26 May 2011

Potpourri

Potpourri 14 Comments

* This Salon article on the apparent impotence of tax-rate cuts got me mad until the very end, when the author (Jared Bernstein) acknowledged all the possible confounding variables. In any event, it’s interesting how strong a case he can make that low marginal rates don’t lead to growth. (I co-authored a survey article for PRI where we found tons of academic papers showing that economic freedom is correlated with a strong economy, for what it’s worth.)

* This Lew Rockwell podcast with Chris Manion is really good. Topic: neocons.

* I realize Caplan doesn’t think much of the calculation argument (vs. incentive argument) against socialism, but not even a mention for poor Lu against the robotic Yglesias?!

* The anarchists are increasing their infiltration of social hierarchies. It’s all according to plan…

* I’m not sure how to process this case of the TSA saying it would ban all flights out of Texas if the “anti-groping bill” had passed. I think I can come up with extreme examples on both sides of the spectrum. (Assume for the moment that we don’t object to having federal and state governments.) I mean, suppose a TSA agent shoots somebody for looking at him funny. Can a Texas prosecutor charge him with murder? I leave the defense of the TSA as an exercise for the commenters.

* Oh yeah! A tribute to the Macho Man. Dig it?!

* Dick Clark the Younger is out with a pamphlet on resisting the State.

14 Responses to “Potpourri”

  1. Clark Aspen says:
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    “Can a Texas prosecutor charge him with murder?”

    No, because the TSA agent was following procedures. And frankly, I think this has been taken all out of proportion. It’s not as if all, or even the vast majority, of TSA agents are murduring airline passengers.

    • bobmurphy says:
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      Well played.

    • Rick Hull says:
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      We don’t subject *everybody* to invasive, humiliating treatment. Just the ones we don’t like…

  2. Rick Hull says:
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    [Somebody] pulled the youtube anarchist video.

    • Austro-Liberatarian says:
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      Probably the TSA…

  3. Avram says:
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    The calculation argument is strong but the incentive argument dominates in real world cases of socialist systems.

    • david (not henderson) says:
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      How would be possible for anyone to know?

  4. Samuel Wonacott says:
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    The link to your survey article doesn’t work, FYI

  5. BZ says:
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    Forgive my ignorance, but given that GDP includes government expenditures, isn’t the problem correlating tax reductions and GDP less interesting than it would be otherwise? Even generously assuming a multiplier of “1”?

  6. Austro-Liberatarian says:
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    “I mean, suppose a TSA agent shoots somebody for looking at him funny. Can a Texas prosecutor charge him with murder?”
    No, because it would impede the security of the citizens.

  7. Blackadder says:
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    suppose a TSA agent shoots somebody for looking at him funny. Can a Texas prosecutor charge him with murder?

    More evidence against temporal autarky, the Supreme Court answered Bob’s question 140 years ago in the case of United States v. Kirby. A Kentucky Sheriff was indicted by the Feds for obstructing the passage of the mails because he had arrested a mail carrier charged with murder. The Supreme Court sided with the Sheriff.

  8. Zorkmid says:
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    Yeah, but in the case of Lon Horiuchi (the Ruby Ridge murderer) the US District Court ruled that he was immune to prosecution by State authorities.