Bob Murphy

Author Archive

The Most Ethically Chilling Use of a Steady-State Equilibrium Ever

Now when Paul Krugman said “death panels” (and sales taxes) were the answer, he was obviously cracking a joke and didn’t mean the phrase in the sense in which the critics used it. So, you can understand why his fans roll their eyes when Krugman critics then tried to use that one-off line against him. […]

In My Life, I’ve Had a Few Posts That Criticized Krugman

How do you guys feel about that claim in my post title? Probably a bit of an understatement, eh? Now consider the following from Krugman’s latest post on Obamacare: A few relatively affluent, healthy people are paying more for coverage; a few high-income taxpayers are paying more in taxes; a much larger number of Americans […]

In Which I Explain My Bargaining Power at Hair Salons

My latest Mises Canada article. An excerpt: [I]f the ignorance of alternatives on the part of female shoppers is the culprit here, including being “lulled into not doing anything about it,” then why is the gap in Speed Stick versus Lady Speed Stick 45 cents per ounce–as the article claims–rather than, say $10 per ounce? […]

John Oliver Has Beautiful Take on Ferguson

Perhaps he made a passing reference to the need for government police at some point, but we can forgive him that.

The Ban on Exports of U.S. Crude Oil Is Bad Economics

My latest IER post. An excerpt: To see why the logic behind the crude oil export ban makes little sense, change commodities. For example, should the U.S. government make it illegal for American farmers to ship wheat out of the country? After all, don’t we want to make bread as affordable as possible for American […]

That’s My King!

You Might Be in Serfdom

With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy, my latest LibertyChat article. Lots of pictures! An excerpt: * If the FAA imposes a no-fly zone above Ferguson “to provide a safe environment for law enforcement activities,” then you might be in serfdom. * When the police start arresting peaceful journalists covering the story, then you just might be in serfdom. * When the same […]

Potpourri

==> Various reactions to Robin Williams; I am not endorsing anything in here (except Norm MacDonald’s): An Objectivist, someone who wants to “normalize” suicide, and Matt Walsh in his controversial post that I actually don’t think was as bad as people claimed. This guy talks about why funny people often suffer from depression. If I […]