The query in the title suggests an epic post, but we’ll keep it simple today. Let me ask folks what they think of a policy proposal that does the following: Examines the entrepreneurial ability, dynamism, job creating tendencies, etc. of companies and puts companies into two groups: dynamic/productive and stagnant/destructive. Takes the dynamic companies and [...]
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I have in mind some good that you cannot take with you when you transfer from place to place. This is true whether you move from place to place for selfish reasons, noble reasons, family reasons, or any reason whatsoever. I am not talking about health insurance of course, but your college education. When you [...]
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Our student paper printed this article on how arguments against wind are overblown. For interested students, I will be going into the gory details in Eco 238, so will not rehash all of the economics of wind here. I’ll sporadically return to this piece in between my puppy drownings and coal burning rituals, but here [...]
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This is circulating on campus. I’ll be giving a private Earth Day talk myself on Sunday. In preparation for it I am going to drown a few small puppies using a swimming pool paid for with Exxon money. If you’d like to see what the U of R has planned for Earth Day, check it [...]
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On my drive to school yesterday I saw a person outside the gas station on my way to the I-490 giving away/selling? bumper stickers. Among the panoply of choices included a “Romney-Gekko 2012″ selection, another touting, “The Problem is Corporate Greed,” and another touting, “Oil Speculators Raise Gas by 60%,” and another, “Your Need to [...]
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Here are policy positions that I have seen the same person maintain: The housing market is depressed. The plummeting house prices led to a market crash and then the continued low prices keep the economy stagnating. “We” ought to stimulate the market and cause house prices to rise. Houses are positional goods. What is a [...]
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Did you ever notice that when someone tries to point out how “stingy” government support for the poor is, or how “stingy” Walmart is or how bad the conditions of the low-skilled labor markets are that they invoke a kind of rugged individualism that would make Herbert Spencer blush? Seriously. I’ve seen many an argument [...]
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Among the great mysteries of the universe is that I have often found myself in conversations with folks who find that some of the things governments do to be utterly tyrannical. And I’ve been in conversations with folks are utterly outraged that governments and big business are doing the Tiger Woods / waitress thingy. Yet, [...]
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On my drive into work this morning I heard several soundbites from folks in the current Obama Administration, including from the Central Planner himself, to the effect that, “Drill Baby Drill is stupid. Increasing the supply of oil will not have an impact on gas prices.” Now, I won’t yet paint this as the stupidest [...]
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One of the towering figures (literally too!) of 20th century public intellectuals was John Kenneth Galbraith. In 1958 he made a huge splash with his book The Affluent Society which was a criticism of resource depletion, inequality and consumerism, among other ideas. It is actually quite an enjoyable read, I do recommend it. One of [...]
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