The most disturbing outcome of the recent mid-term election isn’t that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be a Member of Congress. I actually look forward to that because of the humor value . Instead, with the Democrats now controlling the House of Representatives, I’m more worried about Donald Trump getting tricked into a “budget summit” that
For the third year in a row, Dan Mitchell offers his list of things he “Hopes and Fears” from the new year. Topics include Trump, Latin America, and the resolution of Brexit. We’ll start with things I hope will happen in the coming year. Hard Brexit – There is a very strong long-run argument for the United Kingdom to have a full break with the
My favorite publication every year is Economic Freedom of the World . It’s filled with data on fiscal policy, regulatory policy, trade policy, monetary policy, and quality of governance for 162 jurisdictions, and it provides an unbiased way of gauging the degree to which they allow economic liberty. It also allows readers to slice and dice data,
Less than 10 years ago, many European nations suffered fiscal crises because of a combination of excessive spending , punitive taxes , and crippling debt . The crises have since abated , largely because of direct and indirect bailouts. But the underlying policy mistakes haven’t been fixed . Indeed, the burden of government spending has
Imagine being a poor person and getting to choose your country. Which one would you select? The answer probably depends on your goals in life. If you want to emulate “ Lazy Robert ” and be a moocher, you could pick Denmark. You’ll surely get more than enough money to survive. Denmark’s also not a bad choice if you have a bit of ambition. It ranks
In last year’s French presidential election between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, I joked that voters should choose the socialist over the socialist, but made a serious point that Macron – despite having been part of Hollande’s disastrous government – was preferable since there was at least a hope of market-oriented reform. the chance of
The best budget rule in the United States is Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights . Known as TABOR, this provision in the state’s constitution says revenues can’t grow faster than population plus inflation. Any revenue greater than that amount must be returned to taxpayers. Combined with the state’s requirement for a balanced budget, this means
I’m in China this week, giving various lectures at Northeastern University in Shenyang. My topic today was “Real-World Examples,” which gave me an opportunity to share many of the charts I’ve developed showing how market-oriented nations enjoy much more long-run success. One of the charts shows how Chile has enjoyed strong growth since it shifted
With the possible exception of a few extreme environmentalists , everyone agrees that robust long-run growth is a key to a better society. An unprecedented jump in growth , for instance, is what enabled the western world to escape poverty, resulting in the famous “ hockey stick ” of modern prosperity. Maintaining growth is an ongoing challenge
When I wrote about “crazy Bernie Sanders” in 2016, I wasn’t just engaging in literary hyperbole. The Vermont Senator is basically an unreconstructed leftist with a disturbing affinity for crackpot ideas and totalitarian regimes . His campaign agenda that year was an orgy of new taxes and higher spending . Though it’s worth noting that he’s at
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.