Daily Economy
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Initial Claims and Continuing Claims for Unemployment Benefits Remain High
“Initial claims for unemployment benefits remain stubbornly high, suggesting a slow and uneven economic recovery.” – Robert Hughes
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The Case for Lockdown Reparations
“Although it is unclear whether existing law guarantees a pathway to lockdown reparations, the principles enshrined in the 5th Amendment as well as basic economics provide an attractive case to implement reparations. Not only would it be the moral thing to do but lockdown reparations may also lead to a productive policy framework that protects…
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Lockdown: The New Totalitarianism
“The lockdowns are looking less like a gigantic error and more like the unfolding of a fanatical political ideology and policy experiment that attacks core postulates of civilization at their very root. It’s time we take it seriously and combat it with the same fervor with which a free people resisted all the other evil…
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James M. Buchanan’s Normative Vision Fifteen Years Later
“Why I, Too, Am Not a Conservative lays out a subtle, complex, and principled vision for a functioning society of equals. Autonomy and reciprocity, he argues, are necessary for peace, order, and prosperity, but at the same time he doesn’t see it as his role to deconstruct society and rebuild it along these lines. Buchanan…
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Consumer Confidence Sends Mixed Signals in September
“Consumer attitudes improved in September, but views of current conditions and the future remain sharply divergent; combined with other developments, the economy remains at risk.” – Robert Hughes
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The Swedish Bumblebee
“On economic well-being, it’s clear that a country with an invasively large government sector and extraordinarily high taxes can still perform well. In the corona debates, the simplified story that lockdowns prevent spread and open societies kill people should be relegated to the dustbin of impressive theories at odds with reality.” ~ Joakim Book
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Debt or Taxes
“At the present juncture, developed country government bond yields are more likely to fall than rise. Fiscal spending will be financed by deferred taxation, the repayment of today’s (and probably tomorrow’s) obligations will be bequeathed to our children and grandchildren. Digital taxes, taxation on wealth and financial transaction fees may creep higher at the margins,…
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A Plea for Checks
“Private organizations, whether for- or nonprofit, have to be ahead of the times in order to survive in a world of cutthroat competition. (Or cabal as Smith warned.) To see what the future holds, look to businesses and nonprofits. They would be even further ahead if they did not have to constantly worry about meddling…
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An Inalienable Human Right to Commerce
“Tyrannical COVID-19 policies make clear: a formal, inalienable Human Right to Commerce is long overdue” ~ Peter C. Earle
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Harford Brings Statistics To The Masses
“I share Harford’s deep commitment to figuring out what’s true. His calls for keeping an open mind, for being curious about scientific questions, results, and numbers, for carefully noticing your emotions on a topic – all supremely useful advice from which most of us can benefit. Abandoning or doubting all statistics you encounter is not…
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•
Initial Claims and Continuing Claims for Unemployment Benefits Remain High
“Initial claims for unemployment benefits remain stubbornly high, suggesting a slow and uneven economic recovery.” – Robert Hughes
-
•
The Case for Lockdown Reparations
“Although it is unclear whether existing law guarantees a pathway to lockdown reparations, the principles enshrined in the 5th Amendment as well as basic economics provide an attractive case to implement reparations. Not only would it be the moral thing to do but lockdown reparations may also lead to a productive policy framework that protects…
-
•
Lockdown: The New Totalitarianism
“The lockdowns are looking less like a gigantic error and more like the unfolding of a fanatical political ideology and policy experiment that attacks core postulates of civilization at their very root. It’s time we take it seriously and combat it with the same fervor with which a free people resisted all the other evil…
-
•
James M. Buchanan’s Normative Vision Fifteen Years Later
“Why I, Too, Am Not a Conservative lays out a subtle, complex, and principled vision for a functioning society of equals. Autonomy and reciprocity, he argues, are necessary for peace, order, and prosperity, but at the same time he doesn’t see it as his role to deconstruct society and rebuild it along these lines. Buchanan…
-
•
Consumer Confidence Sends Mixed Signals in September
“Consumer attitudes improved in September, but views of current conditions and the future remain sharply divergent; combined with other developments, the economy remains at risk.” – Robert Hughes
-
•
The Swedish Bumblebee
“On economic well-being, it’s clear that a country with an invasively large government sector and extraordinarily high taxes can still perform well. In the corona debates, the simplified story that lockdowns prevent spread and open societies kill people should be relegated to the dustbin of impressive theories at odds with reality.” ~ Joakim Book
-
•
Debt or Taxes
“At the present juncture, developed country government bond yields are more likely to fall than rise. Fiscal spending will be financed by deferred taxation, the repayment of today’s (and probably tomorrow’s) obligations will be bequeathed to our children and grandchildren. Digital taxes, taxation on wealth and financial transaction fees may creep higher at the margins,…
-
•
A Plea for Checks
“Private organizations, whether for- or nonprofit, have to be ahead of the times in order to survive in a world of cutthroat competition. (Or cabal as Smith warned.) To see what the future holds, look to businesses and nonprofits. They would be even further ahead if they did not have to constantly worry about meddling…
-
•
An Inalienable Human Right to Commerce
“Tyrannical COVID-19 policies make clear: a formal, inalienable Human Right to Commerce is long overdue” ~ Peter C. Earle
-
•
Harford Brings Statistics To The Masses
“I share Harford’s deep commitment to figuring out what’s true. His calls for keeping an open mind, for being curious about scientific questions, results, and numbers, for carefully noticing your emotions on a topic – all supremely useful advice from which most of us can benefit. Abandoning or doubting all statistics you encounter is not…