by Dan Mitchell | Oct 12, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Welfare and Entitlements
One of the more elementary observations about economics is that a nation’s prosperity is determined in part by the quantity of quality of labor and capital. These “factors of production” are combined to generate national income. I frequently grouse that punitive tax...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 3, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
Last September, I shared some very encouraging data showing how extreme poverty dramatically has declined in the developing world. And I noted that this progress happened during a time when the “Washington Consensus” was resulting in “neoliberal” policies (meaning...
by Dan Mitchell | May 30, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
America has a major dependency problem. In recent decades, there’s been a significant increase in the number of working-age adults relying on handouts. This is bad news for poor people and bad news for taxpayers. But it’s also bad news for the nation since it reflects...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 25, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Welfare and Entitlements
I’m conflicted. I’ve repeatedly expressed skepticism about the idea of governments providing a “basic income” because I fear the work ethic will (further) erode if people automatically receive a substantial chunk of money. Moreover, I also fear that a basic income...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 1, 2018 | Big Government, Blogs, Welfare and Entitlements
Happy New Year! We listed yesterday the good and bad policy developments of 2017, so now let’s speculate about potential victories and defeats in 2018. Here are two things I hope will happen this year. Welfare reform – If my friends and contacts on Capitol Hill are...
