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 Behavior, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Mar 31st, 2009
When asked about the current economic downturn (or the prospects of something much worse) one of the things I talk about in my replies includes some version of the relationship between income and satisfaction. I contend, for a variety of reasons, that if my family loses a certain amount of income due to the recession, [...]
Posted in Corporatism on Mar 30th, 2009
HT to my friend David Haddock.
Posted in Price System on Mar 29th, 2009
A Colorado company is set to display a hybrid car that gets 100 mpg. They key point: The idea for the car came after gas prices exceeded $4 a gallon and Sam Johnson Sr., father of two of the company’s founders, challenged his sons to build a car that gets 100 miles to the gallon. [...]
Posted in Classical Liberalism on Mar 28th, 2009
Posted in Regulation on Mar 26th, 2009
Says Timmy Geithner: “Let me be clear,” Geithner told the committee. “The days when a major insurance company could bet the house on credit default swaps with no one watching and no credible backing to protect the company or taxpayers must end.” But it is fine if a major automobile company bets the house on [...]
Posted in You Can't Have it Both Ways, ethical foundations on Mar 26th, 2009
Thus says the Lord when opining about the tax breaks the rich get when they donate to a charity. For example, take two people, one in the 35% income tax bracket and another in the 20% income tax bracket and consider the “benefits” they get when they make a $100 charitable contribution. If each of [...]
Posted in Corporatism on Mar 25th, 2009
The post office, a monopoly, is begging us for help now. Among the goodies it wants is to stop having to put money away to pay for promised retiree medical care. Guess who will be forced to pay for that when the program is underfunded? Here are some previous posts in this series.
Posted in Politics on Mar 25th, 2009
In light of last night’s terribly uncomfortable and Bush-like press conference, I thought I would pass this along. And seriously, if you changed the voice and overlaid W’s image on Mr. President last night, I swear people would have thought it was Bush himself. Why this President gets a free pass when he bumbles, stumbles, [...]
I thought the 90% AIG bonus tax might have persuaded people, particularly after reading this, but I was wrong. Here is some more evidence that the sky is blue: The Tiebout model assumes that individuals ‘vote with their feet’ and choose to locate in the jurisdiction which best matches their fiscal preferences. In this paper, [...]
My wife and I were having some fun this weekend looking at recreational vehicles (i.e. campers or trailers). They are fantastic. Most of even the lowest priced models include full bathrooms, gas ranges, microwaves, sleep at least 4, have flat panel televisions, and can be towed by a standard SUV. As we were walking around [...]
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