by Dan Mitchell | Jul 13, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
I’ve argued that we’ll get better government if we make it smaller. This is important because government is responsible for some things – such as national defense and protection of property rights – that are genuinely important. Yet a bloated public sector distracts...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 26, 2015 | Blogs, Health Care
When I criticize government-run healthcare, I normally focus on programs and interventions that distort and damage the American health sector. So I’ve written a lot on the failures of Medicaid, Medicare, and Obamacare, as well as the counterproductive effects of the...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 21, 2015 | Blogs, Tax Competition, Taxation
Nothing warms my heart and brings a smile to my face faster than news that taxpayers have successfully escaped the greedy and grasping claws of government. I cheered when successful French taxpayers moved across the border when Francois Hollande imposed a 75 percent...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 6, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
Bad ideas definitely have the ability to cross borders. The income tax first appeared in England, on a temporary basis during the Napoleanic wars and then permanently in 1842. It then spread like a cancer to other parts of the world, eventuallyreaching – and plaguing...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 5, 2015 | Blogs, Economics, Tax Competition, Taxation
I’m a relentless (probably to the point of being annoying) proponent of tax competition among jurisdictions. It’s one of the reasons why I favor tax havens and federalism. Simply stated, politicians are less likely to do bad things when they know economic activity can...