The effect of Government spending on economic growth

This is an interesting video and well worth a listen, the video that Dan is referring to in the first one is the one posted below. He talks about the ‘Rahn Curve’ which is a ‘Government spending effect’ version of the Laffer Curve. The argument for smaller government is massive, in Ireland we have almost a fifth of the workforce either directly or indirectly employed totally by the state.

Extraction cost is something that we could do well to begin to come to grips with in Ireland, the autopilot answer we often hear about the ‘government needs to fix this’ should be more carefully considered, because the state is happy to step in (for the most part) but at what price?

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A phonecall with Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute

Sometimes when I’m having a rough day I decide to reach out to some of the people that I see on TV or read about in the press and talk to them, it’s part of a greater ideal in which I believe people should have as many mentors as possible, spending time around the people whom they hope to emulate, if you can’t meet them in person then call them on the phone. It works (in my opinion!).

Anyway, today I was reading something Dan Mitchell from the Cato Institute wrote and decided that it would be best to give him a call, his receptionist obviously mistook me for somebody important (pigeon American/Irish accent works wonders!) and put me through and all I can say is that in person Dan Mitchell is a joy to talk to, while somehow managing to make a lot of sense in an easy to digest manner. That particular talent is a rarity.

I wanted to talk about taxation, the …

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The cost containment of healthcare.

This is a video from the libertarian group The Cato Institute and it talks about universal healthcare. It raises some interesting points, in particular that of the states involvement in running medical services, eventually it will result in rationing, this will come via the government lead centralised system, or via the open market system via prices.

Having spent some time recently in hospital it has lead me to believe that we have top class people within the system, but that it is the system itself which is the issue, a 13 hour wait time in ’emergency’ gave me plenty of time to reflect. Healthcare is a central area of our tax spending, getting it right might involve changing our views of what is and isn’t expected from state healthcare before we try to change the operation behind it.

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The cost of the taxation system is a tax in itself

While I am not a believer in ‘flat tax’ this video from the Cato Institute does make some very valid points that stand true even in Ireland. The burden of compliance in taxation and elsewhere is actually a barrier to an efficient taxation system.

Taxation being complex is so widely accepted now that many don’t ask the fundamental question: If we/you are the one paying taxes is it too much to ask that they be made simple to understand and easily comprehended by the very people they affect? Perhaps the complexity of the taxation system is part of what protects it and stops people from asking these questions.

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Daniel J. Mitchell discusses Taxes on MSNBC

Daniel J. Mitchell talks taxes on MSNBC, Daniel is from the Cato Institute which is a conservative/libertarian institute, the points raised however, are valid in some cases and opinion oriented in others, talking about ‘European Stagnation’ for instance ignores some of the ‘European benefits’ which our citizens enjoy such as (generally) a more inclusive healthcare system and social welfare system.

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