by Dan Mitchell | Mar 19, 2016 | Blogs, Free Market
John Cowperthwaite deserves a lot of credit for Hong Kong’s prosperity. As a British appointee, he took a hands-off policy and allowed the colony’s economy to thrive. He didn’t even want the government to collect statistics since that would give interventionists data...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 25, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Regulations
This century has not been good news for economic liberty in the United States. According to Economic Freedom of the World, America has dropped from being the 3rd-freest economy of the world in 2001 to the 12th-freest economy in themost recent rankings. Perhaps more...
by Andrew F. Quinlan | Jun 12, 2015 | Opinion and Commentary
This article appeared on Inside Sources on June 10, 2015. Debate over trade promotion authority (TPA) continues to simmer as the House of Representatives gears up for a vote to decide if it will follow the Senate’s lead and pass fast-track authority. Presidents...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 11, 2015 | Blogs, Economics, Free Market
Free trade is a good moral concept for the simple reason that politicians and bureaucrats should not be allowed to interfere with voluntary transactions between consenting adults. It’s also a good economic concept for the simple reason that protectionists can’t...
by Dan Mitchell | Dec 20, 2011 | Blogs, Taxation
I’ve written several times about the foolish War on Drugs, which has been about as misguided and ineffective as the government’s War on Poverty. So when I saw a news report about a couple of Swedes getting busted for smuggling 200-plus kilos of contraband into Norway,...