What Happens When Politicians Get a New Source of Revenue?

by Dan Mitchell | Nov 4, 2010 | Blogs, Taxation, VAT

We’ve been spending too much time on elections, so let’s get back to pointing out inane, foolish, and destructive government policies. Our latest example comes from the United Kingdom, where politicians are pushing airline ticket taxes to punitive levels and harming...

Mitch Daniels Would Be a Terrible President

by Dan Mitchell | Oct 15, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation, VAT, Welfare and Entitlements

I’m mystified that some conservatives and libertarians are sympathetic to the idea that Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana, might be a good candidate in 2012. The main challenge for our nation is the growing burden of government, so it seems that this would...

Washington Post Columnist Urges GOP to Move Left

by Dan Mitchell | Oct 14, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation

For the umpteenth time, a Washington Post columnist has a turgid piece urging the Republican Party to embrace big government. Normally this type of column is written by a graybeard establishmentarian like David Broder or E.J. Dionne, but Ruth Marcus has decided to...

Do We Have a Problem of Too Much Spending or Too Little Revenue?

by Dan Mitchell | Oct 8, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation

Here’s a chart from Veronique de Rugy’s new article in The American. Amazing how the problem becomes obvious when you look at real numbers and don’t get trapped into using “baseline” math (as I explain in my latest video).

Would You Trade Higher Taxes for Much Lower Spending and Less Red Tape?

by Dan Mitchell | Oct 5, 2010 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation

I hate taxes more than anyone, but other policies matter as well, so if I had the choice of replacing current government policies with the ones that existed at the end of the Clinton years, I would gladly make that trade. Yes, it would mean higher tax rates, but it...