by Dan Mitchell | Feb 19, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation
I’m not an optimist about the future of Europe, mostly because welfare states are unaffordable in nations suffering from demographic decline. Given the grim trends on the continent, I expect many other nations (probably led by Italy) will experience the fiscal and...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 9, 2019 | Blogs, Tax Competition, Taxation
According to Freedom in the 50 States, which we reviewed a couple of days ago, New Jersey is in the bottom 10 and has been moving in the wrong direction. This dismal ranking is not an anomaly. New Jersey also is in the bottom 10 of states according to Economic Freedom...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 8, 2019 | Blogs, Economics
I did not like Bill Clinton’s 1993 class-warfare tax hike, and I also opposed Barack Obama’s 2012 fiscal-cliff tax increase on the so-called rich. But those were incremental measures. Today’s leftist politicians have much more grandiose schemes, such as 70 percent tax...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 5, 2019 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
Mark Perry of the American Enterprise Institute is most famous for his Venn diagrams that expose hypocrisy and inconsistency. Taxation and incentives The War on Drugs Minimum wage Food and Drug Administration Consenting adults But he also is famous for his charts. And...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 28, 2019 | Blogs, Taxation
I’ve periodically opined about why politicians should not try to control people’s behavior with discriminatory taxes, such as the ones being imposed on soda. And I’ve cited some examples of how these taxes backfire. The big drop in soda purchases after a tax on sugary...