The Unbroken Window

With the latest egg scare coming to a head, I am sure that you will be reading plenty of commentary on how we need the FDA to take a greater role in food oversight, and that the powers of the FDA should be expanded. Of course, a crisis is a great opportunity to get people [...]

Read Full Post »

Arnold Kling has written a lot about how labor is very much like capital in the new economy. But he has forgotten to add that government policy also makes L look a lot more like K:
And even if the economic outlook were more encouraging, increasing revenues is always uncertain and expensive. As much as I [...]

Read Full Post »

We just missed the annual Wacky Warning Labeling Contest. Some past beauties include:

On a baby stroller: “remove child before folding”
On an iron: “never iron clothes while being worn” (actually, I’ve done this to a sleeve end before)
On a snowblower: “do not use on roof”
On a box of birthday candles: “do not use soft wax as [...]

Read Full Post »

Because, you know, 7 year old girls regularly poison people, and adults don’t have the good sense to think that a 7 year old’s stand might not be the most clean thing ever. Even if it was to “protect the public health” how does a $120 fee accomplish it?
It’s hardly unusual to hear small-business owners [...]

Read Full Post »

Here is the mission of the Texas Railroad Commission:
The Railroad Commission has primary regulatory jurisdiction over oil and natural gas industry, pipeline transporters, natural gas & hazardous liquid pipeline industry, natural gas utilities, the LP-gas industry, and coal & uranium surface mining operations. The Commission is responsible for research & education to promote the use [...]

Read Full Post »

A simple presentation of the Alchian-Allen theorem is that if you take two goods with different prices and you add a fixed cost to each of them, then the “more expensive” good becomes relatively less expensive. Here is a simple illustration:
Suppose we have two types of booze: White Lightning Bourbon, which costs $8.00 per fifth, [...]

Read Full Post »

From Alex Tabarrok:

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday ordered five companies that offer genome-sequencing tests to consumers, or that provide the scientific services for them, to prove the validity of such products.
The FDA said the tests, which scan a person’s DNA for gene variants associated with specific diseases, are medical devices requiring the agency’s [...]

Read Full Post »

When du Pont developed cellophane (you know, plastic wrap) it was prosecuted by the Department of Justice under the terms of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
Why?
Because after spending millions of dollars in R&D to develop this new product, it was able to increase sales from $0 to $100 million per year over a 20 year period. [...]

Read Full Post »

I just read that the Administration is suspending Arctic drilling. Now, oil exploration and drilling is not exactly an unregulated free-market frenzy. So, if it is dangerous to drill in deep Artic waters, then shouldn’t regulators have realized this before the massive Gulf explosion?
I can’t blame the Administration for showing the public it is “doing [...]

Read Full Post »

There is virtually no action to be taken by a business that could not be considered to run afoul of anti-trust legislation. Modern Anti-Trust is administered through two government agencies – the Justice Department’s Anti-Trust Division and the Federal Trade Commission. By the way the statue standing outside the FTC headquarters should give you an [...]

Read Full Post »