Daniel J. Mitchell

Posted June 18, 2013

Earlier this month, Paul Krugman wrote that, “a Heritage Foundation economist has been accused of presenting false, deliberately misleading data and analysis to the Senate Budget Committee.” Krugman was too clever to assert that the Heritage economist “did present” dishonest data, but if you read his short post, he clearly wants readers to believe that an unambiguous falsehood has been exposed.

Posted June 17, 2013

Seems like he understands that Europe made a big mistake by having too many people in the wagon and too few people pulling the wagon.

Posted June 16, 2013

So even an international bureaucracy now acknowledges that bureaucrats “incur substantial fiscal costs” and “have a large negative impact on private employment.”

Posted June 15, 2013

I had some fun back in April when I noted that politicians and staff on Capitol Hill were getting very agitated about having to be part of Obamacare. Well, it seems that the way the law applies to them is so costly that many of them are thinking about calling it quits.

Posted June 14, 2013

Once a majority of a country’s voting-age population is riding in the wagon of government dependency, it is very difficult to build political support for reform. Now I have another story that perfectly symbolizes Greece’s dysfunctional situation.

Posted June 13, 2013

By the way, what makes the story in Virginia so pathetic is that Republicans normally get seduced into tax increases because of stupidity. As the Charlie Brown parody indicates, they get tricked into believing higher revenues will be used to lower deficits.

Posted June 12, 2013

I’ve shared some outrageous stories about bureaucrats ripping off taxpayers. So perhaps it is time to create a Bureaucrat-of-the-Year Award to honor the parasite who best exemplifies the unofficial SEIU motto of “Better Living on the Taxpayer Teat.”

Posted June 11, 2013

It is reported that Henry Kissinger, commenting on the Iran-Iraq war, said something to the effect that, “Too bad both sides can’t lose.” I have the same attitude about the fiscal fight in Europe. On one side, you have “austerity” proponents of higher taxes. On the other side, you have Keynesianswho think a higher burden of government spending will produce growth

Posted June 10, 2013

Look at how much faster the economy has grown since the communists were ousted in 1975 and replaced by a pro-market government.* And the poverty rate has plummeted from 50 percent to 11 percent!

Posted June 09, 2013

I’ve generally directed my hostility to the politicians, but the latest IRS scandal is leading me to reassess my views.

Posted June 08, 2013

I’ve complained ad nauseam about how government has screwed up the health sector, both because of spending programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and because of tax and regulatory distortions that have mutated the supposedly private insurance market into some bizarre form of pre-paid, all-you-can-eat healthcare.

Posted June 07, 2013

In my discussion of deficits and debt, I criticize the Congressional Budget Office for assuming that government fiscal balance is the key determinant of economic growth.

Posted June 06, 2013

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that Secretary Lew wasn’t the first Democrat to utilize tax havens. Lawmakers such as John Kerry, Bill Clinton, John Edwards, and others on the left also have utilized tax havens to boost their own personal finances.

Posted June 05, 2013

My great fear is that the “social capital” of self reliance in America will slowly disappear and that the United States will turn into a European-style welfare state.

Posted June 04, 2013

With many European nations already in the midst of a fiscal crisis caused by excessive government, and with most other industrialized nations heading down the same path thanks to aging populations and poorly designed entitlement programs, this would be a good time for supposed experts to propose ways to rein in the welfare state.

Posted June 03, 2013

I think that some of the angst on the right is misplaced. Why blame a Reagan-era message for GOP electoral problems when all the Republicans presidential nominees in recent years have favored big government?

Posted June 02, 2013

I’m a libertarian and the specific issue is about curtailing the foolish Drug War, it goes without saying that this is something that belongs on this blog.

Posted June 01, 2013

Once politicians create a pile of free money, people will figure out ways of getting their hands on that money. That’s true for all programs. But because of the amounts of money involved, Medicare is a far bigger problem than other programs

Posted May 31, 2013

I get more worried about the future of the country when I read reports of children being subjected to this kind of politically correct nonsense.

Posted May 30, 2013

Earlier this month, I explained four reasons why the Apple “tax avoidance” issue is empty political demagoguery. And Rand Paul gave some great remarks at a Senate hearing, excoriating some of his colleagues for trying to pillage the company.