Government Spending

TOP STORIES

FOUNDER'S QUOTE

The IMF Is the Doctor Kevorkian of Global Economic Policy

By DanielJMitchell, on May 23rd, 2013

I don’t like giving international bureaucrats tax-free salaries. And it really galls me when they use their privileged positions to promote statism. So you can understand why I’m not a big fan of the International Monetary Fund. Whether we’re talking more spending, more taxes, more bailouts, or more centralization and harmonization, it seems that the […] . . . → Read More: The IMF Is the Doctor Kevorkian of Global Economic Policy

OECD Study Admits Income Taxes Penalize Growth, Acknowledges that Tax Competition Restrains Excessive Government

By DanielJMitchell, on May 17th, 2013

I have to start this post with a big caveat. I’m not a fan of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The international bureaucracy is infamous for using American tax dollars to promote a statist economic agenda. Most recently, it launched a new scheme to raise the tax burden on multinational companies, which […] . . . → Read More: OECD Study Admits Income Taxes Penalize Growth, Acknowledges that Tax Competition Restrains Excessive Government

Is Underwear a Legitimate Function of the Federal Government?

By DanielJMitchell, on May 15th, 2013

Here’s another entry for our UK vs US Government Stupidity Contest. Or perhaps it belongs in the great-moments-in-government-waste category. The spendaholics in Washington have squandered $400,000 on underwear that detects cigarette smoke. I’m not joking. Here are some details from CNS. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded more than $400,000 to a research […] . . . → Read More: Is Underwear a Legitimate Function of the Federal Government?

Hell Has Officialy Frozen Over: French Support Spending Cuts by Overwhelming 4-1 Margin

By DanielJMitchell, on May 14th, 2013

I like the think I’m a reasonably savvy observer of public opinion and international economics, but every so often I’m stunned by some bit of data. Several years ago, for instance, I was very surprised to see that more than half of the French people would consider moving to the United States if they had […] . . . → Read More: Hell Has Officialy Frozen Over: French Support Spending Cuts by Overwhelming 4-1 Margin

Another Example of Editorial-Page Fiction at the New York Times

By DanielJMitchell, on May 13th, 2013

Are there any fact checkers at the New York Times? Since they’ve allowed some glaring mistakes by Paul Krugman (see here and here), I guess the answer is no. But some mistakes are worse than others. Consider a recent column by David Stuckler of Oxford and Sanjay Basu of Stanford. Entitled “How Austerity Kills,” it […] . . . → Read More: Another Example of Editorial-Page Fiction at the New York Times

Tax and Expenditure Limits: The Challenge of Turning Mitchell’s Golden Rule from Theory into Reality

By DanielJMitchell, on May 13th, 2013

The main goal of fiscal policy should be to shrink the burden of government spending as a share of economic output. Fortunately, it shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve this modest goal. All that’s required is to make sure the private sector grows faster than the government. But it’s very easy for me to bluster […] . . . → Read More: Tax and Expenditure Limits: The Challenge of Turning Mitchell’s Golden Rule from Theory into Reality

Regulars

Half Baked

Petit Tyrants