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 Environment, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Jul 3rd, 2008
I am probably in the minority of citizens that is happy about $4.00 gas for political reasons. Politicians, seeing how much hardship is caused to lower and middle-income Americans when energy costs rise even modestly, seriously tone down their rhetoric regarding “doing something” about global warming. The dirty secret is that if you think $4.00 […]
Posted in Property Rights, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Jun 23rd, 2008
Let us for the sake of exposition concede the argument of many on the left that individuals have no rights to private property. The typical argument goes something like, “since no one created the land underfoot, no one is entitled to “own” it. Any ownership claims made on land, and its related resources, are therefore a […]
Posted in Economic Illiteracy, Environment, Resources, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Jun 9th, 2008
There’s no shortage of people claiming that the world cannot sustain population levels at the current size (just under 7 billion) much less a larger population. A common claim is that the planet’s resources will be consumed unsustainably, eventually leading to world starvation, famine, war, and population declines.
Posted in You Can't Have it Both Ways on May 27th, 2008
“if the House of Representatives has now declared it “illegal” for the Government of Saudi Arabia to restrict oil production, why is it still legal for the Government of the United States to restrict oil production”
Check out Mark Steyn’s OpEd here.
Posted in Health Care, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Apr 30th, 2008
The first of my two-part interview with Cornell professor John Cawley can be read here. The second should be coming soon. The most interesting thing about the interviews are the two questions that we did not answer, for various reasons. I reproduce them below.
How can you square the strong agreement to the question about insurance […]
Posted in Corporatism, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Apr 17th, 2008
The following is my editing, rewriting and excerpting various portions of a 1995 publication by my colleague Walker Todd entitled, ”The Federal Reserve and the Rise of the Corporate State.”
Many of the issues that had been at the forefront of Anglo-American constitutional and economic debates from the time of Francis Bacon (early 17th century) onward were again […]
Posted in Politics, Standards of Living, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Apr 7th, 2008
A recent news story (I link to it at the very end of this post) brings to mind two Journey songs (yes, I was/is a Journey fan), “Anyway you want it,” and “Don’t Stop Believing”. Imagine the reaction if I got on the news today and exclaimed,
Posted in Voluntary Society, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Mar 28th, 2008
I propose that anyone who is opposed to the offshoring of jobs and who uses that notion as a scare tactic to gain political favor also be opposed to the inshoring of jobs as well.
Matthew Slaughter, in an OpEd in yesterday’s WSJ, reminds us that,
In 2005, insourcing companies employed nearly 5.1 million Americans, 4.4% of […]
Posted in Inflation, Macroeconomics, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Mar 25th, 2008
On the balance sheet of the U.S. Federal Reserve you will find the following line item: “Notes and bonds, inflation-indexed.”
Posted in You Can't Have it Both Ways on Mar 21st, 2008
Many who oppose individual liberty and free exchange levy the common charge that big corporations are necessarily exploitive of both consumers and workers. I can’t tell you how many times, even in polite company, I listen to people argue how evil Exxon is because they earned over $10 billion during the last fiscal year (over […]
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