by Dan Mitchell | Apr 19, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs
The good news is that some honest leftists have thrown in the towel and now openly admit that capitalism generates more prosperity. They still don’t want free markets, of course. For ideological reasons, they continue to push for a big welfare state. But at least they...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 2, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs
Yesterday’s column looked at the continued government-caused decay of Venezuelan society. To put it mildly, it’s a very sad story of how pervasive statism can destroy a country. I also wondered whether leftists such as Bernie Sanders, Michael Moore, and Jeremy Corbyn...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 1, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs
As far as I’m concerned, everything you need to know about capitalism vs. statism is captured in this chart comparing per-capita economic output in Chile and Venezuela. Ask yourself which country offers more opportunity, especially for the poor? The obvious answer is...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 26, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Bureaucracy
I’m not a fan of conspiracy theories. When people ask me whether there is some sinister, behind-the-scenes cabal running Washington, I tell them that petty corruption, self-interest, and “public choice” are much better explanations for the nonsensical policies being...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 5, 2018 | Blogs, Economics, Free Market
Not all leftists are alike. I speculated a couple of years ago that there were four types of statists and put them on a spectrum. I put “rational leftists” at one end. If you wanted to pick a nation that represents this mindset, think Sweden. Nice, civilized,...
