Homines libenter quod volunt credunt
Posted in Economic Illiteracy, Government Thuggery, trade on Jan 6th, 2017
Should the likes of Donald Trump and his economic ilk ever choose to be intellectually consistent, particularly with their view that trading with human beings who happen to reside in other countries is bad for human beings who happen to reside within the borders of the United States, then surely they should ban the following: […]
Posted in Disingenuous, Economic Illiteracy, Environment on Dec 22nd, 2016
Now, reporters don’t usually write their own headlines, but this is just out there: Here is the longer piece. The headline makes it appear that all 600,000 residents of Las Vegas are getting solar power. Of course, you have to read the fine print that tells us only all municipal facilities are using renewable energy. That’s a […]
Posted in Economic Illiteracy, Environment, Flotsam and Jetsam on Dec 10th, 2016
I would love to run a series of posts that simply ask readers to guess whether or not the information is from the Onion. Maybe this one is too obvious, but here goes. Suggestions for Eliminating Food “Waste” “Avoid impulse buying by only going to the grocery store for one ingredient at a time. Hire […]
Posted in Competition, Economic Illiteracy, Market Failures, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Dec 2nd, 2016
DD sends me the following article which suggests that Uber is losing quite a bit of money, is not going to turn profitable, and presumably is the worst thing to ever happen to America. Two quick points, should you care to read through the article. The author argues (and I am not sure I disagree […]
Posted in Economic Illiteracy, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Nov 25th, 2016
Today’s post is a sort of variation on the response I would give (and have given in the past) to the slur, “You didn’t build that.” In political matters, I am sure you have had invoked on you, at one time or another, the idea that the government has legitimate authority to coerce an individual […]
Posted in Economic Illiteracy, Environment, Regulation on Nov 22nd, 2016
You knew that train would be coming to the station soon. Here is the reference, via Marginal Revolution. It is endlessly frustrating to see even the best economists confuse “solving” climate change with “reducing” CO2. Now, you MAY want to do that, but all that the economics of climate change recommends is that “we” pay […]
Posted in Economic Illiteracy, Why Hillaryism and Trumpism Exists on Nov 10th, 2016
There are 152 million Americans with jobs today. There are 2.6 million of these workers making the minimum wage, or less (federal). So, double it so that I cover all of the states that have higher wages and to be conservative. What is your explanation for why 96.5% of workers, or about 147 million workers, […]
Posted in Economic Illiteracy, Politics on Nov 9th, 2016
Folks, remember, the Presidency doesn’t matter much – but I do think there is some writing on the wall from what we see from the messages that have resonated with voters … … we are a country of economic illiterates (and statistical ones too – ahem, polling and uncertainty bands anyone?). If there was ever […]
Posted in Disingenuous, Economic Illiteracy, If I Really Hated the Poor ..., Special Privilege, trade on Nov 4th, 2016
Via David Henderson this morning: “If our antidumping laws applied to U.S. companies, every after-Christmas sale in the country would be banned.” That is from trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati And here is another, this time from someone less famous whom you know a bit better: “Recycling enthusiasts should be the world’s most ardent free-traders.” […]
Posted in Economic Illiteracy, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Oct 31st, 2016
I am quite sure you have encountered the claim that Americans consume too much and that our drive to consume has sacrificed the planet. Let’s not disagree with that. But doesn’t that idea sit uncomfortably next to the commonly committed pie-fallacy? After all, we see our current two political candidates arguing about who “wins” in […]