by Dan Mitchell | Apr 22, 2026 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe
Part of being a libertarian is that you believe all people have a right to life, liberty, and property, and that you support their right to make their own choices – even choices you don’t like – so long as they are not violating the life, liberty...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 26, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Regulations
Moral panics in Washington are not a recipe for good policy. That’s why the current attack on vaping (the use of e-cigarettes) is so misguided. Policy makers want to ban and/or restrict e-cigarettes (especially flavored varieties) for two reasons. Consuming...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 12, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Regulations
As a fiscal policy wonk, I’ve come across depressing examples of counterproductive tax provisions (health benefits exclusion, ethanol credits) and spending programs (the entire HUD budget, OECD subsidies). But the folks who work on regulatory policy may get exposed to...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 13, 2017 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) must be anxious to get on my list of government bureaucracies that shouldn’t exist. The bureaucrats have engaged in some really silly and petty behavior (such as confiscating Airsoft toy guns because they might be...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 15, 2015 | Blogs, Taxation
If you owned a restaurant and wanted to generate more income and boost your bottom line, would you double your prices thinking that this would double your revenue? Of course not. You would understand that a lot of your patrons would simply dine elsewhere. And if they...
