We All Know Government Is too Big, but the Rahn Curve Provides the Evidence

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We All Know Government Is too Big, but the Rahn Curve Provides the Evidence

June 29, 2010 by Dan Mitchell

Please share this video with everyone you know. It explains the “Rahn Curve,” which is a spending version of the Laffer Curve. Named after Cato Institute’s Richard Rahn, the Curve shows that modest amounts of government spending – for core “public goods” such as rule of law and protection of property rights – is associated with better economic performance.

But when government rises above that level (as it has in all developed nations), then more government is associated with slower growth.

Posted in Big Government, Debt, Deficit, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Higher Taxes, Laffer Curve, Rahn Curve, Spending, Taxation, Video | Tagged Big Government, Debt, Deficit, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Laffer Curve, Rahn Curve, Taxation, Video | 315 Comments

315 Responses

on December 29, 2022 at 11:32 pm Dan Mitchell: “Trump and Biden used the coronavirus as an excuse to add several trillion dollars of spending in 2020 and 2021!” | The Daily Hatch

[…] to watch videos that address the growth-maximizing size of government, click here, here, here, here, […]
on December 29, 2022 at 11:16 am Understanding Biden and Red Ink | International Liberty

[…] to watch videos that address the growth-maximizing size of government, click here, here, here, here, […]
on November 16, 2022 at 9:03 pm Dan Mitchell: Last week, I explained that “supply siders” need to be ardent advocates of spending restraint. After all, there is no chance of good tax policy in the future if the burden of federal spending continues to expand! | The Daily Hatch

[…] want to watch videos that address the growth-maximizing size of government, click here, here, here, here, and […]
on November 14, 2022 at 6:50 pm Dan Mitchell noted that excessive government spending is responsible for about 97 percent of America’s fiscal deterioration in the 21st century! | The Daily Hatch

[…] want to watch videos that address the growth-maximizing size of government, click here, here, here, here, and […]
on November 14, 2022 at 12:12 pm Augmenting the Case for Spending Restraint | International Liberty

[…] want to watch videos that address the growth-maximizing size of government, click here, here, here, here, and […]
on October 6, 2022 at 12:10 pm The Rahn Curve (Armey Curve) and the Quantity/Quality of Government Spending | International Liberty

[…] the way, the Armey Curve is the Rahn Cure and the Rahn Curve is the Armey Curve (there’s ongoing discussion of who was the first to […]
on September 30, 2022 at 5:53 pm DAN MITCHELL: Most people have heard of the Laffer Curve, which shows that there is a non-linear relationship between tax rates and tax revenues (for instance, doubling tax rates won’t produce a doubling of tax revenue because people and businesses wil

[…] something similar on the spending side of the budget. I call it the Rahn Curve and it shows there is a non-linear relationship between government spending and economic […]
on September 30, 2022 at 11:41 am Assessing the Growth-Maximizing Size of Government | International Liberty

[…] something similar on the spending side of the budget. I call it the Rahn Curve and it shows there is a non-linear relationship between government spending and economic […]
on July 29, 2022 at 5:22 pm Dan Mitchell article: The Simple Solution to America’s Horrific Long-Run Fiscal Crisis | The Daily Hatch

[…] is illustrated by the “Rahn Curve,” which I discussed both in the interview and in my speech […]
on July 23, 2022 at 9:07 pm Daniel Mitchell article Wealth Taxation and Economic Suicide | The Daily Hatch

[…] isn’t at the ideal point on the Laffer Curve (collecting the amount of revenue needed to finance legitimate activities of government), it may even be past the revenue-maximizing part of the […]
on June 14, 2022 at 9:29 pm Dan Mitchell on the The Optimum Level of Government Spending | The Daily Hatch

[…] is illustrated by the “Rahn Curve,” which I discussed both in the interview and in my speech […]
on June 14, 2022 at 9:22 am The Optimum Level of Government Spending | International Liberty

[…] is illustrated by the “Rahn Curve,” which I discussed both in the interview and in my speech […]
on April 15, 2022 at 5:28 pm Dan Mitchell article: Democrats want to give $80 billion to the Internal Revenue Service to audit millions of Americans each year. Yet…after the progressive website ProPublica first published the secret tax information of rich Americans, the tax agency

[…] the most important thing we need to understand is that bloated government is our main problem. If we had a limited federal government, as our Founding Fathers envisioned, it would be almost […]
on November 28, 2021 at 8:25 pm Daniel Mitchell OF CENTER FOR FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY article “The Role Model of Switzerland” | The Daily Hatch

[…] it seems that we don’t live in a logical world. We have too many people who have an anti-empirical belief in bigger […]
on October 28, 2021 at 11:59 pm America in Debt Damage Zone | The Daily Hatch

[…] isn’t at the ideal point on the Laffer Curve (collecting the amount of revenue needed to finance legitimate activities of government), it may even be past the revenue-maximizing part of the […]
on October 28, 2021 at 11:35 pm Democrats Rush to Pass Radical Tax Schemes | The Daily Hatch

[…] isn’t at the ideal point on the Laffer Curve (collecting the amount of revenue needed to finance legitimate activities of government), it may even be past the revenue-maximizing part of the […]
on October 28, 2021 at 10:23 pm What’s in Democrats’ $1.75 Trillion Spending Bill | The Daily Hatch

[…] isn’t at the ideal point on the Laffer Curve (collecting the amount of revenue needed to finance legitimate activities of government), it may even be past the revenue-maximizing part of the […]
on October 24, 2021 at 8:25 pm Daniel Mitchell article Biden’s Befuddlement on Corporate Taxation | The Daily Hatch

[…] isn’t at the ideal point on the Laffer Curve (collecting the amount of revenue needed to finance legitimate activities of government), it may even be past the revenue-maximizing part of the […]
on September 24, 2021 at 5:23 pm Dan Mitchell article Measuring the Economic Damage of the Biden Fiscal Plan | The Daily Hatch

[…] economic results. And when looking at long-run data, most of the research suggests that government is too big. Indeed, it’s worth noting that there’s even research supporting my view from generally […]
on September 24, 2021 at 11:31 am Measuring the Economic Damage of the Biden Fiscal Plan | International Liberty

[…] economic results. And when looking at long-run data, most of the research suggests that government is too big. Indeed, it’s worth noting that there’s even research supporting my view from generally […]
on August 8, 2021 at 8:30 pm Daniel Mitchell article Fiscal Policy 101 for Politicians and other Dummies | The Daily Hatch

[…] is why the growth-maximizing size of government is far smaller than what we are burdened with […]
on August 8, 2021 at 11:43 am Fiscal Policy 101 for Politicians and other Dummies | International Liberty

[…] is why the growth-maximizing size of government is far smaller than what we are burdened with […]
on July 18, 2021 at 7:22 pm Daniel Mitchell OF CENTER FOR FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY article The World’s Most Perverse (but Perhaps Accurate) Observation about Cuba | The Daily Hatch

[…] it seems that we don’t live in a logical world. We have too many people who have an anti-empirical belief in bigger […]
on July 13, 2021 at 5:25 pm Daniel Mitchell OF CENTER FOR FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY article The Case Against Socialism, Part III | The Daily Hatch

[…] it seems that we don’t live in a logical world. We have too many people who have an anti-empirical belief in bigger […]
on July 13, 2021 at 12:10 pm The Case Against Socialism, Part III | International Liberty

[…] it seems that we don’t live in a logical world. We have too many people who have an anti-empirical belief in bigger […]
on June 26, 2021 at 7:54 pm Dan Mitchell article Deconstructing Biden’s Corporate Tax Cartel, Part I | The Daily Hatch

[…] The Rahn Curve shows that spending levels should be reduced. […]
on April 2, 2021 at 7:49 am Dan Mitchell article | The Daily Hatch

[…] And once we educate everybody about the Laffer Curve, we can then concentrate on teaching them about the equivalent relationship on the spending side of the fiscal ledger, the Rahn Curve. […]
on February 9, 2021 at 10:06 pm What’s the Recipe for Growth and Prosperity? | International Liberty

[…] moral of the story is simple. A country should have a small public sector and a pro-growth tax system, but that’s only 20 percent of the answer. Prosperity requires […]
on December 19, 2020 at 3:00 pm Daniel Mitchell article “Corporate Taxes and the Laffer Curve” | The Daily Hatch

[…] isn’t at the ideal point on the Laffer Curve (collecting the amount of revenue needed to finance legitimate activities of government), it may even be past the revenue-maximizing part of the […]
on November 13, 2020 at 4:59 am My rough draft letter to President Elect Biden that will be mailed on January 27, 2021! (Part 8) Lowering top tax rate from 70% to 28% from 1980 to 1988 and those earning over $200,000 paid 99 billion in taxes instead of 19 billion!!!! | The Daily Hatch

[…] And once we educate everybody about the Laffer Curve, we can then concentrate on teaching them about the equivalent relationship on the spending side of the fiscal ledger, the Rahn Curve. […]
on October 28, 2020 at 11:02 am The Rahn Curve – Rebel Yid

[…] the uninitiated, the Rahn Curve is the common-sense notion that some government is helpful for prosperous markets but too much […]
on June 10, 2020 at 1:13 pm Fiscal Fantasyland | International Liberty

[…] obviously not familiar with the Rahn Curve, which is based on the insight that some government may be good for growth (assuming the outlays […]
on May 9, 2020 at 7:24 am Coronavirus Is Worsening America’s Grim Fiscal Outlook | International Liberty

[…] The fiscal crisis won’t be too much red ink. That’s merely the symptom of the real disease, which is that government is getting far too big. […]
on April 13, 2020 at 1:33 pm Coronavirus and the Fiscal Future of the European Union | International Liberty

[…] is a problem since government already is far too large in every EU country. Here’s the most-recent data from the European Commission. If you focus […]
on February 13, 2020 at 10:02 am A 21st-Century Spending Cap Would Have Turned Deficits into Surpluses | International Liberty

[…] More important, the burden of spending today would be much lower, which means more resources being allocated by the productive sector of the economy. And that would mean more jobs and more prosperity. […]
on January 27, 2020 at 1:01 pm The Correct Fiscal Goal Is Smaller Government, not Budget Neutrality or Deficit Neutrality | International Liberty

[…] Freedom and Prosperity released this video to explain that America’s real fiscal problem is too much spending and that red ink is best viewed as a symptom of that […]
on January 21, 2020 at 9:27 am Fight on the Right, Part III: State Capacity Libertarianism | International Liberty

[…] this podcast discussion with Gene Tunny, I pontificate on several fiscal issues, including the ideal size of government, Wagner’s Law, and the importance of quality […]
on January 3, 2020 at 11:58 am Here’s How Guilt-Ridden Rich People Can Pay More Tax without Hurting the Rest of Us | International Liberty

[…] I guess he’s not familiar with the Rahn Curve. […]
on December 6, 2019 at 11:06 am Class-Warfare Taxation, Government Spending, and Economic Growth | International Liberty

[…] Rahn Curve, for instance, is predicated on the notion that some spending on core public goods is correlated […]
on August 15, 2019 at 2:08 pm The Proper Role of Government

[…] does all this matter? Simple. Research has shown that there is an optimum level of government funding, and when government grows beyond those […]
on July 23, 2019 at 3:25 pm Endless Government Free Money – Veterans News Report

[…] That’s terrible news. […]
on July 23, 2019 at 10:00 am Endless Government Free Money - Capitol Hill Outsider

[…] That’s terrible news. […]
on July 12, 2019 at 11:04 am A Lesson from China about Growth and Shared Prosperity | International Liberty

[…] mostly taught public finance and explained issues such as marginal tax rates, double taxation, the Rahn Curve, the Laffer Curve, and the fiscal implications of demographic […]
on May 28, 2019 at 5:30 pm The Problem with the Big Government, Small Government Dichotomy - Porter Medium

[…] Armey-Rahn Curve is a statistical model that attempts to provide an objective measure of an optimum size of […]
on May 15, 2019 at 10:35 am The (Seemingly) Inexorable Increase in the Burden of Federal Spending | International Liberty

[…] That’s terrible news. […]
on May 5, 2019 at 10:49 am Incomes, Fairness, Mobility, and Equality | International Liberty

[…] Laffer Curve. I also wish they understood the downsides of artificially low interest rates. And the Rahn Curve. And comparative […]
on August 25, 2018 at 11:04 am Paul Krugman, Supply-Side Economist? · 2ViewNews

[…] should only collect the relatively small amount of revenue that is needed to finance the growth-maximizing level of government […]
on August 10, 2018 at 3:36 pm Paul Krugman, Supply-Side Economist | International Liberty

[…] should only collect the relatively small amount of revenue that is needed to finance the growth-maximizing level of government […]
on June 14, 2018 at 10:45 am Help Workers and the Economy with Lower Employment Taxes | International Liberty

[…] be offset by supposed economic benefits of government spending (and pro-market people acknowledge that’s possible, at least when government is small). And, when push comes to shove, some folks on the left would […]
on April 11, 2018 at 9:59 am More Government Spending = Weaker Economic Performance | International Liberty

[…] For all intents and purposes, the lines in Andrei’s various charts are measures of the downward sloping portion of the Rahn Cure. I explain in this video. […]
on March 12, 2018 at 11:03 am Seven Adverse Consequences of Big Government | International Liberty

[…] I’ve narrated a video on why big government is theoretically bad for an economy, another video looking at the empirical evidence on government spending and economic performance, and also a video on the growth-maximizing size of the public sector. […]
on February 28, 2018 at 11:50 am Trump’s Spending Splurge Is a Long-Run Recipe for Higher Taxes and Less Prosperity | International Liberty

[…] I’m digressing. The study also acknowledges the Rahn Curve, though they call it the Armey […]
on February 23, 2018 at 12:40 pm When America’s Fiscal Crisis Hits, Be Forewarned that Tax Increases Will Make a Bad Situation Worse | International Liberty

[…] doesn’t even require dramatic spending cuts, even though that would be desirable. All that’s needed is some modest fiscal restraint so that spending grows slower than the […]
on January 3, 2018 at 11:09 pm Connaissez-vous le secret de la prospérité moderne ? | Contrepoints

[…] que je suis économiste en finances publiques, je suis tenté de dire qu’une flat tax et qu’un État de taille réduite sont l’élixir de la prospérité, mais ces politiques ne sont qu’une pièce d’un […]
on December 2, 2017 at 11:16 am Balancing the Budget Should Be Very Easy, Even With the GOP’s Tiny Tax Cut | People's Pundit Daily

[…] shouldn’t fixate on balancing the budget in any particular year. It’s much more important to shrink the burden of government spending. And that happens when the private sector grows faster than the federal […]
on December 2, 2017 at 10:22 am Balancing the Budget Should Be Very Easy, Regardless of the GOP’s Tiny (and Temporary) Tax Cut | International Liberty

[…] fixate on balancing the budget in any particular year. It’s much more important to shrink the burden of government spending. And that happens when the private sector grows faster than the federal […]
on October 30, 2017 at 11:24 am Are Tax Cuts Dangerous? | Lex Rex for All

[…] Tax cuts are risky because vital services would be unfunded. […]
on October 22, 2017 at 6:30 pm The IMF’s Recipe for Continued Poverty in the Developing World | People's Pundit Daily

[…] Now that I’ve shared the IMF’s analysis, let me explain why it is anti-empirical nonsense. […]
on October 22, 2017 at 10:09 am The International Monetary Fund’s Recipe for Continued Poverty in the Developing World | International Liberty

[…] Now that I’ve shared the IMF’s analysis, let me explain why it is anti-empirical nonsense. […]
on October 19, 2017 at 4:58 am Imtiaz Ahmed

Latest News Updates Games Reviews
on October 17, 2017 at 12:28 pm Australia, Donald Trump, and Limited Government | International Liberty

[…] I explained the Rahn Curve and discussed why both Australia and the United States should worry that the public sector is too […]
on August 13, 2017 at 2:22 am Sunita

Its awsum…. Continue.. I m loving it..
on August 3, 2017 at 4:55 pm Should Central America Listen to the WSJ and Copy Hong Kong, or Listen to the OECD and Copy Greece? | International Liberty

[…] of government in Costa Rica should be downsized. And that’s true whether you think that the growth-maximizing size of government, based on the experience of the western world, is 5 percent-10 percent of GDP. Or whether you limit […]
on July 16, 2017 at 12:15 am Thanks to Feckless Tories, the United Kingdom Is Poised to Fall Off the Wagon of Fiscal Sobriety – Liberty Community

[…] most important benefit is that the burden of government shrinks relative to the private sector, but it’s also worth noting that the symptom of red ink begins to disappear when there is a […]
on July 15, 2017 at 7:12 am Thanks to Feckless Tories, the United Kingdom Is Poised to Fall Off the Wagon of Fiscal Sobriety | International Liberty

[…] most important benefit is that the burden of government shrinks relative to the private sector, but it’s also worth noting that the symptom of red ink begins to disappear when there is a […]
on July 8, 2017 at 8:20 am The Grim History of Federal Spending Since World War II | International Liberty

[…] The most important numbers, at least from an economic perspective, are the ones that measure the burden of federal spending relative to the size of the private economy. […]
on May 15, 2017 at 11:32 am Liberland and the Libertarian Vision of a Minimal State | International Liberty

[…] discussed the Rahn Curve and cited the data showing that the federal government was a very tiny burden for much of […]
on January 12, 2017 at 10:40 pm Le miracle de la prospérité moderne | Contrepoints

[…] que je suis économiste en finances publiques, je suis tenté de dire qu’une flat tax et qu’un État de taille réduite sont l’élixir de la prospérité, mais ces politiques ne sont qu’une pièce d’un […]
on December 29, 2016 at 7:24 pm Présidentielle américaine : quand le déficit s'invite | Contrepoints

[…] Ceci étant dit, je pense que le centre d’intérêt du CRFB n’est pas le bon. Ses experts sont concentrés sur la dette (le symptôme), alors qu’ils devraient réfléchir à la réduction du poids de l’État (le mal sous-jacent). […]
on December 14, 2016 at 10:22 pm Saurabh Lawate

One thing that is left out is what is the government spending aimed at. In scenario – we can assume that the only spending is associated with hiring thousands of people whether they do meaningful work or not in scenario 2 let’s us take another extreme there is a small govt. that literally squanders the money overseas Or somewhere that results in zero benefit to the tax payer – the reality is of course in the middle of the extremes but tends to lean toward first or second scenario depending on point of time for example in a war it will be squandered overseas and in times of absolute peace and prosperity govt employees would not have to do much. So the challenge is to find out how to maximize the return in investment –
on December 10, 2016 at 3:39 pm Defending the World Bank | International Liberty

[…] negative returns. And once they master those concepts, they’ll be ready to learn about the Rahn Curve. Heck, there’s even a World Bank study I can recommend for […]
on November 29, 2016 at 8:23 am OECD Economic Research Finds that Government Spending Harms Growth | People's Pundit Daily

[…] By the way, the reference to “hump-shaped” means that the OECD is even aware of the Rahn Curve. […]
on November 28, 2016 at 10:25 am OECD Economic Research Finds that Government Spending Harms Growth | International Liberty

[…] By the way, the reference to “hump-shaped” means that the OECD is even aware of the Rahn Curve. […]
on November 27, 2016 at 12:41 pm Does “Wagner’s Law” Mean Libertarians Should Acquiesce to Big Government? | International Liberty

[…] compliance. And to the extent that the revenue feedback is due to growth, that will mean that the burden of government spending will fall relative to the size of the private sector even if actual outlays stay the […]
on November 14, 2016 at 8:27 pm How Government Spending Kills Economic Growth ·

[…] He then reviews some of the research on the “Rahn Curve.” […]
on November 11, 2016 at 12:01 pm More Research and Evidence on the Need to Restrain Government Spending | Lex Rex for All

[…] He then reviews some of the research on the “Rahn Curve.” […]
on November 11, 2016 at 9:31 am More Research and Evidence on the Need to Restrain Government Spending | Conservative Republican News

[…] He then reviews some of the research on the “Rahn Curve.” […]
on November 10, 2016 at 2:17 pm More Research and Evidence on the Need to Restrain Government Spending | International Liberty

[…] He then reviews some of the research on the “Rahn Curve.” […]
on October 25, 2016 at 1:26 pm Even the IMF Can See the Burdens of Bloated Bureaucracy - Western Free Press

[…] but not least, here’s the video I narrated on the “Rahn Curve” and the growth-maximizing size of […]
on October 22, 2016 at 11:10 am More Research Showing the Negative Impact of Large Public Sectors | International Liberty

[…] but not least, here’s the video I narrated on the “Rahn Curve” and the growth-maximizing size of […]
on August 4, 2016 at 8:28 am Debunking the Anti-Empirical Case for Bigger Government | International Liberty

[…] here’s the empirical evidence on the growth-maximizing size of government (hint: much smaller than Porter […]
on July 16, 2016 at 11:03 am More Evidence that Balanced Budget Rules Don’t Work as Well as Spending Caps | International Liberty

[…] P.P.S. Simply stated, it’s a mistake to focus on the symptom of red ink rather than the underlying disease of excessive government spending. […]
on May 9, 2016 at 10:59 am Taxing Lessons from Europe for Hillary Clinton (a Supposed Fiscal Conservative)

[…] suppose this is the point where I should explain that good fiscal policy is defined by a modest-sized government and a tax code that is designed to raise revenue in a relatively non-destructive fashion, not by […]
on May 6, 2016 at 9:05 am Taxing Lessons from Europe for Hillary Clinton (a Supposed Fiscal Conservative) | International Liberty

[…] suppose this is the point where I should explain that good fiscal policy is defined by a modest-sized government and a tax code that is designed to raise revenue in a relatively non-destructive fashion, not by […]
on May 5, 2016 at 10:05 am The “Race to the Bottom” and Global Minimum Corporate Taxes | International Liberty

[…] Mr. Stack sees that as a feature rather than a bug, based on the preposterous assertion that other counties will grow faster if the burden of government spending is […]
on April 23, 2016 at 10:21 am Debt, Bubbles, and Reckless Government | International Liberty

[…] I don’t like deficit and debt, to be sure, but government borrowing should be seen as the symptom. The real problem is excessive government spending. […]
on March 18, 2016 at 5:56 pm When Picking the Correct Size of Government, the Choice Isn’t Anarchy or Greece | Lex Rex for All

[…] that’s the argument behind the Rahn Curve. A small amount of (properly focused) government is associated with growth. But once the public […]
on March 18, 2016 at 5:55 pm Rewarding a Corrupt IRS with a Bigger Budget: Another “Own Goal” by the GOP | Lex Rex for All

[…] that’s the argument behind the Rahn Curve. A small amount of (properly focused) government is associated with growth. But once the public […]
on March 18, 2016 at 9:24 am When Picking the Correct Size of Government, the Choice Isn’t Anarchy or Greece | International Liberty

[…] that’s the argument behind the Rahn Curve. A small amount of (properly focused) government is associated with growth. But once the public […]
on March 12, 2016 at 5:43 pm Krugman, Higher Education, and the Myth of Spending Restraint | International Liberty

[…] I’m even willing to admit that some types of government spending may be associated with better economic […]
on December 26, 2015 at 2:22 pm Project Sansar: Market Prices | Nalates' Things & StuffNalates' Things & Stuff

[…] For a better understanding of the effects of tax rates read up on the Laffer Curve. To learn what tax rates can teach us about government agenda study the Rahn Curve. […]
on November 11, 2015 at 3:36 pm Even the OECD Now Admits Spending Caps Are the only Effective Way of Restraining Government | International Liberty

[…] the public sector in New Zealand today is consuming 40.5 percent of economic output, which is far too high, but still lower than 44.7 percent of GDP, which was the amount of GDP consumed by government in […]
on September 8, 2015 at 3:52 pm Debating the Carbon Tax | International Liberty

[…] with a big caveat. I want the government to collect tax (hopefully a small amount because we have a small government) in the way that does the least amount of damage to the American […]
on August 12, 2015 at 11:26 am More Keynesian Primitivism from the Congressional Budget Office | International Liberty

[…] What really matters for long-run prosperity is limiting the size and scope of government. Once the growth-maximizing size of government is determined, then lawmakers should seek to finance that public sector with a tax system that […]
on August 6, 2015 at 2:08 pm Budget Myths and Facts for the 2016 Campaign | International Liberty

[…] That being said, I think that CRFB’s focus is misplaced. They fixate on debt, which is the symptom, when they should be more concerned with reducing excessive government, which is the underlying disease. […]
on June 15, 2015 at 2:43 pm Even More Evidence that the OECD Is the Worst International Bureaucracy | International Liberty

[…] who would have guessed that bigger government leads to less growth? I’m shocked, […]
on May 19, 2015 at 3:13 pm Instead of Ending Poverty, Big Government Subsidizes Dependency | International Liberty

[…] you’re a new reader and don’t get the joke, Richard is famous for the Rahn Curve, though I think he overstates the growth-maximizing size of government. As such, I argue that we […]
on February 23, 2015 at 3:52 pm The Empirical Case for a Much Smaller Public Sector | Lex Rex for All

[…] video I narrated explaining the basics of the Rahn Curve, which was produced by the Center for Freedom and […]
on February 22, 2015 at 4:04 pm The Empirical Case for a Much Smaller Public Sector | International Liberty

[…] video I narrated explaining the basics of the Rahn Curve, which was produced by the Center for Freedom and […]
on February 2, 2015 at 1:29 pm Four Big Takeaways from Obama’s New Budget…and the Challenges for the GOP | International Liberty

[…] in government spending is the most important number (or set of numbers) in any budget. If the burden of spending is rising, regardless of whether that increase is financed by taxes or borrowing, more resources […]
on January 26, 2015 at 3:23 pm Continued Spending Restraint Can Quickly Balance the Budget | International Liberty

[…] *As I have written, over and over again, restraining the size and scope of the federal government should be the main goal of fiscal policy. Deficits and debt are undesirable, of course, but they’re best viewed as symptoms of the real problem, which is too much spending. […]
on January 18, 2015 at 10:20 am The Left’s Position on the Laffer Curve and Dynamic Scoring: Being Exactly Wrong Is Better than Being Inexactly Right | Lex Rex for All

[…] burden of government spending is well beyond the growth-maximizing level in the United States. This video […]
on January 4, 2015 at 1:11 pm The Left’s Position on the Laffer Curve and Dynamic Scoring: Being Exactly Wrong Is Better than Being Inexactly Right | International Liberty

[…] burden of government spending is well beyond the growth-maximizing level in the United States. This video […]
on October 13, 2014 at 9:07 pm Mark Riley

Strange how all the wealthy countries have large Govt sectors and the poor countries have small ones. Kind of makes this video typical of the adage that what works in theory doesn’t work in practise.
on October 3, 2014 at 12:27 pm A Fiscal Policy Tutorial: Everything You Need to Know about the Economics of Government Spending | International Liberty | Lex Rex for All

[…] Last but not least, the final video looks at the research about the growth-maximizing size of government. […]
on September 20, 2014 at 3:55 pm The Laffer Curve and Limits to Class Warfare Tax Policy | International Liberty

[…] As I’ve repeatedly argued, we want to be at the growth-maximizing point on the Laffer Curve. And that’s the level of tax necessary to finance the few legitimate functions of government. […]
on July 17, 2014 at 1:02 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 628) Keynesian spending doesn’t work | The Daily Hatch

[…] the end of the interview segment, I say the goal should be toreduce the size of government relative to the productive sector of the economy. I wasn’t narcissistic enough to say “Mitchell’s Golden Rule” on air, but I did say that […]
on July 7, 2014 at 10:51 am Scholarly Evidence Shows that Discretionary Spending Undermines Economic Growth | International Liberty

[…] That’s a big number, which implies that we’re definitely on the downward-sloping portion of the Rahn Curve. […]
on June 9, 2014 at 11:07 am Linear Thinking and the Rahn Curve: Responding to a Critic | International Liberty

[…] think I’m prevaricating, here’s a depiction of the Rahn Curve that was excerpted from my video on that specific […]
on April 1, 2014 at 10:45 am Assessing the New Ryan Budget | International Liberty

[…] Ryan and the House GOP can legitimately claim that the proposed budget is good for growth. But improved economic performance would be the result of a smaller burden of government spending and a potentially less destructive tax system. Those are […]
on March 24, 2014 at 9:50 am Canada, the Rahn Curve, and the Size of Government | International Liberty

[…] is standard Rahn Curve analysis and it shows that the public sector is far too large in almost all industrialized […]
on March 17, 2014 at 1:14 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 540) Lowering top tax rate from 70% to 28% from 1980 to 1988 and those earning over $200,000 paid 99 billion in taxes instead of 19 billion!!!! | The Daily Hatch

[…] And once we educate everybody about the Laffer Curve, we can then concentrate on teaching them about the equivalent relationship on the spending side of the fiscal ledger, the Rahn Curve. […]
on February 12, 2014 at 4:19 pm Goldilocks, Canada, and the Size of Government - Forbes

[…] the reason I feel like Goldilocks is because I’ve shared some “Rahn Curve” research suggesting that growth is maximized when total government spending consumes no more than 20 percent […]
on February 12, 2014 at 1:55 pm Goldilocks, Canada, and the Size of Government | International Liberty

[…] the reason I feel like Goldilocks is because I’ve shared some “Rahn Curve” research suggesting that growth is maximized when total government spending consumes no more than 20 percent […]
on February 5, 2014 at 2:36 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 512) (Cartoonists React to the Senate Democratic Budget) | The Daily Hatch

[…] great cartoon because it recognizes that the problem is bloated government, not red […]
on January 30, 2014 at 12:41 pm ¿QUIÉN HA DICHO QUE LA ECONOMÍA ES DIFÍCIL? | GOING ROGUE, GOING PALIN

[…] foto es otra manera de llegar al mismo punto. Me fue enviada por Richard Rahn (famoso por la Curva de Rahn) y utiliza dos pizzas para mostrar cómo las políticas de izquierda “resolverían” la […]
on January 27, 2014 at 8:15 am Making America more like France will not help the poor in the USA!!!! | The Daily Hatch

[…] is another way of getting across the same point. It was sent to me by Richard Rahn (famous for the Rahn Curve), and it uses two pizzas to show how leftist policies would “solve” […]
on January 26, 2014 at 7:15 am Everything You Ever Needed to Know about the Left’s View of Income Inequality, Captured in a Single Image | International Liberty

[…] is another way of getting across the same point. It was sent to me by Richard Rahn (famous for the Rahn Curve), and it uses two pizzas to show how leftist policies would “solve” […]
on January 14, 2014 at 1:37 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 496) (Challenge for Keynesian Anti-Sequester Hysterics: Why Did America’s Economy Boom When Reagan and Clinton Reduced the Burden of Spending?) | The Daily Hatch

[…] perhaps the only logical conclusion to reach is that government is too big and that Keynesian economics is […]
on January 13, 2014 at 7:50 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 495) (Wasting our tax dollars!!!) | The Daily Hatch

[…] In other words, the problem isn’t deficits. Red ink is just a symptom. The real problem is that government is too big. […]
on December 25, 2013 at 1:13 pm A Golden Rule Christmas | International Liberty

[…] even though I’m much more interested in reducing the size of the public sector than I am in fiscal balance, it’s worth noting that you can balance the budget by 2018 with […]
on December 2, 2013 at 1:32 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 465) (Government spending undermines economic growth) | The Daily Hatch

[…] are particularly harmful for growth. That also makes a lot of sense since I’ve explained in my video on the Rahn Curve that core public goods can be good for growth while other types of government spending undermine […]
on November 27, 2013 at 7:35 am Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute has noted, “I’m all in favor of bringing federal government spending back down to about 18 percent of GDP, which is where it was when Bill Clinton left office.” | The Daily Hatch

[…] But why stop there? Wouldn’t it be better to dramatically shrink the public sector? […]
on November 19, 2013 at 2:32 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 456) Economist Antony Davies’ video “Funding Government by the Minute” (includes editorial cartoon) | The Daily Hatch

[…] But the net effect is still the same. Big government is counter-productive government. […]
on November 18, 2013 at 9:55 am The Rise (and Upcoming Fall) of the Welfare State in the Western World #WelfareState #survival #ClassWar | Duct Tape & Paracord

[…] But why stop there? Wouldn’t it be better to dramatically shrink the public sector? […]
on November 12, 2013 at 4:46 pm The Rise (and Upcoming Fall) of the Welfare State in the Western World | International Liberty

[…] But why stop there? Wouldn’t it be better to dramatically shrink the public sector? […]
on November 9, 2013 at 11:36 am The European Crisis (and American Future?) of too Many Over-Compensated Bureaucrats | International Liberty

[…] strive to limit the amount of bureaucrats and how much they’re paid. The bad news is that the public sector is far too large in the United States, and that means (as explained in this video) we have too many over-compensated […]
on October 30, 2013 at 1:48 pm Keynesian Economics, Government Shutdowns, and Economic Growth - Forbes

[…] resources don’t get instantaneously reallocated when the burden of government spending is reduced. So I’ve always been willing to admit there could be a few speed bumps as some […]
on October 30, 2013 at 1:33 pm Keynesian Economics, Government Shutdowns, and Economic Growth | International Liberty

[…] resources don’t get instantaneously reallocated when the burden of government spending is reduced. So I’ve always been willing to admit there could be a few speed bumps as some […]
on October 28, 2013 at 7:47 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 440) A suggestion to cut some wasteful spending out of the government Part 6 (includes editorial cartoon) | The Daily Hatch

[…] But the net effect is still the same. Big government is counter-productive government. […]
on October 20, 2013 at 12:21 pm Politicians keep raising the debt ceiling and they don’t admit they have a spending addiction!!!! | The Daily Hatch

[…] why, in this interview with John Stossel, I reiterate my mantra that government spending is the problem and that deficits and debt are symptoms of the […]
on October 19, 2013 at 9:42 am Lung Cancer, Heroin, and Government Spending | International Liberty

[…] why, in this interview with John Stossel, I reiterate my mantra that government spending is the problem and that deficits and debt are symptoms of the […]
on October 11, 2013 at 1:22 pm More Academic Evidence that Bigger Government Means Less Prosperity | International Liberty

[…] has particularly bad effects in nations that already have bloated public sectors. Here’s the video I narrated on the Rahn Curve, which provides additional […]
on October 8, 2013 at 4:06 pm The Sequester actually did help control the growth of government and hopefully we can cut deeper this time around!!! | The Daily Hatch

[…] Gee, this is almost enough to make one conclude that we would be better off with a much smaller government! […]
on October 8, 2013 at 11:04 am Government Shutdown Jokes…and the Sick Joke of Obama’s Shutdown Strategy | International Liberty

[…] Gee, this is almost enough to make one conclude that we would be better off with a much smaller government! […]
on September 25, 2013 at 1:05 pm Should American Taxpayers Pay a $1 Billion Bribe to Get Syria to Drop Chemical Weapons? | International Liberty

[…] like it even better if some of my ideas actually wound up being implemented (like the flat tax or smaller government), but at least it’s nice to be […]
on September 19, 2013 at 4:18 pm Testifying to the Joint Economic Committee about “Debt Limit Brinksmanship” | International Liberty

[…] America’s main fiscal problem is that government is too big. That’s the disease Deficits and debt are symptoms of that underlying […]
on September 18, 2013 at 12:51 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 410)The death tax discourages saving and investing | The Daily Hatch

[…] surprisingly, I argue that more revenue in Washington will exacerbate the real problem of a federal government that is too big and spending too […]
on September 16, 2013 at 10:53 am The Moral Bankruptcy of the U.K.’s Faux Conservative Government | International Liberty

[…] people think government is too big and they don’t want to reward a corrupt political class with extra […]
on September 6, 2013 at 1:52 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 402) Portugal and the Laffer Curve | The Daily Hatch

[…] isn’t at the ideal point on the Laffer Curve (collecting the amount of revenue needed to finance legitimate activities of government), it may even be past the revenue-maximizing part of the […]
on September 4, 2013 at 1:35 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 400) At least the Tea Party stood up for the founding fathers’ idea of limited government | The Daily Hatch

[…] are busy negotiating over how to raise taxes while failing to address the real problem of a federal government that is too big and spending too […]
on August 28, 2013 at 12:36 am We got to cut government spending!!! | The Daily Hatch

[…] what’s the bottom line? Well, as Allister stated, the real problem is that government is too big and spending too […]
on August 7, 2013 at 2:04 am The death tax discourages saving and investing | The Daily Hatch

[…] surprisingly, I argue that more revenue in Washington will exacerbate the real problem of a federal government that is too big and spending too […]
on August 1, 2013 at 12:16 am Dear Senator Pryor, here are some spending cut suggestions (“Thirsty Thursday”, Open letter to Senator Pryor, cartoon included) | The Daily Hatch

[…] But the net effect is still the same. Big government is counter-productive government. […]
on July 24, 2013 at 6:56 am Some more true cartoons from Dan Mitchell’s blog on the President’s love of big government | The Daily Hatch

[…] But the net effect is still the same. Big government is counter-productive government. […]
on July 9, 2013 at 12:26 pm Dan Mitchell: Question of the Week: Has the European Fiscal Crisis Ended? | The Daily Hatch

[…] From an optimistic perspective, the fiscal situation should stabilize if governments keep spending under control. Some additional spending cuts would be very desirable since government spending consumes 45 percent-50 percent of GDP in these nations, which is at least double the growth-maximizing level. […]
on July 5, 2013 at 7:24 am Economist Antony Davies’ video “Funding Government by the Minute” (includes editorial cartoon) | The Daily Hatch

[…] But the net effect is still the same. Big government is counter-productive government. […]
on June 16, 2013 at 9:52 am More on the death of Keynesian stimulus voodoo. | The Rugged Individualist

[…] spend money with high levels of effectiveness and efficiency, this certainly suggests that growth will be stronger when the burden of government spending is modest (and if spending is concentrated on “public goods,” which do have a positive “rate of […]
on June 15, 2013 at 4:58 pm Other than Obama and Krugman, Is there Anybody Who Still Thinks Bigger Government Is Good for Growth? | We the People

[…] spend money with high levels of effectiveness and efficiency, this certainly suggests that growth will be stronger when the burden of government spending is modest (and if spending is concentrated on “public goods,” which do have a positive “rate of […]
on June 15, 2013 at 11:54 am Other than Obama and Krugman, Is there Anybody Who Still Thinks Bigger Government Is Good for Growth? | International Liberty

[…] spend money with high levels of effectiveness and efficiency, this certainly suggests that growth will be stronger when the burden of government spending is modest (and if spending is concentrated on “public goods,” which do have a positive […]
on June 10, 2013 at 10:36 am Let’s Hope for Heavy Casualties on Both Sides in the War Between the IMF and European Commission | International Liberty

[…] if they can maintain even a modest bit of fiscal discipline over the next few years, that should boost growth by shrinking government spending as a share of economic […]
on June 1, 2013 at 10:53 am Keynesian spending doesn’t work | The Daily Hatch

[…] the end of the interview segment, I say the goal should be toreduce the size of government relative to the productive sector of the economy. I wasn’t narcissistic enough to say “Mitchell’s Golden Rule” on air, but I did say that […]
on June 1, 2013 at 10:20 am Discussing Europe’s Faux Austerity with John Stossel | International Liberty

[…] the end of the interview segment, I say the goal should be to reduce the size of government relative to the productive sector of the economy. I wasn’t narcissistic enough to say “Mitchell’s Golden Rule” on air, but I […]
on May 31, 2013 at 7:42 am Lowering top tax rate from 70% to 28% from 1980 to 1988 and those earning over $200,000 paid 99 billion in taxes instead of 19 billion!!!! | The Daily Hatch

[…] And once we educate everybody about the Laffer Curve, we can then concentrate on teaching them about the equivalent relationship on the spending side of the fiscal ledger, the Rahn Curve. […]
on May 19, 2013 at 11:16 am Question of the Week: Quit Dodging the Issue and Tell Us the Revenue-Maximizing Point on the Laffer Curve | International Liberty

[…] Though I hasten to add that it’s not the ideal tax rate. As the risk of being repetitive, the tax system should only fund the legitimate functions of government. For much of our history, the government only consumed about 10 percent of economic output and we didn’t need any broad-based tax. So you know where I stand. […]
on May 3, 2013 at 6:44 am A suggestion to cut some wasteful spending out of the government Part 6 (includes editorial cartoon) | The Daily Hatch

[…] But the net effect is still the same. Big government is counter-productive government. […]
on April 27, 2013 at 11:45 am Question of the Week: Are there any Lessons to Be Learned from the Rogoff-Reinhart Kerfuffle? | International Liberty

[…] I’ve repeated over and over again, the real fiscal problem in most nations is the size of government. Excessive government spending is bad for prosperity, regardless of whether it is financed by taxes […]
on April 25, 2013 at 12:15 pm Government spending undermines economic growth | The Daily Hatch

[…] are particularly harmful for growth. That also makes a lot of sense since I’ve explained in my video on the Rahn Curve that core public goods can be good for growth while other types of government spending undermine […]
on April 25, 2013 at 9:28 am New European Central Bank Study Finds that Government Spending Undermines Growth | International Liberty

[…] are particularly harmful for growth. That also makes a lot of sense since I’ve explained in my video on the Rahn Curve that core public goods can be good for growth while other types of government spending undermine […]
on April 16, 2013 at 6:57 am Use of our tax money is pretty stupid | The Daily Hatch

[…] In other words, the problem isn’t deficits. Red ink is just a symptom. The real problem is that government is too big. […]
on April 15, 2013 at 3:39 pm An Aggravating Reminder of Government Waste on Tax Day | International Liberty

[…] In other words, the problem isn’t deficits. Red ink is just a symptom. The real problem is that government is too big. […]
on April 11, 2013 at 6:51 am Dear Senator Pryor, here are some spending cut suggestions (“Thirsty Thursday”, Open letter to Senator Pryor, cartoons included) | The Daily Hatch

[…] Government is too big. […]
on March 31, 2013 at 2:03 pm Question of the Week: What’s the Right Point on the Laffer Curve? | International Liberty

[…] more information about the growth-maximizing size of government, watch this video on the Rahn […]
on March 29, 2013 at 11:51 am Ranking the States for Economic and Personal Freedom

[…] Sometimes I myopically focus on fiscal policy, implying that the key to prosperity is small government. […]
on March 28, 2013 at 1:18 pm Ranking the States for Economic and Personal Freedom | International Liberty

[…] Sometimes I myopically focus on fiscal policy, implying that the key to prosperity is small government. […]
on March 18, 2013 at 6:27 am Dan Mitchell: Cartoonists React to the Senate Democratic Budget | The Daily Hatch

[…] great cartoon because it recognizes that the problem is bloated government, not red […]
on March 17, 2013 at 12:41 pm Cartoonists React to the Senate Democratic Budget | International Liberty

[…] great cartoon because it recognizes that the problem is bloated government, not red […]
on March 17, 2013 at 10:10 am If Obama Wants More Tax Revenue, He Should Lower the Corporate Tax Rate | International Liberty

[…] If you want my two cents on the topic, you maximize growth when you raise the revenue needed to finance the legitimate functions of government – and that requires a lots less revenue than we’re collecting now according to scholarly evidence on the “Rahn Curve.” […]
on March 12, 2013 at 7:01 am President Obama’s “You-Didn’t-Build-That” comment misses the mark because only 10% of the federal budget pays for public goods when the rest is actually harmful to the economy (Cartoons) | The Daily Hatch

[…] This is a perfectly fair point, as I explain in this video about the Rahn Curve. […]
on March 11, 2013 at 6:37 am Another funny sequester cartoon from Dan Mitchell’s blog | The Daily Hatch

[…] makes the cartoon so effective is not just the humor, but also the fact that it makes clear that government is too big and it also debunks the Keynesian notion that bad things will happen if we have even an […]
on March 10, 2013 at 12:50 pm As Humorously Explained by Henry Payne, the World Amazingly Didn’t End When Uncle Sam Got Put on a Sequester Diet | International Liberty

[…] makes the cartoon so effective is not just the humor, but also the fact that it makes clear that government is too big and it also debunks the Keynesian notion that bad things will happen if we have even an […]
on March 8, 2013 at 12:39 pm Challenge for Keynesian Anti-Sequester Hysterics, Part II: Why Did America’s Economy Boom When Reagan and Clinton Cut Spending? | lessbull.com

[…] Ramirez cartoon makes the same point). So perhaps the only logical conclusion to reach is that government is too big and that Keynesian economics is wrong. I don’t think I’ll ever convince Robert Reich, but […]
on March 6, 2013 at 11:13 am Obama makes me long for the good ole days when the economy was expanding | HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] perhaps the only logical conclusion to reach is that government is too big and that Keynesian economics is […]
on March 6, 2013 at 10:30 am Challenge for Keynesian Anti-Sequester Hysterics: Why Did America’s Economy Boom When Reagan and Clinton Reduced the Burden of Spending? | International Liberty

[…] perhaps the only logical conclusion to reach is that government is too big and that Keynesian economics is […]
on March 1, 2013 at 10:15 am Let’s Shed a Tear for those Under-Appreciated Bureaucrats Who Get Lavish Pensions and Live in $700K Homes | International Liberty

[…] of all, he actually suggests at the end of the video is that the real problem is that the federal government is far too large. What sort of place would employ such unreasonable […]
on February 27, 2013 at 5:54 pm Sequester Cartoons from Dan Mitchell’s blog Part 3 | HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] Government is too big. […]
on February 27, 2013 at 12:31 pm Excellent Sequester Cartoons | International Liberty

[…] Government is too big. […]
on February 26, 2013 at 11:53 am Karl Rove and the Rest of the GOP Establishment Should Think Twice Before Trying to Undermine the Tea Party | International Liberty

[…] means better politicians and/or better election results. But every advocate of tax reform and smaller government should be very happy that there are people in the country who are pressuring politicians to adhere […]
on February 13, 2013 at 2:14 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 238) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] on the political implications of adding Paul Ryan to the GOP ticket, my only concern is trying to limit the size and scope of government so we can enjoy more freedom and […]
on January 30, 2013 at 10:04 am The Great Hillsdale College Debate: Flat Tax or Fair Tax? « International Liberty

[…] what I want is a very small federal government, which presumably could be financed without any broad-based tax, but that’s an issue for […]
on January 29, 2013 at 5:21 am Is Anybody Surprised that Krugman Was Wrong about U.K. Fiscal Policy?

[…] what’s the bottom line? Well, as Allister stated, the real problem is that government is too big and spending too […]
on January 24, 2013 at 1:40 pm Is Government a Repulsive Spouse or Spoiled Child? « International Liberty

[…] But the net effect is still the same. Big government is counter-productive government. […]
on January 24, 2013 at 11:01 am Is Anybody Surprised that Krugman Was Wrong about U.K. Fiscal Policy? | lessbull.com

[…] what’s the bottom line? Well, as Allister stated, the real problem is that government is too big and spending too […]
on January 23, 2013 at 6:19 pm Is Anybody Surprised that Krugman Was Wrong about U.K. Fiscal Policy? « International Liberty

[…] what’s the bottom line? Well, as Allister stated, the real problem is that government is too big and spending too […]
on January 13, 2013 at 6:43 pm Another Way Of Saying It— A Follow Up On The Austerity Post | suyts space

[…] From an optimistic perspective, the fiscal situation should stabilize if governments keep spending under control. Some additional spending cuts would be very desirable since government spending consumes 45 percent-50 percent of GDP in these nations, which is at least double the growth-maximizing level. […]
on January 13, 2013 at 1:35 am Question of the Week: Has the European Fiscal Crisis Ended?

[…] From an optimistic perspective, the fiscal situation should stabilize if governments keep spending under control. Some additional spending cuts would be very desirable since government spending consumes 45 percent-50 percent of GDP in these nations, which is at least double the growth-maximizing level. […]
on January 12, 2013 at 2:29 pm Question of the Week: Has the European Fiscal Crisis Ended? « International Liberty

[…] From an optimistic perspective, the fiscal situation should stabilize if governments keep spending under control. Some additional spending cuts would be very desirable since government spending consumes 45 percent-50 percent of GDP in these nations, which is at least double the growth-maximizing level. […]
on January 11, 2013 at 2:46 am Portugal and the Laffer Curve « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] isn’t at the ideal point on the Laffer Curve (collecting the amount of revenue needed to finance legitimate activities of government), it may even be past the revenue-maximizing part of the […]
on January 10, 2013 at 2:32 am At least the Tea Party stood up for the founding fathers’ idea of limited government « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] are busy negotiating over how to raise taxes while failing to address the real problem of a federal government that is too big and spending too […]
on January 5, 2013 at 7:44 pm The only Good Death Tax Is a Dead Death Tax « International Liberty

[…] surprisingly, I argue that more revenue in Washington will exacerbate the real problem of a federal government that is too big and spending too […]
on January 4, 2013 at 6:12 pm GayPatriot » Government Spending Cuts Help the Economy

[…] We all know there is some “optimal size” for government spending, as a percentage of the economy. If it were 0%, we’d have anarchy: no police, no courts, no military (all of which I would rather have). And if it were 70%, 80% or more, we’d have communism, a system that always fails. The optimal size is somewhere, between those extremes. This phenomenon has a name: the Rahn Curve. […]
on January 3, 2013 at 9:53 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 209) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] This is a perfectly fair point, as I explain in this video about the Rahn Curve. […]
on January 1, 2013 at 12:04 pm Grading the Fiscal Cliff Deal: Terrible, but Could Be Worse | Tennesseans Watching Federal & State Government

[…] isn’t at the ideal point on the Laffer Curve (collecting the amount of revenue needed to finance legitimate activities of government), it may even be past the revenue-maximizing part of the […]
on December 31, 2012 at 10:44 am Class Warfare Tax Policy Causes Portugal to Crash on the Laffer Curve, but Will Obama Learn from this Mistake? « International Liberty

[…] at the ideal point on the Laffer Curve (collecting the amount of revenue needed to finance legitimate activities of government), it may even be past the revenue-maximizing part of the […]
on December 30, 2012 at 12:37 pm Notwithstanding Tea Party Objections, Kicking the Can Down the Road…to Greece « International Liberty

[…] are busy negotiating over how to raise taxes while failing to address the real problem of a federal government that is too big and spending too […]
on December 28, 2012 at 10:48 am Austérité en Europe ? Quelle austérité ? | Contrepoints

[…] clé de la bonne politique budgétaire est de réduire les dépenses de l’État en pourcentage de la production économique. Car si des augmentations d'impôt maintiennent l'économie privée dans la déprime, alors le […]
on December 19, 2012 at 11:40 am Portgual May Become the First of Europe’s Bankrupt Welfare States to Stumble upon Genuine Recovery Formula: Less Spending AND Lower Tax Rates « International Liberty

[…] the key to good fiscal policy is reducing government spending as a share of economic output. And if tax increases keep the private economy in the dumps, then the actual burden of government […]
on December 12, 2012 at 1:09 pm New Research from Finland’s Central Bank Confirms that Government Spending Is Causing Stagnation in Europe « International Liberty

[…] Gee, that sounds quite familiar. Where have we come across this notion that big government has a negative impact on growth? Sounds a lot like the Rahn Curve. […]
on November 28, 2012 at 8:23 am Getting more taxes in will not help cure our spending addiction (Part 14 ) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] I wrote about him last year. We clashed the most, arguing about everything from tax havens to the size of government. Interestingly, we both said nice things about Sweden, but I was focusing on policies such as […]
on November 20, 2012 at 4:41 pm We Should Worry about the Long-Run Burden of Government, not the Fiscal Cliff « International Liberty

[…] not all government spending is created equal. As explained in the Rahn Curve video, outlays to provide core public goods are associated with better economic performance. Expenditures […]
on November 20, 2012 at 8:30 am Is President Obama going to bankrupt our country by going from 10 trillion to 22 trillion in debt? (part 10) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] now look at these numbers from a policy perspective. Rahn Curve research shows that government is far too big today, so the goal of fiscal policy should be to restrain the […]
on November 12, 2012 at 8:04 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 168.3) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] not true. If the burden of government spending had grown as 3 percent instead of 8.3 percent, economic growth would have been much stronger, so GDP would have been much larger and the public sector would be an ever smaller share of […]
on August 22, 2012 at 7:33 pm Ken Stanley

Mr Mitchel’s discussion of the Rahn curve is very informative. It s easy to remember and understand because it is virtually the same as the Laffer curve but with different labels on the axis.
on August 15, 2012 at 9:24 am I Don’t Know if Ryan Will Help Romney Win, but His Budget Would Help the Economy « International Liberty

[…] on the political implications of adding Paul Ryan to the GOP ticket, my only concern is trying to limit the size and scope of government so we can enjoy more freedom and […]
on August 10, 2012 at 4:15 pm Mike

Reblogged this on This Got My Attention and commented:
I had forgotten about this excellent video.
on August 10, 2012 at 10:50 am Should Economists Get Government Subsidies? « International Liberty

[…] close this post by suggesting where there could be consensus. As I noted in my Rahn Curve video, there are some forms of government spending that are associated with better economic performance. […]
on August 3, 2012 at 7:08 am “Feedback Friday” Letter to White House generated form letter response July 10,2012 on welfare, etc (part 14) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] it often hurts the economy when government spends money. Sort of a perverse 2-for-1 special (though “Rahn Curve” analysis does show that some types of spending – on core public goods – is correlated with better economic […]
on July 30, 2012 at 12:21 pm “You-Didn’t-Build-That” comment pictured in cartoons!!! « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] This is a perfectly fair point, as I explain in this video about the Rahn Curve. […]
on July 28, 2012 at 9:01 am A Funny Look at Obama’s You-Didn’t-Build-That Comment « International Liberty

[…] This is a perfectly fair point, as I explain in this video about the Rahn Curve. […]
on July 27, 2012 at 7:58 am Excessive spending will get you in trouble every time, Cyprus another example « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] not true. If the burden of government spending had grown as 3 percent instead of 8.3 percent, economic growth would have been much stronger, so GDP would have been much larger and the public sector would be an ever smaller share of […]
on July 23, 2012 at 8:18 am Thank the Private Sector for the Internet, not Government « International Liberty

[…] I’ve actually explained in one of my videos that there are some forms of government spending – such as capital spending – that can […]
on July 14, 2012 at 11:37 am Why Western Europe Became Rich in the Past…and How It Can Regain Prosperity Today « International Liberty

[…] and 73 PowerPoint slides, but I could have saved them a lot of time if I simply showed them this Rahn Curve video and then posted just one slide – the one showing that the burden of government spending in […]
on July 11, 2012 at 12:15 pm In Tallinn, Helping to Protect the People of Estonia from Krugmanomics « International Liberty

[…] burden of government spending shrinks over time. By slowly but surely reducing the amount of GDP diverted to fund government, this would enable policymakers to deal with the one area where Estonia’s tax system is very […]
on July 11, 2012 at 6:18 am Eesti peaks eirama Paul Krugmani ja hakkama Euroopa Hong Kongiks « Mises.EE

[…] slowly but surely reducing the amount of GDP diverted to fund government, this would enable policymakers to deal with the one area where Estonia’s tax system is very […]
on July 8, 2012 at 9:28 am Liberals act like the Laffer Curve does not exist. « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] Another problem is that people assume that tax rates should be set at the revenue-maximizing level. I explained back in 2010 that this was wrong. Policy makers should strive to set tax rates at the growth-maximizing level. But since a growth-generating tax is about as common as a unicorn, what this really means is that tax rates should be set to produce enough revenue to finance the growth-maximizing level of government – as illustrated by the Rahn Curve. […]
on July 8, 2012 at 8:09 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 110) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] it often hurts the economy when government spends money. Sort of a perverse 2-for-1 special (though “Rahn Curve” analysis does show that some types of spending – on core public goods – is correlated with better economic […]
on July 8, 2012 at 7:57 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 108) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] are two simple answers. First, enact a simple and fair flat tax to keep rates low. Second, shrink government to its proper size, which will automatically reduce waste and limit opportunities for […]
on July 8, 2012 at 7:30 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 103) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] Another problem is that people assume that tax rates should be set at the revenue-maximizing level. I explained back in 2010 that this was wrong. Policy makers should strive to set tax rates at the growth-maximizing level. But since a growth-generating tax is about as common as a unicorn, what this really means is that tax rates should be set to produce enough revenue to finance the growth-maximizing level of government – as illustrated by the Rahn Curve. […]
on July 5, 2012 at 12:37 pm The Simple and Predictable Story of Fiscal Bankruptcy in Cyprus | Cato @ Liberty

[…] not true. If the burden of government spending had grown as 3 percent instead of 8.3 percent, economic growth would have been much stronger, so GDP would have been much larger and the public sector would be an ever smaller share of […]
on July 5, 2012 at 10:06 am The Simple and Predictable Story of Fiscal Bankruptcy in Cyprus « International Liberty

[…] not true. If the burden of government spending had grown as 3 percent instead of 8.3 percent, economic growth would have been much stronger, so GDP would have been much larger and the public sector would be an ever smaller share of […]
on June 28, 2012 at 7:36 am It’s My Birthday and I Want a Constitional Present from the Supreme Court « International Liberty

[…] My video on Obamacare, for instance, completely focused on how the legislation would expand the burden of government. The mandate is a bad idea, without question, but it’s also a big mistake to impose more spending and taxes when government already is far too big. […]
on June 20, 2012 at 9:05 am Is Investigating Steroid Use a Legitimate Function of the Federal Government? « International Liberty

[…] on Rahn Curve research about the growth-maximizing size of government, this would lead to an economic […]
on June 2, 2012 at 7:35 am You Be the Judge: Should Executive Pay Be Capped at Government-Owned Companies? « International Liberty

[…] what’s the right answer? If we’re allowed to fantasize, the obvious decision is to shrink government to its legitimate size so there aren’t any government-owned or government-subsidized […]
on May 31, 2012 at 12:27 pm John Brummett: President Obama has not been big spender « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] now look at these numbers from a policy perspective. Rahn Curve research shows that government is far too big today, so the goal of fiscal policy should be to restrain the […]
on May 29, 2012 at 8:18 am Which President Is the Biggest Spender, Part II « International Liberty

[…] now look at these numbers from a policy perspective. Rahn Curve research shows that government is far too big today, so the goal of fiscal policy should be to restrain the […]
on May 26, 2012 at 8:47 am New Study from UK Think Tank Shows How Big Government Undermines Prosperity | Speculative Thinker

[…] This is my message in this video on the Rahn Curve. […]
on May 25, 2012 at 2:54 pm New Study from UK Think Tank Shows How Big Government Undermines Prosperity | Cato @ Liberty

[…] This is my message in this video on the Rahn Curve. […]
on May 25, 2012 at 1:56 pm New Study from U.K. Think Tank Shows How Big Government Undermines Prosperity « International Liberty

[…] This is my message in this video on the Rahn Curve. […]
on May 25, 2012 at 10:07 am Based on the Reform Agenda of German Free Market Advocates, Europe Is Doomed « International Liberty

[…] be the first to admit that infrastructure spending is less damaging that social welfare spending, but it is a bit of a fantasy to assume that there are lots of high-return projects languishing on […]
on May 19, 2012 at 2:41 pm American Politicians Should Learn Some Policy Lessons from Hong Kong and Singapore « International Liberty

[…] One reason they have good tax policy is that the burden of government spending is relatively modest, usually less than 20 percent of economic output (maybe their politicians have heard of the Rahn Curve!). […]
on May 18, 2012 at 8:02 am Daniel in the Lion’s Den: Fighting for Liberty at the United Nations « International Liberty

[…] I wrote about him last year. We clashed the most, arguing about everything from tax havens to the size of government. Interestingly, we both said nice things about Sweden, but I was focusing on policies such as […]
on May 17, 2012 at 11:04 am Paul Krugman and the European Austerity Myth | Cato @ Liberty

[…] the long run, of course, the goal should be to shrink the overall burden of government to its growth-maximizing level. Daniel J. Mitchell • May 8, 2012 @ 11:19 am Filed under: Finance, Banking […]
on May 16, 2012 at 7:04 am Data in New World Bank Report Shows that Large Public Sectors Reduce Economic Growth | Cato @ Liberty

[…] elaborate, this video discusses the Rahn Curve, which augments the data in the World Bank […]
on May 9, 2012 at 7:19 am Liberal blogger makes a good point about surplus under Bill Clinton « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government outlays. The bad news is […]
on May 8, 2012 at 8:49 am Paul Krugman and the European Austerity Myth « International Liberty

[…] the long run, of course, the goal should be to shrink the overall burden of government to its growth-maximizing level. Rate this: Share this:PrintEmailFacebookTwitterMoredeliciousDiggFarkLinkedInRedditStumbleUponLike […]
on May 7, 2012 at 7:10 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 72) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] the most important thing we need to understand is that bloated government is our main problem. If we had a limited federal government, as our Founding Fathers envisioned, it would be almost […]
on May 1, 2012 at 2:40 pm Lib Idea of the Month: More on the Laffer Curve « …………….THE LIBERTARIAN – El Libertario – Le Libertaire……. Ongoing SMILE News, Tools & Humor: www.TheLibertarian.Info

[…] And once we educate everybody about the Laffer Curve, we can then concentrate on teaching them about the equivalent relationship on the spending side of the fiscal ledger, the Rahn Curve. […]
on April 23, 2012 at 3:16 pm Miracles Do Happen: Someone in Brussels Accurately Analyzes Europe’s Fiscal Crisis! « International Liberty

[…] obviously far beyond the growth-maximizing size of government, which means European nations – on average – would be condemned to permanent economic […]
on April 23, 2012 at 8:21 am An award to the person who cut spending by our federal governement the most ($47) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] to be distracted by humor and would rather focus on reckless and wasteful spending, then you should watch this Rahn Curve video to understand the economic damage of big government. Like this:LikeBe the first to like this post. By Everette Hatcher III, on April 23, 2012 at […]
on April 23, 2012 at 8:21 am An award to the person who cut spending by our federal governement the most ($47) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] to be distracted by humor and would rather focus on reckless and wasteful spending, then you should watch this Rahn Curve video to understand the economic damage of big government. Like this:LikeBe the first to like this post. By Everette Hatcher III, on April 23, 2012 at […]
on April 23, 2012 at 7:46 am Finally, Some Government Workers Who Want to Cut Spending « International Liberty

[…] to be distracted by humor and would rather focus on reckless and wasteful spending, then you should watch this Rahn Curve video to understand the economic damage of big government. Rate this: Share this:PrintEmailFacebookTwitterMoredeliciousDiggFarkLinkedInRedditStumbleUponLike […]
on April 19, 2012 at 3:39 am Time for Me to Defend My Work on Tax Havens – Forbes | Xtax

[…] are too onerous and unfair. If I somehow manage to bring government down to 10 percent of GDP, as the Rahn Curve suggests if we want to maximize prosperity for the American people, then I’ll have the luxury of worrying about the moral legitimacy of a […]
on April 18, 2012 at 9:48 am Time for Me to Defend My Work on Tax Havens « International Liberty

[…] are too onerous and unfair. If I somehow manage to bring government down to 10 percent of GDP, as the Rahn Curve suggests if we want to maximize prosperity for the American people, then I’ll have the luxury of worrying about the moral legitimacy of a […]
on April 11, 2012 at 2:17 pm MoreFreedom

Excellent video. Thank you Mr. Mitchell.

One argument not made by Mitchell, is that the more you have to pay to government for a product, the more it costs. And countries that have lower burdens of government, are able to product goods/services at lower costs to consumers, as a result. Thus, lower taxes is better for consumers and producers.

To me the best government spending level is 0. But that assumes we won’t have criminals or foreign enemies. Thus, limiting government to just protecting our freedoms, provides the best opportunities for prosperity. The alternative, is to pay government (instead of a company in a free market) for goods/services. And since when has government produced anything but war competitively?

Government produces cataract surgery in North Korea, but citizens with cataracts there go blind for lack of it (but Kim Jong can get it, being the 1% leader). That’s how well government produces.
on April 10, 2012 at 6:25 am The Laffer Curve Shows that Tax Increases Are a Very Bad Idea – even if They Generate More Tax Revenue « International Liberty

[…] Another problem is that people assume that tax rates should be set at the revenue-maximizing level. I explained back in 2010 that this was wrong. Policy makers should strive to set tax rates at the growth-maximizing level. But since a growth-generating tax is about as common as a unicorn, what this really means is that tax rates should be set to produce enough revenue to finance the growth-maximizing level of government – as illustrated by the Rahn Curve. […]
on April 7, 2012 at 9:24 am Taxpayers get Screwed to Finance a $537,767-Per-Year Bureaucrat « International Liberty

[…] is that most bureaucrats get overpaid for position that shouldn’t even exist. If we shrink government to its proper size, the problem is mostly resolved. Rate this: Share […]
on April 4, 2012 at 10:59 am Massive government spending encourages fraud and discourages hard work in private market « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] it often hurts the economy when government spends money. Sort of a perverse 2-for-1 special (though “Rahn Curve” analysis does show that some types of spending – on core public goods – is correlated with better economic […]
on April 4, 2012 at 10:58 am Corrupt scams like Solyndra and bailouts make people resent paying their taxes and look for tax havens « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] are two simple answers. First, enact a simple and fair flat tax to keep rates low. Second, shrink government to its proper size, which will automatically reduce waste and limit opportunities for […]
on April 3, 2012 at 8:10 am A Case Study of How Government Handouts Undermine Human Decency and Social Capital « International Liberty

[…] it often hurts the economy when government spends money. Sort of a perverse 2-for-1 special (though “Rahn Curve” analysis does show that some types of spending – on core public goods – is correlated with better economic […]
on April 2, 2012 at 2:16 pm Revolt of the Irish Tax Slaves « International Liberty

[…] are two simple answers. First, enact a simple and fair flat tax to keep rates low. Second, shrink government to its proper size, which will automatically reduce waste and limit opportunities for […]
on March 30, 2012 at 10:27 am New Developments from Japan Show the Left Is Wrong on Two Big Fiscal Issues « International Liberty

[…] There are several semi-permanent fiscal policy fights in Washington, most of which somehow are related to the big issue of whether government should be bigger or smaller. […]
on March 28, 2012 at 9:10 am Explaining Pro-Growth Tax Reform to the Senate Budget Committee « International Liberty

[…] 2. It’s impossible to have good tax policy if government is too big. […]
on March 21, 2012 at 11:53 am John Brummett and Rick Crawford don’t see that the real problem is how much government spends!!!!! « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] I do know that America’s fiscal problem is a government that is far too big. You don’t solve the problem with more taxes, just as you don’t cure alcoholics by giving them […]
on March 16, 2012 at 8:34 am Rick Crawford falls for Democrats’ trick:raise taxes first and we will cut spending later « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] I do know that America’s fiscal problem is a government that is far too big. You don’t solve the problem with more taxes, just as you don’t cure alcoholics by giving them […]
on March 15, 2012 at 12:52 pm Congratulations to Congressman Rick Crawford, Winner of the First Charlie Brown Award for Vapidness and Gullibility « International Liberty

[…] I do know that America’s fiscal problem is a government that is far too big. You don’t solve the problem with more taxes, just as you don’t cure alcoholics by […]
on March 12, 2012 at 10:46 am By Restraining Burden of Federal Spending, Senator Paul Shows How It’s Simple to Balance the Budget « International Liberty

[…] My motivation was to help people understand that America’s fiscal problem is excessive government spending, not red ink. Deficits and debt are undesirable, of course, but they are best understood as symptoms. The underlying disease is a bloated federal budget that diverts resources from the productive sector of the economy and subsidiz…. […]
on March 4, 2012 at 11:59 am A Fiscal Policy Tutorial: Everything You Need to Know about the Economics of Government Spending « International Liberty

[…] Last but not least, the final video looks at the research about the growth-maximizing size of government. […]
on February 26, 2012 at 4:12 pm What’s the Difference between a Libertarian, a Supply-Sider, a Keynesian, and an IMF Bureaucrat? « International Liberty

[…] right approach, needless to say, is libertarianism. Small government and low tax rates are the pro-growth, pro-freedom recipe. That’s the one part of the Table […]
on February 25, 2012 at 12:12 am The result of having lots of taxes is the mean IRS. « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] the most important thing we need to understand is that bloated government is our main problem. If we had a limited federal government, as our Founding Fathers envisioned, it would be almost […]
on February 23, 2012 at 10:09 pm What’s the Recipe for Growth and Prosperity? | Sago

[…] moral of the story is simple. A country should have a small public sector and a pro-growth tax system, but that’s only 20 percent of the answer. Prosperity requires good […]
on February 23, 2012 at 1:20 pm What’s the Recipe for Growth and Prosperity? « International Liberty

[…] moral of the story is simple. A country should have a small public sector and a pro-growth tax system, but that’s only 20 percent of the answer. Prosperity requires […]
on February 18, 2012 at 12:03 am 4 reasons why big government does not work « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government outlays. Daniel J. […]
on February 9, 2012 at 2:41 pm Clarence Swinney

Response to Heritage article on cost of poor
Anti-Christ Anti America????
Help the poor ultra rich—Shaft the poor poor

Have you ever told both sides? Rich and Poor. Revenues/Expenditures Mismatch?
No one can deny our programs need change including those that enrich the already ultra rich.

The poor get peanuts the Rich get Caviar. Try Top Down on Expenditures.
Who gets our tax revenues.

Since 1980. our Tax Book has been a Christmas Tree loaded with goodies for Rich and Big corporations like GE.
Is it not shameful to you that the Rich & Corporations get more in Exemptions than they pay in taxes??? Does that not bother you?

Does it not bother you that top 50% get 87% of individual Income and pay 12.5% tax rate or 10% of total income????

Does it not bother you that 10% own 73% of net wealth.83% financial wealth and get 50% of income
It would bother Jesus Christ!

Does it not bother you that our rankings in OECD nations are:
#2-Least taxed as percent of GDP—Taxed 30% of GDP in federal-state-local taxes
#2-Least taxed corporations as % of GDP. 35% top rate could be 100% no one pays it
#4 on Inequality—In 1980, in bottom 5.
It would bother Jesus Christ!!

1980 to 2009 our Tax Book has been a Christmas Tree loaded with goodies for Rich and Large corporations
Think not? Then explain how they get more exemptions than they pay in taxes?

Explain how from 1945 to 1980 bottom 20% gained more, percentage-wise, than top 1% in Wealth?

Explain how the top 50% get 87% of total individual income and pay a 12..5% Tax Rate which is actually about 10% of Total Income?

Explain this AWFUL—How 10% get 73% of net wealth ; 83% of financial wealth; 50% of individual income ; pay 18.5% tax rate or “about” 15% of total income???

Explain how 80% got the big shaft since 1980????

Yes! All programs need my Top Down Cost Reduction Program that has saved millions for businesses.
Top Down will show a picture that you refuse to acknowledge or expose.

I like Heritage but hate deceptions. Your writers may believe, sincerely, what they publish yet that does not make it truth.

When will you tell of the Disaster of Reagan, Bush I and Bush II?
Took 600B budget to 3500B (less Lord Bill litsy bitsy) in 20 years
Took 1000B Debt (after 200 years)to 10,000B in 20 years
Took surplus to 1400B Deficits as far as eye can see
Created 99,000 net new jobs per month to Carter + Clinton 222,000
Initiated our involvement in 10 foreign conflicts
Smashed our Housing Industry
Smashed the World Financial System with unregulated Casino Derivative of America.
Lied us into Two horrid wars
Took us from most admired nation to Big Bully hated by1500 Million Muslims and lost respect in most nations. Started our Decline into End Of American Empire.
Clarence swinney-old87 uglymeanhonest political historian Lifeaholics of America
on February 9, 2012 at 2:38 pm Clarence Swinney

CORPORATE TAX RATE

Put it at 100% will make no difference if they get enough exemptionas to pay 1.5% of gdp. We rank #2 in OECD on Least Tax as % of GDP on corporations

How can one justify—Corporations get more Exemptions than they Pay in taxes????????????????????

Since 1980, our tax book has been a Christmas Tree for goodies for Rich and Corporations

Their tax rates have, steadily, gone down down down

.We borrowed 14,00 Billion that took rich to ultra rich and corp ceos etc to ultra rich..Tme to tax them to get a pay back.

Jobs Creators My rear end. 31,000 net new jobs per month in Bush 8 years.
Lowest since Hoover.
In 20 of 3 Repub presidents since 1980 we got 90,000 per month compared to Carter Clinton 222,000. Rich got huge tax breaks under the 3 and only 99,000
per month.

Republicans die for tax cuts for rich.
Yet since 1921. Spend and Borrow R presidents got 800,000 jobs per year compared ot Tax & Spend Pay your way D presidents 1,800,000 per year

Cut those taxes cut those jobs.
on February 9, 2012 at 2:18 pm Data in New World Bank Report Shows that Large Public Sectors Reduce Economic Growth « International Liberty

[…] elaborate, this video discusses the Rahn Curve, which augments the data in the World Bank […]
on January 22, 2012 at 5:40 pm » Merkel and Sarkozy Propose Higher Taxes to ‘Strengthen Growth Now’ - Big Government

[…] Reducing the burden of government spending to allow more efficient allocation of labor and capital. […]
on January 22, 2012 at 2:53 pm Europe’s Fiscal Crisis Is Caused by too Much Government, and Deficits and Debt Are Merely Symptoms of that Problem « International Liberty

[…] they generally don’t live in Europe. Writing for the Australian, Professor Judith Sloan cites the Rahn Curve as she explains the need to reduce the size and scope of the public […]
on January 21, 2012 at 10:21 am Making Obama Seem Reasonable by Comparison, Merkel and Sarkozy Propose Higher Taxes to “Strengthen Growth Now” « International Liberty

[…] Reducing the burden of government spending to allow more efficient allocation of labor and capital. […]
on January 3, 2012 at 8:44 am Reagan and Clinton had good fiscal policies according to Cato Institute « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government outlays. The bad news is […]
on December 12, 2011 at 8:34 am » European Central Bank Research Shows that Government Spending Undermines Economic Performance - Big Government

[…] may sound familiar, because it’s a description of the Rahn Curve, which is sort of the spending version of the Laffer Curve. This video […]
on December 11, 2011 at 11:24 am European Central Bank Research Shows that Government Spending Undermines Economic Performance « International Liberty

[…] may sound familiar, because it’s a description of the Rahn Curve, which is sort of the spending version of the Laffer Curve. This video […]
on November 11, 2011 at 1:46 pm Explaining How to Solve America’s Fiscal Crisis « International Liberty

[…] think I covered a lot of ground in about 10 minutes. The key message was that government is too big and that the only solution is to limit government so that it grows slower than the private sector. […]
on November 6, 2011 at 9:42 am A Lesson on the Laffer Curve for Barack Obama « International Liberty

[…] we educate everybody about the Laffer Curve, we can then concentrate on teaching them about the equivalent relationship on the spending side of the fiscal ledger, the Rahn Curve. Rate this: Share this:PrintEmailFacebookTwitterMoredeliciousDiggFarkLinkedInRedditStumbleUponLike […]
on October 28, 2011 at 8:32 am Four Reasons Why Keynesian “Stimulus” Does Not Work « International Liberty

[…] all, the federal government is too big, and the damage to the economy would still exist even if the deficit disappeared because $1 […]
on October 10, 2011 at 6:54 am The result of having lots of taxes is the mean IRS. « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] the most important thing we need to understand is that bloated government is our main problem. If we had a limited federal government, as our Founding Fathers envisioned, it would be almost […]
on October 10, 2011 at 6:49 am 4 reasons why big government does not work « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government outlays. Daniel J. […]
on October 3, 2011 at 10:15 pm The result of having lots of taxes is the mean IRS « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] the most important thing we need to understand is that bloated government is our main problem. If we had a limited federal government, as our Founding Fathers envisioned, it would be almost […]
on August 9, 2011 at 3:44 pm Debt, Entitlements, Downgrades, Unfunded Liabilities, and the Europeanization of America « International Liberty

[…] I cover a wide range of issues in this interview for Bloomberg Asia. My main theme, not surprisingly, is that government is too big. […]
on August 9, 2011 at 5:22 am What Are the Consequences of the Downgrade? | Cato @ Liberty

[…] does matter, however, is that the American economy is burdened with a bloated public sector that is sapping the nation’s economic vitality. And this problem will get worse every year […]
on August 8, 2011 at 1:19 pm Dan Mitchell of Cato Institute: Marching to become another Greece « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] does matter, however, is that the American economy is burdened with a bloated public sector that is sapping the nation’s economic vitality. And this problem will get worse every year […]
on August 8, 2011 at 12:00 pm S&P Downgrade

[…] does matter, however, is that the American economy is burdened with a bloated public sector that is sapping the nation’s economic vitality. And this problem will get worse every year […]
on August 8, 2011 at 12:45 am It Comes Down to This « Mythusmage Opines

[…] We All Know Government Is too Big, but Here’s the Evidence « International Liberty. […]
on August 7, 2011 at 8:25 pm Instapundit » Blog Archive » DANIEL MITCHELL: The Rahn Curve: We All Know Government Is Too Big, But Here’s The Evidence. …

[…] DANIEL MITCHELL: The Rahn Curve: We All Know Government Is Too Big, But Here’s The Evidence. […]
on August 7, 2011 at 8:00 pm Classical Values » The Rahn Curve

[…] Why am I only finding out about this today? Everyone should see this video. […]
on August 7, 2011 at 6:48 pm A Look at Some Consequences of the S&P Downgrade | The Western Experience

[…] does matter, however, is that the American economy is burdened with a bloated public sectorthat is sapping the nation’s economic vitality. And this problem will get worse every year because […]
on August 6, 2011 at 7:33 am What Are the Consequencs of the Obama Downgrade? « International Liberty

[…] does matter, however, is that the American economy is burdened with a bloated public sector that is sapping the nation’s economic vitality. And this problem will get worse every year […]
on July 22, 2011 at 7:24 am Arkansas Times blogger accuses Reagan of increasing spending « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government outlays. The bad news is […]
on July 17, 2011 at 5:26 am New Study from Swedish Economists Allows Us to Quantify the Cost of the Bush-Obama Spending Binge | Cato @ Liberty

[…] For all intents and purposes, all this research shows that developed nations are on the downward-sloping portion of the Rahn Curve. Named after my Cato colleague Richard Rahn and explained in the video below, the Rahn Curve is sort of a spending version of the Laffer Curve. […]
on July 14, 2011 at 9:37 pm Study From Swedish Economists Allows Us To Quantify Cost Of Bush » WeNewsIt

[…] For all intents and purposes, all this research shows that developed nations are on the downward-sloping portion of the Rahn Curve. Named after my Cato colleague Richard Rahn and explained in the video below, the Rahn Curve is sort of a spending version of the Laffer Curve. […]
on July 14, 2011 at 4:02 pm » New Study from Swedish Economists Allows Us to Quantify the Cost of the Bush-Obama Spending Binge - Big Government

[…] For all intents and purposes, all this research shows that developed nations are on the downward-sloping portion of the Rahn Curve. Named after my Cato colleague Richard Rahn and explained in the video below, the Rahn Curve is sort of a spending version of the Laffer Curve. […]
on July 14, 2011 at 7:55 am New Study from Swedish Economists Allows Us to Quantify the Cost of the Bush-Obama Spending Binge « International Liberty

[…] of the Rahn Curve. Named after my Cato colleague Richard Rahn and explained in the video below, the Rahn Curve is sort of a spending version of the Laffer Curve. Richard […]
on April 18, 2011 at 11:11 am The IRS: Even Worse Than You Think « Sago

[…] the most important thing we need to understand is that bloated government is our main problem. If we had a limited federal government, as our Founding Fathers envisioned, it would be almost […]
on April 18, 2011 at 4:03 am » The IRS: Even Worse Than You Think Neil Esquibel blog (God save the FCC)

[…] the most important thing we need to understand is that bloated government is our main problem. If we had a limited federal government, as our Founding Fathers envisioned, it would be almost […]
on April 17, 2011 at 6:33 pm The IRS: Even Worse Than You Think | 99ers Unemployment Extension

[…] the most important thing we need to understand is that bloated government is our main problem. If we had a limited federal government, as our Founding Fathers envisioned, it would be almost […]
on April 17, 2011 at 6:16 pm The IRS: Even Worse Than You Think | Conservatives for America

[…] the most important thing we need to understand is that bloated government is our main problem. If we had a limited federal government, as our Founding Fathers envisioned, it would be almost […]
on April 17, 2011 at 5:02 pm » The IRS: Even Worse Than You Think - Big Government

[…] the most important thing we need to understand is that bloated government is our main problem. If we had a limited federal government, as our Founding Fathers envisioned, it would be almost […]
on April 17, 2011 at 9:28 am The IRS: Even Worse Than You Think « International Liberty

[…] the most important thing we need to understand is that bloated government is our main problem. If we had a limited federal government, as our Founding Fathers envisioned, it would be almost […]
on April 15, 2011 at 1:21 pm Happy Tax Freedom Day! « The Market Center Blog

[…] Tax Freedom Day only measures the direct and immediate impact of taxation. It doesn’t measure the overall burden of government. This chart from the Tax Foundation shows that the fiscal burden of government has jumped […]
on April 13, 2011 at 11:15 pm Happy Tax Freedom Day! | Cato @ Liberty

[…] Freedom Day only measures the direct and immediate impact of taxation. It doesn’t measure the overall burden of government. This chart from the Tax Foundation shows that the fiscal burden of government has jumped […]
on April 12, 2011 at 12:01 pm Happy Tax Freedom Day! | Conservatives for America

[…] Freedom Day only measures the direct and immediate impact of taxation. It doesn’t measure the overall burden of government. This chart from the Tax Foundation shows that the fiscal burden of government has jumped […]
on April 12, 2011 at 11:49 am » Happy Tax Freedom Day! - Big Government

[…] Freedom Day only measures the direct and immediate impact of taxation. It doesn’t measure the overall burden of government. This chart from the Tax Foundation shows that the fiscal burden of government has jumped […]
on April 12, 2011 at 9:41 am Happy Tax Freedom Day! « International Liberty

[…] Freedom Day only measures the direct and immediate impact of taxation. It doesn’t measure the overall burden of government. This chart from the Tax Foundation shows that the fiscal burden of government has jumped […]
on February 14, 2011 at 5:58 pm To Fix the Budget, Bring Back Reagan…or Even Clinton « The Market Center Blog

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government outlays. The bad news is […]
on February 14, 2011 at 11:33 am To Fix the Budget, Bring Back Reagan…or Even Clinton | Conservatives for America

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government outlays. The bad news is […]
on February 14, 2011 at 11:05 am » To Fix the Budget, Bring Back Reagan…or Even Clinton - Big Government

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government outlays. The bad news is […]
on February 9, 2011 at 8:06 am Four Reasons Why Big Government Is Bad Government | Cato @ Liberty

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the "Rahn Curve," which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government outlays. Daniel J. […]
on February 8, 2011 at 7:07 am Monty Pelerin's World » Size Matters with Government

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government outlays. Socialism […]
on February 7, 2011 at 11:59 pm Four Reasons Why Big Government Is Bad Government

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government […]
on February 7, 2011 at 8:51 pm Four Reasons Why Big Government Is Bad Government « The Market Center Blog

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government […]
on February 7, 2011 at 6:02 pm Four Reasons Why Big Government Is Bad Government | Conservatives for America

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government […]
on February 7, 2011 at 4:52 pm Four Reasons Why Big Government Is Bad Government | Think Tank West

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government […]
on February 7, 2011 at 2:18 pm Four Reasons Why Big Government Is Bad Government « International Liberty

[…] but not least, this video reviews the theory and evidence for the “Rahn Curve,” which is the notion that there is a growth-maximizing level of government […]
on December 6, 2010 at 7:01 pm Answering Stupid Polling Questions: A Personal Story « International Liberty

[…] the right answer is, d) reducing government spending. After all, the evidence is very clear that excessive government slows growth by diverting resources from the productive sector of the economy. Sadly, the poll only allowed the three options. So I said “reducing taxes” since that […]
on July 7, 2010 at 7:32 am Joseph Coyle

The message of this video is powerful. To think that government was so limited right up to 1945 and that all of this lionizing of government is a very recent phenomenon. Sad and disturbing.

Thank you, Cato, for doing this research and sharing it with us.
on June 29, 2010 at 11:21 am Victoria Williams

What an informative video. I am helping with a gubernatorial campaign in OK this year, and this would be a great grassroots effort to get the truth out. Permission to use this video and a digital copy of the slides for reprint would be much appreciated.

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