by Dan Mitchell | Nov 6, 2023 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
When I ask my leftist friends to identify a nation that got rich with big government, the knowledgeable ones try to change the subject. The ones who are not well informed will oftentimes cite Denmark. It is true that Denmark has...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 22, 2023 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
I periodically explain that redistribution is bad for prosperity, mostly because it encourages sloth and dependency among recipients. Though it is important to realize that the taxes needed to fund redistribution also are harmful (the magnitude of the...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 29, 2023 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation, Welfare and Entitlements
Scandinavian countries have very unusual economic policy. They are very free market-oriented with regards to most types of economic policy. The glaring exception is fiscal policy, where these nations get very low scores. The burden of...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 20, 2023 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Europe, Welfare and Entitlements
Part I of this series reviewed some data about the United States growing much faster than the welfare states of the European Union. Part II of the series looked at some very depressing data about the European Union losing ground compared to the United States, even...
by Dan Mitchell | Jul 19, 2023 | Big Government, Blogs, Europe, Welfare and Entitlements
In Part I of this series, we learned from a report in the Wall Street Journal that the combined economies of the European Union have grown by only 6 percent over the past 15 years compared to 82 percent growth in the United States. That is stunning evidence...