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Why do Progressives always believe they have the high road?
Driving with a friend the other day, a Democrat, we discussed how the GPS that most people now have in their cars has reduced the need to remember landmarks and figure out the routes to take when you...
View ArticlePrice Controls and Gas Lines
Don Boudreaux reminisces about price controls on gasoline and having to wait in line for twelve hours just to purchase some back in 1979. I worked at a gas station in high school at that time. I, too,...
View ArticleRemember, people respond to incentives.
Once again, tax things you want less of and subsidize things you want more of. It seems that due to Britain's tax policy, athletes (and performers) avoid competing there. Few high earners in other...
View ArticleIs Mitt Romney paying a "fair" share of his income in taxes?
In discussing Paul Ryan's federal tax return, the Associate Press's Stephen Ohlemacher notes Ryan, R-Wis., paid an effective federal tax rate of 15.9 percent in 2010 and 20 percent in 2011, according...
View ArticleHere's an example of a meaningless statistic.
This was the wording on the Twitter feed: "Hunger Games Trilogy Beats Harry Potter Series To Become All-Time Bestselling Book Series" Wow! That's an amazing feat given the popularity of the Harry...
View ArticleThe Stupid Party vs. the Evil Party
A decade ago I would have claimed to have more in common with Republicans than with Democrats, therefore I was more likely to side with, and vote for, Republicans than with Democrats. After twelve...
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Another abysmal jobs report.
One day after some relatively good news hit, the jobs report released today puts a damper on things. U.S. job creation kept to a distressingly slow pace in August, as employers added just 96,000 new...
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How has the employment-population ratio changed during administration cycles?
The following is an interesting look at the percentage point change in the employment-population ratio during the terms of the last twelve presidents. (Note that the terms of Kennedy, Johnson I, Nixon...
View ArticleIs Apple positioning itself to become more like Microsoft . . . in a...
Pandora's streaming-radio service, through which customers can build their own radio stations using their music preferences, has made it one of the few companies to enjoy lasting popularity in online...
View ArticleWhat really matters when it comes to income inequality?
James Heckman has done considerable research on what works in early childhood education and its importance for reducing income inequality. Paul Tough uses Heckman to explain how children learn. In his...
View ArticleWanna prevent head injuries in the NFL? Get rid of the helmets.
If you missed the hit by Pittsburgh Steeler Ryan Mundy on Oakland Raider Darrius Heyward-Bey, it's hard to watch. Mundy said after the game that he did not intentionally lead with his helmet and felt...
View ArticleIt's the Constitution, stupid.
As I prepare my lecture on pubic choice and the failure of democracy for tomorrow's lecture, from today's Washington Post comes a story about how legislators in both the Senate and the House have...
View ArticleThe Poverty of State Collectivism - Government School Edition
In a market capitalist system properly conceived, in order to make me better off I have to make you better off relative to what anyone else is offering you with similar resources. Competition forces me...
View ArticleTyler Cowen on Makers v. Takers In Our Economic/Political System
For three years as one of his students I used to listen to Tyler lecture (it was never a lecture, but more of an interrogation). It was common that I would walk away thinking that something he said - a...
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The value of the marginal dollar spent on . . .
Whoever started the marketing campaign for breast cancer research is a genius. I see pink ribbons everywhere I go, on people, on cars, on buildings, even on telephone poles. Pink is now plastered on...
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Again, the enemy of the people lies within the people.
Yes, "government is a broker in pillage," as noted by H.L Mencken, but in the end, the problem lies with us. George Will explains it here. Democracy is representative government, which is the problem....
View ArticleGeorge McGovern, an enlightened Senator, perhaps?
Former Senator George McGovern died today at age 90. After retiring from the Senate, McGovern opened a bed and breakfast, which drove him into bankruptcy within a year. He noted after that episode: In...
View ArticleThat Siri Is Such A Jokester
ME: What is the meaning of life? Sire: Let me get back to you on that. I will write a very long play in which nothing happens. What a card, that Siri.
View Article"Creating Jobs"? Please Get Over Yourselves
With all the pandering about "creating jobs," maybe this is what President Obama and Governor Romney have in mind. Monday through Saturday, uninvited messengers show up at households all across America...
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