Learning from New Jersey’s Bad Tax Policy

by Dan Mitchell | Mar 4, 2016 | Blogs, Economics, Tax Competition, Taxation

Federalism is a great idea, and not just because America’s Founders wanted a small and limited central government. It’s also a good idea because states are laboratories that teach us about the benefits of good policy and the costs of bad policy. And when we...

The IMF Is the Dumpster Fire of the Global Economy

by Dan Mitchell | Feb 29, 2016 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Keynesian, Taxation

I thought the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development had cemented its status as the world’s worst international bureaucracy when it called for a Keynesian spending binge even though the global economy is still suffering from previous schemes for...

Higher Taxes Are a Recipe for Higher Spending, not Lower Debt

by Dan Mitchell | Feb 27, 2016 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Europe, Government Spending, Taxation

With both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders agitating for higher taxes (and with more than a few Republicans also favoring more revenue because they don’t want to do any heavy lifting to restrain a growing burden of government), it’s time to examine the real-world...

Beating the VAT Horse Until It’s Dead

by Dan Mitchell | Feb 15, 2016 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation, VAT

This is a very strange political season. Some of the Senators running for the Republican presidential nomination are among the most principled advocates of smaller government in Washington. Yet all of them have proposed tax plans that, while theoretically far better...

Accelerating on the Path to Greece with Bernie Sanders

by Dan Mitchell | Feb 10, 2016 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation

Remember when I wrote about a week ago that I was somewhat optimistic about entitlement reform? Well, given what just happened in New Hampshire, I must have been smoking crack. It would now be more accurate to say something will happen with entitlements, but it will...