When writing yesterday’s column about new competitiveness rankings from the IMD business school in Switzerland, I noticed that I have not yet written about this year’s edition of the Index of Economic Freedom. Time to rectify that oversight. We’ll start with a look at the nations with the most economic freedom. Interestingly, Singapore has now […]
Search Results for 'denmark'
Which Country Enjoys More Economic Liberty, the United States or Denmark?
Posted in Denmark, Economic Rankings, Economics, Free Markets, United States, tagged Denmark, Economic Rankings, Economics, Free Markets, United States on June 19, 2020| 21 Comments »
Denmark, Socialism, and Free Markets, Part II
Posted in Denmark, Government Spending, Mitchell's Golden Rule, tagged Denmark, Government Spending, Mitchell's Golden Rule on April 26, 2019| 9 Comments »
I explained yesterday that Denmark is not a good role model for American leftists. Simply stated, Otto Brøns-Petersen’s video shows that the admirable outcomes in that country are the result of laissez-faire markets and the bad outcomes are the result of the welfare state imposed beginning in the 1960s. In any event, Denmark is not […]
Paul Krugman Is Learning the Wrong Lesson from Denmark
Posted in Big Government, Denmark, Welfare State, tagged Big Government, Denmark, Welfare State on August 20, 2018| 27 Comments »
Paul Krugman has butchered numbers when writing about fiscal policy in nations such as France, Estonia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Today, we’re going to peruse his writings on Denmark. Here’s some of what he wrote earlier this month. Denmark can teach us…about the possibilities of creating a decent society. …Denmark, where tax receipts are 46 percent of GDP compared with […]
Debunking Leftist Mythology on Sweden and Denmark
Posted in Big Government, China, Denmark, Economics, Swedem, tagged Big Government, China, Denmark, Economics, Sweden on July 29, 2016| 41 Comments »
I’m still in China, as part of a week-long teaching assignment about markets, entrepreneurship, economics, and fiscal policy at Northeastern University in Shenyang. One point that I’ve tried to get across to the students is that China should not copy the United States. Or France, Japan, or Sweden. To be more specific, I warn them […]
No Matter How You Slice the Data, Senator Sanders and other Leftists Are Wrong to Think Nations like Sweden and Denmark Are More Prosperous than America
Posted in Competitiveness, Economics, Europe, News Appearance, Welfare State, tagged Bernie Sanders, Competitiveness, Economics, Europe, News Appearance, Welfare State on October 28, 2015| 28 Comments »
I periodically make comparisons of the United States and Europe that are not very flattering for our cousins across the Atlantic. Though this isn’t because of any animus toward Europe. Indeed, I always enjoy my visits. And some of America’s best (albeit eroding) features, such as rule of law and dignity of the individual, are […]
Will Denmark Become a Shining Example of Mitchell’s Golden Rule?
Posted in Denmark, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Mitchell's Golden Rule, tagged Denmark, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Mitchell's Golden Rule on June 20, 2015| 26 Comments »
I suggested earlier this year that Denmark’s ratio of private sector workers compared with government dependents produced the world’s most depressing Powerpoint slide. It’s hard to be optimistic, after all, if a nation has an ever-growing number of people riding in the wagon (or the “party boat“) and a stagnant population of productive people. But […]
The World’s (or at least Denmark’s) Most Depressing PowerPoint Slide
Posted in Denmark, Dependency, Economics, Government Spending, Redistribution, Welfare, Welfare State, tagged Denmark, Dependency, Economics, Government Spending, Redistribution, Welfare, Welfare State on May 5, 2015| 45 Comments »
Okay, I’ll admit right away that the title of this column is an exaggeration. But if you’re a public policy wonk and you worry about the rising level of government dependency and the erosion of self reliance, then you’ll understand why the chart below, which was presented earlier today at the Copenhagen conference of the […]
Denmark’s Party Boat and the Ever-Expanding Welfare State
Posted in Dependency, Economics, Humor, Political Humor, Welfare, Welfare State, tagged Denmark, Dependency, Economics, Humor, Political Humor, Welfare, Welfare State on March 17, 2014| 25 Comments »
My all-time most-viewed blog post wasn’t the parable about beer and the tax system. Nor was it the joke about California, Texas, and the Coyote. Those won the silver and bronze trophies. The gold medal belongs to the two pictures that explain how the welfare state begins and how it ends. Those images make a […]
If Tax Policy Is any Indication, Birthers Should Accuse Obama of Being Born in Denmark
Posted in Class warfare, Higher Taxes, Laffer Curve, Obama, Tax Increase, Taxation, tagged Class warfare, Danish Economic Council, Denmark, Higher Taxes, Laffer Curve, Tax Increases, Taxation on July 9, 2012| 45 Comments »
I’m not a big fan of government conspiracy theories, largely because the people in Washington are too bloody incompetent to do anything effectively. Heck, sometimes they can’t even waste money properly even though they have lots of practice. But it recently crossed my mind that maybe President Obama was born in Denmark. Not in a […]
Another Honest Leftist Admits Big Government Requires Big Tax Hikes on the Middle Class
Posted in Class warfare, Fiscal Policy, Higher Taxes, Tax Increase, Taxation, tagged Class warfare, Fiscal Policy, Higher Taxes, Middle Class, Tax Increase, Taxation on April 2, 2021| 7 Comments »
It’s simple to mock Democrats like Joe Biden, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bernie Sanders. One reason they’re easy targets is they want people to believe that America can finance a European-style welfare state with higher taxes on the rich. That’s nonsensical. Simply stated, there are not enough rich people and they don’t earn enough money (and […]
Five Notable Takeaways from the 2021 Index of Economic Freedom
Posted in Economic Rankings, Economics, Free Markets, tagged Economic Rankings, Economics, Free Markets on March 4, 2021| 5 Comments »
The 2021 edition of the Index of Economic Freedom was released today (as I’ve repeatedly stated, it’s my favorite annual publication from the Heritage Foundation). There are five things that merit attention 1. Hong Kong is no longer in first place. Indeed, it’s no longer even part of the rankings because the authors have determined […]
Part III: Poverty Is a Problem, not Inequality
Posted in Economics, Inequality, Poverty, tagged Economics, Inequality, Poverty on December 23, 2020| 17 Comments »
Ethical people, regardless of ideology, should be motivated by an empathetic desire to help the poor rather than a spiteful thirst to punish the rich. That was the message in Part I and Part II of this series. That’s also today’s message, and we’ll start with this video. There’s a lot of information in this […]
Will Mississippi Join the No-Income-Tax Club?
Posted in Competitiveness, Fiscal Policy, Income tax, States, tagged Competitiveness, Fiscal Policy, Income tax, Mississippi, States on November 27, 2020| 6 Comments »
When examining state public policy, big jurisdictions such as California, Texas, New York, and Florida get a lot of attention. But what about Mississippi? It has mediocre scores for overall economic policy. It’s #29 according to the American Legislative Exchange Council. It’s #39 according to the Fraser Institute. It’s #35 according to Freedom in the […]
New Zealand’s Risky Wage-Rigging Gamble
Posted in Economics, Government intervention, New Zealand, Price Controls, tagged Comparable Worth, Economics, Feminism, Government intervention, New Zealand, Price Controls on November 15, 2020| 3 Comments »
I’m a big fan of New Zealand because the nation is a great example of how sweeping free-market reforms lead to very good results. The Kiwis got rid of all agriculture subsidies and farmers benefited. The Kiwis put the clamps on government spending, both in the 1990s and 2010s. The Kiwis used private property rights […]
Ranking Societal Capital: USA Is #4, but the Long-Run Outlook Isn’t Encouraging
Posted in Redistribution, Societal Capital, Welfare State, tagged Redistribution, Societal Capital, Welfare State on November 12, 2020| 7 Comments »
I’m a voracious consumer of publications that rank economic liberty and national competitiveness. Simply stated, these apples-to-apples rankings tell us which countries have policies that are friendly to growth (and thus the places that will enjoy rising living standards). I’m also very interested in “societal capital,” which is the degree to which the people of […]
Migration Patterns and Class-Warfare Taxation
Posted in Migration, Tax Competition, Taxation, tagged Migration, Tax Competition, Taxation on October 24, 2020| 4 Comments »
When I opine about class-warfare taxation, I generally focus on the obvious argument that it’s not a good idea to penalize people for creating prosperity. This argument against punitive tax policy is based on the fact that entrepreneurs, investors, business owners, and other successful people can choose to reduce their levels of work, saving, investment, […]
More Scholarly Evidence for Switzerland’s Debt Brake
Posted in Debt, Government Spending, Spending Cap, Switzerland, tagged Debt, Debt Brake, Government Spending, Spending Cap, Swiss Debt Brake, Switzerland on October 19, 2020| 9 Comments »
For a land-locked nation without many natural resources, Switzerland is remarkably successful. One reason for the country’s success is pro-market policy. Switzerland routinely scores in the top 5 according to both Economic Freedom of the World and Index of Economic Freedom. More specifically, I’m a big fan of the country’s fiscal policy, especially the “Debt […]
For a Competitive Tax System, the U.S. Should Copy Estonia Rather than Italy
Posted in Competitiveness, Estonia, Italy, Taxation on October 15, 2020| 10 Comments »
Whether we’re examining Economic Freedom of the World, Index of Economic Freedom, World Competitiveness Ranking, the Global Competitiveness Report, or the World Bank’s Doing Business, publications that endeavor to give us apples-to-apples comparisons of economic policy provide useful measuring sticks. We can learn how Hong Kong compares to Singapore. We can determine the freest nation […]
A Primer on the Laffer Curve
Posted in Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation, tagged Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation on August 13, 2020| 47 Comments »
Last week, I gave a presentation on the Laffer Curve to a seminar organized by the New Economic School in the nation of Georgia. A major goal was to help students understand that you can’t figure out how changes in tax rates affect tax revenues without also figuring out how changes in tax rates affect […]