by Dan Mitchell | Feb 25, 2011 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
The showdown in Wisconsin has generated competing claims about whether state and local government bureaucrats are paid too much or paid too little compared to their private sector counterparts. The data on total compensation clearly show a big advantage for state and...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 22, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation, Welfare and Entitlements
Here are a few predictions for next year. It will be hot in Dallas in July, it will be cold in Stockholm in February, and Governor Jerry Brown of California will ask Uncle Sam for some sort of bailout. I’m actually not sure about the first two predictions, but I think...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 21, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Tax Competition, Taxation
The Oregon Ducks will compete for the national championship early next month, so they’ve had a good season. Unfortunately, Oregon’s government isn’t doing nearly so well. Politicians approved a big tax hike on those bad, evil rich people in 2009, and Oregon’s...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 11, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
There are plenty of reason to like and dislike the tax deal between President Obama and congressional leaders. On the plus side, we dodge a big tax increase for the next two years. We also replace a goofy and ineffective “make work pay” tax credit with a supply-side...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 24, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs
I take second place to nobody in my view that government is horribly incompetent, but even I’m shocked by this story linked on Drudge. According to a news report out of Indiana, students who take the government’s driver’s ed class are four times more likely to crash...