Homines libenter quod volunt credunt
Posted in Politics on Aug 17th, 2011
You didn’t think I was actually going to write about food, did you? In today’s news, we learn that several municipal governments have decided to stop using the services of Standard & Poors (S&P). Why do municipalities rely on S&P services? Well, beyond the obvious need to have their “sovereign” debt issues rated, some municipalities […]
Posted in Taxation on Aug 17th, 2011
I must be the only one. Our current mortgage is a 30-year fixed at 5%, what I viewed as extraordinarily cheap. However, today I can refinance into a 15-year mortgage at 3.6%. I would do that in a heartbeat – with almost the same mortgage payment I would be getting our home paid off in […]
Posted in Corporatism on Aug 17th, 2011
I really, really, really, really abhor the run up to the Presidential elections. And what I most abhor is the blind faith the “outsiders” always have that they have finally found “a guy” that is all right and that will do the right thing. Here is what we learn about Rick Perry (does he look […]
Posted in Property Rights on Aug 17th, 2011
Courts have long recognized the rights of incumbent property owners against people “coming to the nuisance.” For example, if I run a hog farm in North Carolina, and have done so for decades (without harming anyone), then it is very unlikely I would be responsible for smell or water or air damages if someone decided […]
Posted in Behavior, Taxation, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Aug 17th, 2011
We’ve run several pieces over the years highlighting the inconsistencies among the “Nudge” crowd. I probably unfairly bundle the “libertarian” paternalists with the more hard-core unapologetic paternalists, but these are matters of degree, not kind. The reason for my consternation is that I rarely (never in fact) see a consistent position among these behavioralists to […]
