The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design. - F.A. Hayek
Posted in You Can't Have it Both Ways on Mar 21st, 2008
Many who oppose individual liberty and free exchange levy the common charge that big corporations are necessarily exploitive of both consumers and workers. I can’t tell you how many times, even in polite company, I listen to people argue how evil Exxon is because they earned over $10 billion during the last fiscal year (over […]
Posted in Health Care, Welfare State on Mar 20th, 2008
How many of you are factoring in Social Security income in your retirement plans? My family is expecting zilch, and we are saving accordingly. I would gladly argue that the Ponzi scheme known as “Social Security” has little chance of being anything near useful by the time Gen X (or is it Y … which […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Health Care on Mar 20th, 2008
Regular readers can probably guess my thoughts on this one. One way I like to think about this question is even if we agree that “health-care” (however you define it) is a right, how do you deal with a situation where an innovator discovers an incredibly expensive yet perfectly successful way to treat a major […]
Posted in Macroeconomics on Mar 19th, 2008
While funny, I’ll just add that it is not necessary reflective of my view.
Posted in Socialism on Mar 19th, 2008
What was the last innovation you can remember being implemented on a town/county road or an interstate highway?
Posted in Macroeconomics on Mar 18th, 2008
Read about it here.
Posted in Inflation on Mar 18th, 2008
The price of gold closed in London at $995 per ounce on March 13, the highest since 1980, and considerably above its most recent peak in May 2006. However, as shown in the chart below, the price of gold in euros had barely returned to is May 2006 level by October 2007–the surge in the […]
Posted in Fun Facts, Taxation, Unintended Consequences on Mar 17th, 2008
Rhetoric wins the day over reality. Here are two facts I stumbled upon recently:
Posted in Flotsam and Jetsam on Mar 15th, 2008
E-flation and E-economics? Meet the e-conomist! Corporate espionage seems to be a big part of the game too.
Download your favorite toy … or build whatever you need.
Looking under a big heavy rock
Business in the front …
Pack your knives and go … I am hooked
Posted in Uncategorized on Mar 14th, 2008
The following chart plots the price of gold, wheat and a broad commodities index against the general price level in the U.S. since January 1975. The plot is showing percentage deviations from the 1975-2008 average - I would have used a longer time series if I had time and money.
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_usoz_2.gif)
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/silver/t24_ag_en_usoz_2.gif)