Articles by Daniel J. Mitchell

Daniel J. Mitchell is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, the free-market, Washington D.C. think tank. His articles are cross-posted on his blog, by agreement.

Another misguided plan to burden America with a VAT

America needs the right kind of reform to save it from becoming another doomed welfare state. Allowing politicians to kick the can down the road by raising the VAT every couple of years is not the answer
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 5 December 2013
Is God a capitalist, or a Socialist?

God needs to realise that many people mistakenly associate capitalism with cronyism and bailouts for big business. In reality, free markets are a system based on voluntary exchange and private property. With all due respect, of course...
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 3 December 2013
More big state stupidity: Prosecuting a topless hair dresser for not having a licence that doesn't exist anyway

Governments apparently don’t mind sex so long as they can figure out how to regulate it or tax it
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 1 December 2013
Paul Krugman and the plot against France

France is in the toilet, with a stifling fiscal burden, growing social unrest, and a deeply unpopular political class
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 26 November 2013
Big government redistributes money to benefit Washington’s gilded class

When you combine the official bureaucracy with other over-compensated beneficiaries of big government, it’s easy to understand why Washington, DC, is now the richest region of America
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 21 November 2013
Will Paul Ryan and GOP budget negotiators snatch defeat from jaws of victory?

The sequester helps explain why we’ve seen two consecutive years of lower spending in Washington for the first time since the 1950s
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 20 November 2013
Obama's latest attempt to raise unemployment... yes, you read that right

If Barack Obama's legacy on economics is that the jobless rates are to be raised permanently it won't be an accident. It's policy!
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 17 November 2013
The continuing…and continuing…Obamacare disaster

The President is acting like America is a banana republic and he’s the tinpot dictator who can arbitrarily decide the law. What a fiasco
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 16 November 2013
Better to be poor under laissez faire

There's a misguided belief by some, but not all, on the left that the economy is a fixed pie and that you have to penalize the rich in order to help the poor
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 15 November 2013
The coming fall of the welfare state

If we really want to help the less fortunate, private charity does a far better job – and Americans (unlike Europeans) still have the genuine compassion that exists when you spend your own money
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 13 November 2013
The European Crisis (and American Future?) of too many over-compensated bureaucrats

There are some European nations where bureaucrats are wildly over-compensated. And it’s no surprise that these are some of the ones facing fiscal crisis, including Cyprus, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Ireland
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 11 November 2013
Obamanomics and the vanishing American worker

The most depressing bit of data from the Labor Department isn’t the unemployment rate. We should be far more worried about the employment-population ratio
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 9 November 2013
Obama's high unemployment agenda

Obama advocates higher unemployment for lower-skilled workers (and some great election news from Colorado)
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 6 November 2013
So Europe's crisis is over? Not!

At the beginning of the year, I was asked whether Europe’s fiscal crisis was over. Showing deep thought and characteristic maturity, my response was “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, are you ;@($&^#’% kidding me?
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 3 November 2013
Halloween humour aimed at the statists, from a libertarian perspective, of course

Leftists should love Halloween. You get to trick or treat people out of their hard earned property. Just one problem, it's all voluntary and state coercion can't get them what they want. Have a laugh....
by Daniel J. Mitchell - 1 November 2013