by Dan Mitchell | Nov 22, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation
I shared an astounding chart last month showing that tax increases account for 90 percent of the so-called “austerity” in Europe. The author of the chart, Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center, calls this “private sector austerity” and she correctly argues that her...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 21, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
I appeared on CNBC yesterday to talk about the “fiscal cliff” and the potential impact on economic performance. You won’t be surprised to learn that I’m mostly concerned with how the issue gets resolved. Yes, there is some temporary uncertainty that is probably making...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 20, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Laffer Curve, Taxation
President Obama and other statists in Washington want a big class-warfare tax hike. They claim the additional revenue is necessary to reduce red ink. But their ideological crusade is based on some blatant distortions. They tell us that tax increases are necessary, but...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 18, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation
If there was a prize for fighting back against tax authorities, the Italians would probably deserve first place. I’m not aware of any other country where tax offices get firebombed. The Italians also believe in passive forms of resistance, with tens of thousands of...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 16, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
I took part today in a nine-person debate on the fiscal cliff for U.S. News & World Report. We were all asked, “Is Going Over the ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Necessarily the Worst Outcome?” I said “no” because there are worse options, and I specifically explained that Obama’s...
