Homines libenter quod volunt credunt
Posted in Institutions, Property Rights, Voluntary Society on Nov 12th, 2012
It is probably a given that people are averse to the idea that bargaining power between two parties be very far from equal. Think about how people feel about big box employers in their relationships with their “lowly” employees. But would there be much, if any, widespread aversion if the bargaining power tables were turned? […]
Posted in ethical foundations, Property Rights, Voluntary Society, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Oct 28th, 2012
What, you thought I was talking about abortion? I find it incredibly “funny” that a disproportionate share of the people who would call themselves “pro-choice” in terms of a “woman’s right to choose” are basically opposed to allowing people to make their own choices anywhere else. Go check out some belief correlations. I am sure […]
Posted in incentives, Taxation, Voluntary Society, Welfare State, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Oct 23rd, 2012
Here is yet one more illustration for why one might argue such: Because universities are non-profit institutions, wealthy boosters, alums, or corporations can write off 80% of the cost from income taxes when they purchase club seats and luxury suites. That was from the Economics of Intercollegiate Sports. Remember the wise Bastiat: “Government is the […]
Posted in Government Gone Wild, Politics, Voluntary Society, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Oct 16th, 2012
My former graduate school professor Robert Frank, in a discussion with Russ Roberts on “low-hanging infrastructure fruit”: We’re the richest country in the world; we have trains on the most heavily populated corridors anywhere in the world that have top speeds of 70 miles an hour. We’re not a third world nation–we’re a fourth world […]
Posted in Voluntary Society, Welfare State on Sep 7th, 2012
By now most readers are familiar with the factoid that 1 in 7 Americans is on food stamps. Here is the Wall Street Journal reporting/opining on Wednesday: The Obama and Romney campaigns spent Tuesday sniping over whether the President deserves an “incomplete” grade, as Mr. Obama put it, for fixing the economy. The more revealing […]
Posted in Environment, Price System, Voluntary Society, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Aug 6th, 2012
On average, buying local in order to save the planet is going to neither save you nor the planet. We know this. But there is still some allure to buying local, even for folks who understand it cannot save the world. After all, most of what we do every day is local. Local is what […]
Posted in Environment, Property Rights, Voluntary Society on Jul 18th, 2012
What, you really thought I'd simply have you go to Wikipedia and answer "Washington?" That would be too easy. But you know my interests. According to the most recent National Land Trust Census from 2010 there 1,700 land trusts in operation in the US. How much land do these trusts collectively protect? How about 47 […]
Posted in Classical Liberalism, Voluntary Society on Jul 17th, 2012
I've been quiet on current events, but couldn't help but notice President Obama's attack the other day on individual effort and private enterprise. Here is Don Boudreaux: Selling wool to tailors does not thereby give shepherds an open-ended claim upon the wealth of coat owners.
Posted in ethical foundations, Flotsam and Jetsam, Voluntary Society, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Jun 23rd, 2012
Well, saying anything that may possibly be presumed as a negative toward any public "servant" is a good way to do it. You'll be assured of your place in a lonely out of the way bar on Friday nights if you dare say anything untoward regarding the fire department. ; Nothing makes me crazier than […]
Posted in ethical foundations, labor markets, Voluntary Society on Jun 7th, 2012
Let’s use an innocuous example today. I teach several large economics classes at the U of R, all of which require lots of help from a dedicated bunch of undergraduate TAs. The problem is that there is a “minimum wage” that I must pay all of my TAs. That wage is zero (more detail on […]