Dangers of Pseudo-Deregulation
You know how the California “deregulation” of electricity proved that the free market can’t work in utilities? Well on the radio today, Rush Limbaugh confidently told his listeners that Mexico had totally legalized all drugs–including heroin and cocaine–and yet they still had drug gangs, thus disproving the “liberal” claim that the drug war causes violence.
I don’t know too much about the subject, but at least this article suggests that what happened last summer is that Mexico decriminalized the possession of small amounts of these drugs. But I take it that Mexican government still wages war against professional drug dealers, right? I mean, it would really be scandalous if the Mexican government shot two students while trying to hunt down law-abiding drug cartel members!
Off Topic: Bob, I want you to ball park Capital Theory for the Mises Academy, more than I want you to sing karaoke (preferably Poker Face over drunken frat boy monkey garbage). I will pay tops for you to harness the energies of Bohm-Bawerk, so that you can unleash the mighty KAMEHAMEHA blast that obliterated Marx.
I understand about 50% of this comment, but I like the part where you say you will pay me tops to do something with Bohm-Bawerk.
South Park & Dragon Ball Z reference.
Hell pay you tree fiddehhh
also relevant is the question of who the drug lords are selling to? I don’t have time right now to read the article, maybe it addressees it. But as I understand it, most of their monopoly profits are coming straight from the US. Would Americans pay such high prices to affiliates Mexican drug cartels if their was competition in the states?
This economically retarded observation by the neo-con radio host is akin to calling the failure of Bretton Woods empirical proof that the gold standard doesn’t work.
“but I like the part where you say you will pay me tops to do something with Bohm-Bawerk.”
The curse of one-sided competition 🙁
Limbaugh is a profound coward just like all the anti-Austrian-libertarian types of whatever stripe. Just like DeLong, Krugman and Yglesias would never engage us mano a mano in a fair and detailed debate over ABCT, neither Limbaugh nor Hannity would ever engage in a fair and detailed debate over the drug war or the war on terrorism. Why not have Lew Rockwell/Bob Murphy on for an hour, refute them and be done with it?
THEY DON’T DEBATE US BECAUSE THEY CAN’T. They know they would be squished like a bug in a fair debate..
Hey Rush: A drug free/thug free/child-proof gated private neighborhood with attached private school and no MTV is a good/service that could easily be provided by the free market.
recently had a nice conversation with a Mexcian embassy staffer. After much back and forth we finally agreed that should any government in Mexico ever decide to fully decriminalize all drugs, the drug lords would probably blow up parliament – if the Americans wouldn’t get there first….