Daily Economy
-
•
Mattresses Signify Our Astonishing Prosperity
Consider our good fortune. A third of our lives are spent on mattresses. A solid sleep is determinative of a good life. And get this: you didn’t build that mattress. Someone else is working right now for you, in the hope that you will buy. That’s called the market at work: endless progress, a beautiful…
-
•
Learn Bitcoin for 2018
When even my father — a retired sheep-and-cattle farmer in New Zealand — is asking about bitcoin, the cryptocurrency is no longer on the fringes. That doesn’t mean, however, that there is anything like widespread understanding or adoption for peer-to-peer transactions.
-
•
Incredibly, the Federal Government Is Actually Shrinking
The last time I was in D.C. (last month) something struck me as never before. The entire place is premised on the idea that what is awesome about life is entirely physical. Massive buildings. Huge stone and marble columns. Real estate. Monuments. Everything in this not-normal city is about gigantic, imposing, intimidating structures. It’s all…
-
•
Why Do We Need So Many Monies?
A few years ago, Bernie Sanders uttered a passing comment that elicited howls of laughter among believers in competitive markets. “You don’t necessarily need a choice of 23 underarm spray deodorants,” he said. Today, many people are saying the same thing about cryptocurrencies. Why so many? What’s the point? Why not one only or, actually,…
-
•
Don’t Tread on My Steak
In the face of growing momentum for a meat tax, one must ask: are these proposals rooted in sound science and policymaking?
-
•
Why the Dramatic Decline in Crime?
For centuries, for millennia, we’ve relied on government to stop invasions of person and property. We live more safely than ever before, thanks to market-based technological improvements, not reliance on government. It was once believed that only government could provide security; this debate dates back centuries. Now we learn otherwise. We get security from the…
-
•
Some Thank Yous, and a Year-End Top Ten
Thank you to everyone for reading and commenting in 2017! Here are my ten favorite posts from this year.
-
•
Three Trigger Points for a Greek-Style Debt Crisis
With all conditions fulfilled, Congress would find itself having to choose — and choose fast — between a tax shock and a deficit explosion.
-
•
Chicago Business Barometer Rises to Highest Level Since 2011
The Chicago Business Barometer rose to 67.6 in December, the highest level since March 2011. The results of the latest survey suggest continued economic growth for the region.
-
•
Economics Can Be Harder than the Hard Sciences
Why does it seem that economists can never agree on anything?
-
•
Mattresses Signify Our Astonishing Prosperity
Consider our good fortune. A third of our lives are spent on mattresses. A solid sleep is determinative of a good life. And get this: you didn’t build that mattress. Someone else is working right now for you, in the hope that you will buy. That’s called the market at work: endless progress, a beautiful…
-
•
Learn Bitcoin for 2018
When even my father — a retired sheep-and-cattle farmer in New Zealand — is asking about bitcoin, the cryptocurrency is no longer on the fringes. That doesn’t mean, however, that there is anything like widespread understanding or adoption for peer-to-peer transactions.
-
•
Incredibly, the Federal Government Is Actually Shrinking
The last time I was in D.C. (last month) something struck me as never before. The entire place is premised on the idea that what is awesome about life is entirely physical. Massive buildings. Huge stone and marble columns. Real estate. Monuments. Everything in this not-normal city is about gigantic, imposing, intimidating structures. It’s all…
-
•
Why Do We Need So Many Monies?
A few years ago, Bernie Sanders uttered a passing comment that elicited howls of laughter among believers in competitive markets. “You don’t necessarily need a choice of 23 underarm spray deodorants,” he said. Today, many people are saying the same thing about cryptocurrencies. Why so many? What’s the point? Why not one only or, actually,…
-
•
Don’t Tread on My Steak
In the face of growing momentum for a meat tax, one must ask: are these proposals rooted in sound science and policymaking?
-
•
Why the Dramatic Decline in Crime?
For centuries, for millennia, we’ve relied on government to stop invasions of person and property. We live more safely than ever before, thanks to market-based technological improvements, not reliance on government. It was once believed that only government could provide security; this debate dates back centuries. Now we learn otherwise. We get security from the…
-
•
Some Thank Yous, and a Year-End Top Ten
Thank you to everyone for reading and commenting in 2017! Here are my ten favorite posts from this year.
-
•
Three Trigger Points for a Greek-Style Debt Crisis
With all conditions fulfilled, Congress would find itself having to choose — and choose fast — between a tax shock and a deficit explosion.
-
•
Chicago Business Barometer Rises to Highest Level Since 2011
The Chicago Business Barometer rose to 67.6 in December, the highest level since March 2011. The results of the latest survey suggest continued economic growth for the region.
-
•
Economics Can Be Harder than the Hard Sciences
Why does it seem that economists can never agree on anything?