By Daniel J. Mitchell
Over the years, I’ve strenuously objected to schemes that would enable international bureaucracies to levy taxes. That’s why I’ve criticized “direct funding” proposals, most of which seem to emanate from the United Nations. A scheme to let the United Nations tax services such as air travel. A proposal, pushed by George Soros and other statists, [...]
Should International Bureaucracies Get Taxing Powers or Direct Funding? is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
No Comments »
By Daniel J. Mitchell
The Laffer Curve is a graphical representation of the relationship between tax rates, tax revenue, and taxable income. It is frequently cited by people who want to explain the common-sense notion that punitive tax rates may not generate much additional revenue if people respond in ways that result in less taxable income. Unfortunately, some people [...]
The Laffer Curve Shows that Tax Increases Are a Very Bad Idea – even if They Generate More Tax Revenue is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
No Comments »
John Stossel’s skepticism of government and his storytelling approach about free-market economics have made him a rock star in conservative and libertarian circles. He spoke at The Heritage Foundation on Wednesday about his new book, “No, They Can’t: Why Government Fails—But Individuals Succeed.” It is Stossel’s latest attempt to debunk the myths that government can solve America’s problems. He tackles everything from crony capitalism and federal regulations to teachers’ unions and gun control. “Our instinct is to believe in the central planners,” Stossel said in the interview. “It was nuts in the … More
No Comments »
By Daniel J. Mitchell
As discussed yesterday, the most important number in Obama’s budget is that the burden of government spending will be at least $2 trillion higher in 10 years if the President’s plan is enacted. But there are also some very unsightly warts in the revenue portion of the President’s budget. Americans for Tax Reform has a [...]
How Can Obama Look at these Two Charts and Conclude that America Should Have Higher Double Taxation of Dividends and Capital Gains? is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
No Comments »
By Daniel J. Mitchell
When Ronald Reagan said that big government undermined the economy, some people dismissed his comments because of his philosophical belief in liberty. And when I discuss my work on the economic impact of government spending, I often get the same reaction. This is why it’s important that a growing number of establishment outfits are slowly [...]
Data in New World Bank Report Shows that Large Public Sectors Reduce Economic Growth is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
No Comments »
Is it April Fool’s Day? Has somebody in Paris hacked the website at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development? Have we been transported to a parallel dimension where up is down and black is white? Please forgive all these questions. I’m trying to figure out why any organization—even a leftist bureaucracy such as the [...]
Acting as the Typhoid Mary of the Global Economy, the OECD Urges Higher Taxes in Latin America is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
No Comments »
On this day last year, I posted two charts that I developed using the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank’s interactive website. Those two charts showed that the current recovery was very weak compared to the boom of the early 1980s. But perhaps that was an unfair comparison. Maybe the Reagan recovery started strong and then hit [...]
One Year Later, Another Look at Obamanomics vs. Reaganomics is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
No Comments »
By Daniel J. Mitchell
One year ago, I wrote about how the French government was getting unexpected additional revenues following the implementation of lower tax rates.
This is the Laffer Curve in action, and it’s …
The Laffer Curve Works, Even in France is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
No Comments »
By Daniel J. Mitchell
In the past 20-plus years, I’ve seen all sorts of arguments for class-warfare taxation.These include: President Obama says he wants higher tax rates for fairness, even if the government doesn’t collect any revenue. Rich leftists say they want higher taxes because they can afford to pay, but then refuse when offered a chance to cough [...]
Soak-the-Rich Taxes Create Happier Nations According to Junk Science Study is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
No Comments »
By Daniel J. Mitchell
I’ve written before about whether California is the Greece of America, in part because of crazy policies such as overpaid bureaucrats and expensive forms of political correctness, And we all know that California has one of the nation’s greediest governments, imposing confiscatory tax rates on a shrinking pool of productive citizens. So it is hardly [...]
Will the Last Job Creator to Leave California Please Turn Off the Lights? is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
No Comments »