed the Swiss constitution, overall expenditures were growing by an average of 4.6 percent annually. Ever since the “debt brake” took effect, though, government spending...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 13, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, States
A balanced budget requirement is neither necessary nor sufficient for good fiscal policy. If you want proof for that assertion, check out states such as Illinois, California, and New Jersey. They all have provisions to limit red ink, yet there is more spending (and...
