Bob Murphy

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==> The widely-read von Pepe sends this interesting David Glasner post about sticky wages. He includes a diagram that shows wages falling some 25% from 1929-1933, and roughly keeping pace with falling prices. My problem is that in my book on the Great Depression, I quote some economists and cite some stats arguing that wages […]

I Agree With Krugman in Both Spirit and Letter

You think I’m being sarcastic, but I’m not. I really like this post where Krugman argues: In my field there is indeed a problem with abstruseness, with the many academics who never even try to put their thoughts in plain language. And what is the nature of that problem? It’s not that laypeople don’t understand […]

George Selgin Makes a Great Jon Lovitz

There was a funny Saturday Night Live sketch (unfortunately I don’t think they allow YouTube to host clips, since there’s barely anything from SNL on it) with Jon Lovitz playing “Frenchie,” who says really outrageous things and then acts stunned when people react. “Oh I’m sorry!” he exclaims. “Didn’t mean to offend anyone. Everything good? […]

The Kingdom of God

A short post but perhaps profound. I was explaining to my son that Jesus would not so much talk about “getting into heaven” but rather about the Kingdom of God (or in some gospels the Kingdom of heaven, but it’s clear that it’s in an earthly context). I went on to explain that Jesus never […]

Yet More Clarification on ObamaCare and Work Incentives

Now I understand why Krugman feels driven to use examples like alien invasions; it’s the only way to shake everyone and say, “This is my point!!!” And with that, I offer you my lastest salvo in the ObamaCare work incentive debate: There is a feeling that giving low-income workers means-tested subsidies is harmful because the […]

A Red Herring? Substitution vs. Income Effects on CBO Analysis of ObamaCare

[UPDATE below.] My latest at Mises Canada. Key excerpt: For example, if the government says to workers, “We’ll give you $50,000 in annual support payments, so long as you don’t ever take a job,” then this would obviously be a disaster. I think Yglesias would agree wholeheartedly with me. Yet suppose instead the government said, […]

Tyler Cowen on the Keynesian Pundits’ Views of Employment

Since Tyler is so much gentler than me, perhaps his opinion on this won’t be dismissed as mere Krugman Derangement Syndrome. In any event, he is saying the same thing as me on this one: Following the CBO report that Obamacare will induce many people to leave the workforce or cut back on their hours, […]

Keynesian Policies: Not Dumb, But Foolish

My sympathetic analysis of Matt Yglesias’ awkward situation vis-a-vis Argentina. The money quote: So there you have it, folks: Countries that historically have been ill-governed should follow Argentina’s lead by defaulting on their debts and debasing their currencies, but they should stop right before the bad consequences of these actions come home to roost. Simple […]