Writing Well Is the Best Revenge
by David R. Henderson
by David R. Henderson
For
the first years of its existence, radio seemed like an economic loser
without government subsidy. No one could figure out how to make
listeners pay, and, consequently, radio hosts and entertainers usually
worked for free. In 1922, Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce,
asserted, "Nor do I believe there is any practical method of payment
from the listeners." But that same year, AT&T discovered that it
could make money by selling ad time on radio. It sounds obvious now, but
it wasn't then. After that, radio thrived and is still thriving.
John Lott tells that story and many others — and tells them well — in his latest book, Freedomnomics. Although the title is clunky — it's obviously a version of the more famous title Freakonomics
— that's all that's clunky. Lott's book is an analytic tour de force as
he walks the reader through the economics of issues as varied as the
origin and development of American public schools, why government grows,
crime, gun control, political influence, gasoline prices, the price of
wine at restaurants, and voting machines. In each case, he explains
concepts that most people don't understand but want to understand
— concepts that help us figure out our world. And, in the process, he
makes the case — summed up by the book's subtitle — for "Why the Free
Market Works and Other Half-Baked Theories Don't."
The Invisible Heart. by David R. Henderson
Are you ready for a novel that appeals to your intellect and your heart at the same time? Have I got a book for you. It's The Invisible Heart
(MIT Press, 271 pages, $22.95) by economist Russell Roberts. Yes, it's
an economics novel. In other words, when you read this novel, you will
learn a lot of economics, in a very pleasant, philosophical way. On top
of all that, the one romantic scene, even though it reveals no skin, is a
real turn on.
Until
recently, the main economics novels in existence were written by
economists William Breit and Kenneth Elzinga under the pseudonym
Marshall Jevons. The Marshall was for Alfred Marshall and the Jevons was
for William Stanley Jevons, both prominent British economists in the
late 19th century. The Marshall Jevons novels are mysteries
that the reader can solve if he pays attention to detail, the typical
requirement for solving a mystery, and, furthermore, understands a key
principle or two of economics. In one of their novels, for example, you
can spot a lie by knowing the answer to the joint supply problem in
economics, which says that when the demand for, say, beef goes up, the
price of leather falls. But no one has attempted to write an economics
novel about a love story.
Who Wants the U.S. To Make War in Syria? by Michael S. Rozeff
There are people
vigorously promoting America’s entry into new wars in Syria and
Iran. Many of them eagerly advocated the U.S. aggressions against
Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite the failures of these wars to achieve
the projected goals, they are urging new U.S. wars. They are the
neoconservatives. They applaud U.S. military action in places like
Libya, Yemen, and Somalia. The neoconservative paradigm also looks
favorably upon a U.S. military presence in countries like Uganda,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
Neoconservatives
seek democracy almost everywhere, with the choice and emphasis depending
on their interpretation of American interests and with lip service
to costs. Zachary
Selden writes
Outsourcing for Dummies (Including the Willfully Ignorant)
Why NOT Make Olympic Uniforms in China?
by Daniel J. Ikenson
Patriotism, it has been said, is the last refuge of
scoundrels. Indeed, with 86% of the American public disapproving of
Congress' performance, refuge-seeking politicians have wrapped
themselves in the flag to denounce the fact that the U.S. Olympic team's
uniforms were manufactured in China.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said he was "so upset...
they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them
and start all over again." House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, clucked
of the Olympic committee at a news conference that "You'd think they'd
know better."Let Them Eat Hope by Gene Healy
After much soul searching, Barack Obama has figured out where his presidency has gone wrong — and he shared it with CBS's Charlie Rose and viewers across the fruited plain Sunday morning.
"The mistake of my first term — couple of years," the president
allowed, "was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy
right." At times, Obama confessed, he'd forgotten that "the nature of
this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives
them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism, especially during tough
times." He needed to do "more explaining, but also inspiring.""Because hope is still there," the first lady added.
Obama and TV News
The Obama White House is both
very aware and very thin-skinned about what reporters, and particularly
TV reporters, say about it.
President Obama’s recent announcement of his policy
change on gay marriage made news, and not just because of the policy,
but for the way in which he announced it: In an interview with ABC’s
Robin Roberts. As the Washington Post’s Paul Farhi wrote, Obama’s
release was “controversial” in that he did not do it in the traditional
ways of a press conference or an Oval Office address, but in a daytime
television interview on the second-ranking network, and with a reporter
who does not typically focus on politics. Politico’s Dylan Byers also
noted the oddity of the choice, speculating that the White House may
have selected Roberts, who is an African-American and a Christian, to
soften the blow of his policy shift in those particular communities.Regardless of the reason, it seems clear that the Obama administration put some serious thought into how to manage their policy shift. This fits into a pattern of Obama and his team aggressively micro-managing their relationship with TV news. As CNN’s Jonathan Wald told Byers, “The White House is very careful who it picks for which message.” As this story shows, for all the talk about Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, television remains the key medium by which Americans get not only their news, but also their impressions of our political leaders.
Paul Krugman’s Intellectual Great-Grandfather
You’ve probably never heard of
Walter Weyl, but he invented the role of liberal economics popularizer.
His literary descendants include Stuart Chase, John Kenneth Galbraith,
Paul Samuelson, and Paul Krugman.
Consider these arguments: The richest 1 percent of
Americans are getting richer and more powerful every year. The 1 percent
dominates the economy in an unhealthy way. The only way to solve this
problem of increasing income inequality is to tax and redistribute the
incomes of the rich in ways that benefit the national interest and not
just the privileged few.Is this a summary of a recent column by Paul Krugman? No. Substitute “the plutocracy” for “the 1 percent,” and you’ll accurately describe the ideas of Walter Weyl, the most important Progressive thinker you’ve never heard of.
Are Americans Too Dumb for Democracy?
The best hope for democracy
still lies in the unregulated marketplace of ideas, in which the maxim
‘Let the buyer beware’ remains the surest safeguard against cheats and
charlatans, including those waving their PhDs in your face.
Are Americans too dumb for democracy?Of late, there has been a spate of articles and op-ed pieces that suggest the answer to this question is an emphatic yes: The majority of Americans are simply too hopelessly ignorant to make the kind of intelligent decisions that are necessary to preserve a healthy democratic system.
Judging from the tone of these articles, America is currently suffering not only from an epidemic of obesity, but an epidemic of stupidity.
It’s Not a Welfare State, It’s a Special Interest State
The concept of ‘welfare’ has become an open, bottomless vessel into which every desire can be poured.
One of the most successful linguistic hijackings ever is the Left’s appropriation of the term “welfare state.”No one opposes the most basic version of a welfare state, one that provides essential public facilities, cares for the destitute and unfortunate, educates children, and protects public health and safety. Indeed, as the Supreme Court said in 1881, during an era regarded by the Left as a dark-age trough, “It will not be denied by any one that these are public purposes in which the whole community have an interest.”
Checks, Balances, and Audits
Here’s an approach that accepts the reality of the Administrative State while restoring the principle of checks and balances.
Our Constitution was designed to disperse power. The
theory was that each branch of government would have its potential for
abuses curbed by the other branches. This is the theory of checks and
balances.Our modern government has left the original model behind. We have what is sometimes called the Administrative State, in which power is exercised by independent agencies that are largely beyond the reach of the political process. Examples would include the Federal Reserve Board, the Internal Revenue Service, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Congressional Budget Office.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation: Who Will Guarantee This Guarantor?
The law requires that the PBGC ‘be self-financing.’ So far, the PBGC has ‘self-financed’ itself into a $26 billion hole.
Defined-benefit pension plans are very difficult to
finance successfully: That is why so many of them, both private and
public, are deeply underfunded. It is also why they are a disappearing
financial species. General Motors, though it went through a
government-directed bankruptcy, still had unfunded pension liabilities
of $25 billion at the end of 2011, and has announced that it hopes to
eliminate defined-benefit plans for all current salaried employees this
year.Who Knew When about the LIBOR Problems?
‘The New York Fed continued to monitor for problems related to LIBOR.’ And then?
The inaccurate reporting of LIBOR interest
rates—certainly among the most important interest rates in the world—by
Barclays and other banks is a scandal of the present day. But did
central banks and the U.S. government know about the problem four years
ago? Yes, they did. This is made clear by the July 13 report just issued
by the New York Federal Reserve Bank. It includes these statements:The Essential Lesson of the Auto Bailout
What do companies get when they act responsibly? Government-subsidized competition.
On July 5 in the swing state of Ohio, President Obama treated voters to his campaign-2012 synopsis of
the 2009 auto industry bailout: "When the American auto industry was on
the brink of collapse and more than one million jobs were on the line,
Governor Romney said we should just let Detroit go bankrupt."His message was clear: The Obama administration’s 2009 decision to bail out the auto industry allegedly saved it from the fate it would have suffered had Romney’s approach—bankruptcy—won the day.
The map below, adapted from the Ohio affiliate of the U.S. Census Bureau, shows automobile assembly plants in the Midwest and South, and helps to illustrate the “industry” in question. Red indicates companies rescued by the bailout; green indicates companies that didn’t participate in the bailout.
If You Don’t Buy Insurance, Will You Really Pay the Tax?
Generally speaking, if you owe the IRS, it will get the money from you—with the possible exception of the ObamaCare tax.
Now that the Supreme Court has decided that ObamaCare’s
mandate to buy health insurance is a tax, will the IRS be able to
collect it?
Generally speaking, if you owe the IRS, it will
get the money from you—with the possible exception of the ObamaCare tax.
Though ObamaCare’s individual mandate imposes a tax on people who do
not purchase government-approved health insurance, the law explicitly
neuters the IRS’s ability to collect the tax.
Bizarre? Yes. And it matters. If policymakers expect uninsured young
people to buy health insurance when it is even more expensive than it is
today, the threat of serious consequences for not doing so must be
real. Yes, the threat that the IRS might come after you if you do not do
what you are told looks real at first glance. But Democratic
politicians, fearing public backlash for making the mandate too
intrusive, pulled its teeth.America Heading Towards a Collapse Worse Than 2008 AND Europe! Says Peter Schiff
America Heading Towards a Collapse Worse Than 2008 AND Europe! Says Peter Schiff
By Jeff Macke | Breakout –
Schiff, who famously warned investors about the housing and financial crisis in his 2007 book Crash Proof, says the Fed's palliative efforts during the housing meltdown have made the next crisis inevitable.
"We've got a much bigger collapse coming, and not just of the markets but of the economy," Schiff says in the attached clip. "It's like what you're seeing in Europe right now, only worse."
"We've got a much bigger collapse coming, and not just of the markets but of the economy," Schiff says in the attached clip. "It's like what you're seeing in Europe right now, only worse."
Monday, July 16, 2012
The Fallacy of the 'Public Sector' by Murray N. Rothbard
We have heard
a great deal in recent years of the "public sector," and
solemn discussions abound through the land on whether or not the
public sector should be increased vis-à-vis the
"private sector." The very terminology is redolent of
pure science, and indeed it emerges from the supposedly scientific,
if rather grubby, world of "national-income statistics."
But the concept is hardly wertfrei; in fact, it is fraught
with grave, and questionable, implications.
In the first
place, we may ask, "public sector" of what?
Of something called the "national product." But note
the hidden assumptions: that the national product is something
like a pie, consisting of several "sectors," and that
these sectors, public and private alike, are added to make the
product of the economy as a whole.
The Fed: Mend It or End It? by Ron Paul
Last
week I held a hearing to examine the various proposals that have
been put forth both to mend and to end the Fed. The purpose was
to spur a vigorous and long-lasting discussion about the Fed's problems,
hopefully leading to concrete actions to rein in the Fed.
First, it is
important to understand the Federal Reserve System. Some people
claim it is a secret cabal of elite bankers, while others claim
it is part of the federal government. In reality it is a bit of
both. The Federal Reserve System is the collusion of big government
and big business to profit at the expense of taxpayers. The Fed's
bailout of large banks during the financial crisis propped up poorly-run
corporations that should have gone under, giving them a market-distorting
advantage that no business in the United States should receive.
The recent news about JP Morgan is a case in point. JP Morgan, a
recipient of $25 billion in bailout money, recently announced it
lost another $2 billion. If a corporation shows itself to be a bottomless
money pit of "errors, sloppiness and bad judgment," the
Fed shouldn't have expected $25 billion in free money to change
that or teach anyone a lesson in fiscal discipline. But it determined
that this form of deliberate capital destruction was preferable
to one business suffering bankruptcy. Clearly, some changes need
to be made.
Capital Controls Have No Place in a Free Society by Ron Paul
The
characteristic mark of a tyrannical regime is that it eventually
finds it necessary to erect walls to keep people from leaving. This
is why we should be troubled by the “Ex-PATRIOT Act,”
an egregiously offensive bill recently introduced in the Senate.
Following a long line of recent legislation and regulations attempting
to expropriate more and more wealth from hard-working Americans,
this new bill spits in the face of overburdened taxpayers and tramples
on the Constitution.
War Drums for Syria? by Ron Paul
War
drums are beating again in Washington. This time Syria is in the
crosshairs after a massacre there last week left more than 100 dead.
As might be expected from an administration with an announced policy
of "regime change" in Syria, the reaction was to blame
only the Syrian government for the tragedy, expel Syrian diplomats
from Washington, and announce that the US may attack Syria even
without UN approval. Of course, the idea that the administration
should follow the Constitution and seek a Declaration of War from
Congress is considered even more anachronistic now than under the
previous administration.
It may be the
case that the Syrian military was responsible for the events last
week, but recent bombings and attacks have been carried out by armed
rebels with reported al-Qaeda ties. With the stakes so high, it
would make sense to wait for a full investigation – unless the
truth is less important than stirring up emotions in favor of a
US attack.
The CBO Sees the Economic Cliff Ahead by Ron Paul
Last
week the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued its annual long-term
budget outlook report, and the 2012 numbers are not promising. In
fact, the CBO estimates that federal debt will rise to 70% of GDP
by the end of the year – the highest percentage since World War
II. The report also paints a stark picture of entitlement spending,
as retiring Baby Boomers will cause government spending on health
care, Social Security, and Medicare to explode as a percentage of
GDP in coming years.
While the mainstream
media correctly characterized the CBO report as highly pessimistic,
they also ignored longstanding errors of methodology in CBO estimates.
And those errors tend to support arguments for higher taxes and
government spending, when in fact America needs exactly the opposite.Stepping out of the system
Stepping out of the system
In lean economic times, alternative financial systems are sprouting up
around the world. And now they come with a digital twist.
"The
Greek state is completely absent," says Katarina with a deep chuckle.
We are standing across from each other inside a sweltering building on
the outskirts of the Greek city of Volos, about 200 miles north of
Athens on the Mediterranean. Both Katarina and her daughter, who stands
beside her, have been unemployed for months. They are at this makeshift
market to sell their array of homemade jams, pickled vegetables and
liqueurs, which are spread out on the table between us.
The Texan gambler who bet his life on JFK's death - and won
The Texan gambler who bet his life on JFK's death - and won
THE YEARS OF LYNDON JOHNSON VOLUME 4: THE PASSAGE OF POWER BY ROBERT A CARO (The Bodley Head £35)
By Peter Lewis
Enlarge
An alternative title to this tome
might have been: ‘Succeeding Kennedy’. It’s difficult to imagine a
harder act to follow given the national trauma of JFK’s televised
assassination before the eyes of his whole devastated country.
Rivals: Lyndon B Johnson, left, with Bobby and John Kennedy, right, in 1960
Fateful day: President Kennedy driving through Dallas moments before his assassination
Libertarianism and Abortion by Laurence M. Vance
My recent article
"Should
Libertarians Be Conservatives" elicited a huge response
– most of it positive. Some libertarians, however, were quite annoyed
because I expressed my opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.
I promised
my critics that I responded to (I didn’t respond to profanity-laden
missives or to statements like: "A libertarian is really a
fascist SOB if he is pro-life.") that I would write about these
two subjects individually, and sooner rather than later. I addressed
the subject of same-sex marriage in an article
published on June 8. There I argued that there is no libertarian
position on same-sex marriage. I address here the subject of libertarianism
and abortion.
Who Wants the U.S. To Make War in Syria? by Michael S. Rozeff
There are people
vigorously promoting America’s entry into new wars in Syria and
Iran. Many of them eagerly advocated the U.S. aggressions against
Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite the failures of these wars to achieve
the projected goals, they are urging new U.S. wars. They are the
neoconservatives. They applaud U.S. military action in places like
Libya, Yemen, and Somalia. The neoconservative paradigm also looks
favorably upon a U.S. military presence in countries like Uganda,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
Neoconservatives
seek democracy almost everywhere, with the choice and emphasis depending
on their interpretation of American interests and with lip service
to costs. Zachary
Selden writes
The Last Thing This Economy Needs Is Tax Hikes
The Last Thing This Economy Needs Is Tax Hikes
Is there a "fairness" factory somewhere out in Middle America producing self-sustaining jobs? If not, President Barack Obama's obsession with ending Bush-era tax cuts makes no sense as either policy or politics.To begin with, Obama -- and nearly all media coverage of the decade-old tax cuts -- continues to discuss the "cost" of tax cuts as if Washington had first dibs on your money. Is the president arguing that the base line of spending includes all wealth and that anything the Internal Revenue Service doesn't take is something we have to "pay" for? If not, then government spending is the only thing that really costs us. Sometimes the cost is worthwhile; mostly it isn't.
Niall Ferguson: The Cure for Our Economy’s Stationary State
Niall Ferguson: The Cure for Our Economy’s Stationary State
Adam Smith knew what ails us—and he prescribed the cure.
Jesse L. Jackson Jr. has been suffering from “a mood disorder.”
He
is not alone. The world economy may not be in a depression as bad as
that of the early 1930s. But it’s certainly got emotional problems.
A
year ago, according to Gallup, economic confidence in the United States
plunged, touching bottom in late August. It then rallied, only to start
sliding again with the arrival of summer. Sunshine doesn’t seem to work
like it used to.
What is going on?
Does the President Think The Government Got Him Where He Is Today?
Does the President Think The Government Got Him Where He Is Today?
It is a lie premised on Marxism. It really is. It is not
hyperbole to say it. Prior to Marx, people did not clearly think of
economics as class divided and did not think of the collective
overriding the individual. Certainly the thinking was there
sociologically, but not crystalized in economics.
As Daniel Henninger noted in the Wall Street Journal recently, “There is no theory anywhere in non-Marxist economics that says growth’s primary engine is a social class. A middle class is the result of growth, not its cause. Barack Obama not only believes in class-based growth but has built his whole growth strategy around it.”
Thus we arrive at President Obama’s very troubling statement in Roanoke on Friday. He told the crowd
As Daniel Henninger noted in the Wall Street Journal recently, “There is no theory anywhere in non-Marxist economics that says growth’s primary engine is a social class. A middle class is the result of growth, not its cause. Barack Obama not only believes in class-based growth but has built his whole growth strategy around it.”
Thus we arrive at President Obama’s very troubling statement in Roanoke on Friday. He told the crowd
Ending Welfare As We Know It
Posted by Arnold Ahlert
What is Sharia?
Posted by Dr. Hans Jansen
The Islamic Sharia is a system of law. It is a collection of prohibitions, admonitions and commands about human behavior. The Sharia is not an internal matter that only concerns Islam and Muslims. The Sharia includes a large number of provisions about people who are not Muslims. These rules are usually prohibitions that carry severe penalties if violated. These provisions of the Sharia make life unsafe and uncertain for someone who lives under Sharia law and who is not a Muslim.
Hillary Clinton Blesses the Brotherhood
Posted by Robert Spencer
Muslim Congressman: Islam in America Must Not Retreat
In a May 26 address before the Islamic Circle of North America/Muslim American Society (ICNA/MSA), both Muslim Brotherhood front groups, André Carson commiserated with his audience
over how difficult things have been for them since the World Trade
Center attacks at the hands of al Qaeda jihadists: “9/11 was tough on
Muslims.”
Who Owns Water?
by Murray N. Rothbard
[Day 21 of Robert Wenzel's 30-day reading list that will lead you to become a knowledgeable libertarian, this article originally appeared in the letters section of the Freeman, March 1956.]
Congratulations on publishing the stimulating and challenging article on "Ownership and Control of Water" in the November issue of Ideas On Liberty.
It is highly important that we think more about such fine points of complexity in our societal system. I offer these further thoughts on water rights, not as the final solution, but in an effort to help find answers to some of the questions raised in the article by the anonymous professor.
For some time, I have believed that a crucial point in our societal system has to do with land ownership, land meaning original nature-given resources of whatever physical type. This problem of ownership is at the crux of our dispute with the socialists.
The Crippling Nature of Minimum-Wage Laws
by Murray N. Rothbard
[Day 20 of Robert Wenzel's 30-day reading list that will lead you to become a knowledgeable libertarian, this article is excerpted from Making Economic Sense, chapter 36, "Outlawing Jobs: The Minimum Wage, Once More."]
Tax-Loving Conservatives
by Gary North
[LewRockwell.com, June 9, 2012]
This may sound odd. Conservatives don't love taxes. They want lower taxes. Right? They want lower taxes and smaller government.I wish that were true. It isn't.
Alexander Hamilton was a crusader for higher taxes and a larger national government in the 1790s. He wanted higher taxes in order to raise money for a higher federal debt. He wanted higher federal debt because he wanted investors in government IOUs to commit to the survival of the United States. Free-market economist Thomas DiLorenzo has summarized Hamilton's position, which he accurately identifies as crony capitalism:
The China-bashing syndrome
Lexington
The China-bashing syndrome
Both parties are cranking up their rhetoric against the world’s second-largest economy
Hong Kong and China
Hong Kong and China
A city apart
A huge protest in Hong Kong challenges new leaders in the city, as well as those preparing to take power in Beijing
BEIJING AND HONG KONG
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