by Dan Mitchell | Oct 12, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
Back in 2010, I shared some wise words from Walter Williams and Theodore Dalrymple about how society can become unstable when people figure they can “vote themselves money.” On a related note, I shared the famous “riding in the wagon” cartoons in 2011 and the “Danish...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 22, 2014 | Blogs, Economics, Welfare and Entitlements
We know the welfare state is good news for people inside government. Lots of bureaucrats are required, after all, to oversee a plethora of redistribution programs. Walter Williams refers to these paper pushers as poverty pimps, and there’s even a ranking showing which...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 9, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation, Welfare and Entitlements
I’m a pessimist about public policy for two simple reasons: 1) Seeking power and votes, elected officials generally can’t resist making short-sighted and politically motivated choices that expand the burden of government. 2) Voters are susceptible to bribery,...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 25, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
I’ve written many times about America’s looming fiscal collapse, and I’ve also pontificated about America’s costly and failed welfare state. I even have speculated about when America reaches a tipping point, with too many people riding in the wagon of government...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 28, 2014 | Blogs, Economics, Europe
I periodically (some would say over and over and over again, though occasionally made more palatable by using humor and cartoons) warn that the United States should not become a European-style welfare state. But I wonder whether I spend enough time explaining why this...
