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 Government Gone Wild, Welfare State on Dec 11th, 2008
Wells famously remarked, “Advertising is legalized lying.” I wonder what he would think about the government not booking the over $50 trillion in unfunded liabilities in our Medicare and Social Security systems? Every quarter I even get a statement from the SSA telling me how much I am “entitled” to receive upon various changes in [...]
Posted in Environment on Dec 10th, 2008
In thinking about some students’ reactions to things I have commented on in past classes, I thought it would helpful to pose a simple thought question to you. You need not answer it unless a small voice in the back of your mind is telling you to. The argument: it is not clear a priori [...]
Posted in Environment on Dec 10th, 2008
“Before, you could be green by being greedy,” said Jim Wilcox, a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. “Now you’ve really got to rely more on your notions of civic participation.” Quoted from this article the huge decline in demand for recycled materials. The other insightful piece: Businesses [...]
Posted in Price Controls on Dec 9th, 2008
I am a female in my mid 60′s and I am looking for a room mate. Times are tight and I need some extra money. I am willing to rent out my bathroom in my 1 bedroom east village home.My bathroom is large. You can easily put a twin air mattress in there. I only [...]
Posted in Resources on Dec 9th, 2008
To think that the total measured value of goods and services produced each year in the United States is approximately $14 trillion is astounding. What is more astounding than that?
Posted in Religion on Dec 8th, 2008
The Big Three. It sort of reminds me of how athletes now believe that God takes sides in determining the outcome of a sporting contest. I don’t think that’s how God operates. Surely God read this.
Posted in Voluntary Society on Dec 8th, 2008
At least “outsource” it to the folks that get it right. Not to these thieves and knaves.
Posted in Paternalism on Dec 8th, 2008
I would love to know how many hours per month that a typical person or student spends on Facebook or other social networking sites each month. My back of the envelope guess would be that in the US, we spend over 300 million hours per month on such sites.
Posted in Environment, Politics on Dec 7th, 2008
If this is scientific or even responsible reporting? My favorite bits include: Claiming that reports of melted permafrost might cause problems at the end … but nowhere in the article does it say that permafrost is melting or that ice pack is smaller THIS YEAR. In fact, it is apparently a cold winter already. “Nearly [...]
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