by Dan Mitchell | Sep 14, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs
With Florence about to hit, it’s time to preemptively explain how the federal government makes damage more likely and why post-hurricane efforts will make future damage more likely. There are just two principles you need to understand. When Washington subsidizes...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 4, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs
Of all the senseless things that happen in Washington, farm subsidies are especially foolish. They are a classic example of “public choice” in action, with a handful of rich (and well-connected) producers getting big bucks by ripping off consumers and taxpayers. The...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 12, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs
A couple of days ago, I shared a segment from a TV interview about trade and warned that retaliatory tariffs were a painful consequence of Trump’s protectionism. I also was asked in that interview about the negative effect on farmers. I speculated that farmers (and...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 14, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics
Government intervention is not good for economic prosperity. That general observation is both accurate and appropriate, but it might also be helpful to contemplate what sector of the economy suffers the most damage and distortion because of government. In terms of...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 23, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs
I explained back in 2013 that there is a big difference between being pro-market and being pro-business. Pro-market is a belief in genuine free enterprise, which means companies succeed or fail solely on the basis of whether they produce goods and services that...