by Dan Mitchell | Nov 8, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Immigration, Society, Welfare and Entitlements
When non-libertarian audiences ask my opinion about immigration, I generally point out that it is a very good sign that so many people want to come to the United States. Almost everyone agrees with that statement, but that doesn’t put them in the pro-immigration camp....
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 25, 2019 | Blogs, Taxation
In a recent interview, I was asked whether all the new spending schemes proposed by Democratic candidates would lead (as has been the case in Europe) to enormous tax increases on the middle class. The answer is yes, of course. But most of the candidates are not honest...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 25, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation, Welfare and Entitlements
Social Security is projected to consume an ever-larger share of America’s national income, mostly thanks to an aging population. Indeed, demographic change is why the program is bankrupt, with an inflation-adjusted cash-flow deficit of more than $42 trillion. Yet...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 23, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
When “basic income” became an issue a few years ago, I was instinctively opposed because I don’t want Uncle Sam sending big checks to everyone in the country. But I admitted that there were a few reasonable arguments for the idea. Most notably, plans for a basic...
by Dan Mitchell | May 28, 2019 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Taxation, Welfare and Entitlements
I periodically explain that a European-sized welfare state can only be financed by huge taxes on lower-income and middle-class taxpayers. Simply stated, there aren’t enough rich people to prop up big government. Moreover, at the risk of mixing my animal metaphors,...
