by Dan Mitchell | May 6, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation
I’ve openly stated that there are tax-hiking budget deals that theoretically would be attractive. But notice that “theoretically” is part of that sentence. That’s because in the real world, tax hikes have a poisonous effect on fiscal policy. Instead of being the...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 8, 2015 | Blogs, States, Taxation
With tax day looming, let’s wallow in misery by contemplating the burden on America’s taxpayers. But we’ll ignore the angst caused be dealing with an indecipherable tax code and an oppressive IRS and simply focus on the amount of money that gets extracted from our...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 10, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs
I periodically share this poster, in part because it’s funny, but mostly because it’s true. After all, can you think of many “success stories” involving government? When I pose this question to my statist friends, I usually get a blank stare in response. Though some...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 25, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Education, Government Spending
To save the nation from a future Greek-style fiscal meltdown, we should reform entitlements. But as part of the effort to restore limited, constitutional government, we also should shut down various departments that deal with issues that shouldn’t be handled by the...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 30, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Waste
I’ve periodically cited the great 19th-century French economist, Frederic Bastiat, for his very wise words about the importance of looking at both the seen and the unseen when analyzing public policy. Those that fail to consider secondary or indirect effects of...