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 Health Care, Regulation on Oct 2nd, 2011
From tomorrow’s WSJ: When people age, the main valve carrying blood out of the heart becomes brittle. As this aortic valve narrows, it can cause debilitating heart failure, and even death. Fixing the problem in the United States requires open-heart surgery. In Europe, the problem can be repaired using a tiny catheter that introduces a [...]
Posted in Corporatism, Regulation on Sep 25th, 2011
Gazprom, the Russian oil giant and one of the most profitable corporations in the world is warning Western greens of the dangers of hydrofracking. For those of you not following, fracking is the technology that is allowing the shale-gas revolution to escalate not only in the US but in dozens of countries around the world. [...]
Posted in Regulation on Sep 2nd, 2011
Try this on for size, regarding the long since forgotten Kyoto Protocol: This is about international relations, this is about the economy, about trying to create a level playing field for big businesses throughout the world. You have to understand what is at stake and why it is serious. That’s Margaret Wallstrom, one time environmental [...]
Posted in Environment, Market Failures, Regulation on Aug 29th, 2011
According to this figure, global carbon dioxide emissions last year amounted to about 30.4 billion tons. The US contribution was slightly more than 5 billion tons. The IPCC estimates that the damage caused by a ton of CO2 is roughly $25. Putting these together, it seems to be that the annual damage* caused by CO2 [...]
Posted in Government Gone Wild, Regulation on Aug 24th, 2011
I just learned, courtesy of Mark Perry, that in Chicago, now you need a license to be able to help people … get licenses. The rise in occupational licensing is on my top 5 reasons I am seriously depressed for serious reasons. For the uninitiated, the rise of the share of jobs that require a [...]
Posted in Extended Order, Regulation on Aug 21st, 2011
This is by no means meant to be relativist. Earlier this week we discussed some of the problems with the Fractivist movement – among them was the possibility of fracking fluids contaminating wells. I understand that this is a real (and controllable) problem. Do any of you recall the US government mandates to put oxygenates [...]
Posted in Regulation on Aug 18th, 2011
I have spent this morning learning about the energy crisis in California that occurred about a decade ago. You should all have the pleasure. The summary is, not surprisingly that in 1996 the state of California “deregulated” the electricity sector by allowing wholesale electricity prices to fluctuate and then slapping price controls on the retail [...]
Posted in Regulation on Jul 29th, 2011
As I drive home for the weekend, I cannot help but think: “wow, how incredible is it that we have had all of these new and innovative American automobile start-up companies during my lifetime.”
Posted in Government Gone Wild, Regulation on Jul 12th, 2011
In this week’s episode of the Economic Apocalypse, via Popehat via Coyote: You may think that your child care center can determine by itself which toys to stock, and that maybe you’ll supplement it with donations. Once again, you’re wrong. The CDHS knows, down to the number of paintbrushes and the type and number of [...]
Posted in Health Care, Market Failures, Regulation, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Jun 22nd, 2011
One of the few things I am actually an alarmist about is biological pandemics. Given the past 50 years of US history I have no reason to be this way, but as this Megan McArdle post illustrates, there has been a really disturbing trend happening in medicine over the last 30 years: The first shows [...]
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