Bob Murphy

Author Archive

Someone Explain To Me…

…how I am 7 slots behind Scott Sumner in a ranking of Austrian economics blogs? (HT2 some other guy who beat me too.)

How Does Brad DeLong Define Success?

[UPDATE below.] I’m not sure, but it must be a low bar. In a recent, exhaustive critique of Hassett, Hubbard, Mankiw, and Taylor (HHMT)–who have written a “white paper” on the Romney economic program–DeLong is upset that these critics of Obama have pointed to a certain research paper to bolster their objection to the “cash […]

“What Model Is Ben Bernanke Using?!”

The bitter von Pepe sends this John Taylor blog post from early July: In a recent speech at Stanford (video here) former Wells Fargo Chairman and CEO Dick Kovacevich told the full story of how he was forced to take TARP funds even though Wells Fargo did not need or want the funds. The forcing event […]

Keira Knightley Has Been Naughty

I know, a cheap provocative post title–but at least I’m not putting up any pics. This article explains: The atheist actress, star of A Dangerous Method, said she is desperate to be Catholic because she would “just get to ask for forgiveness”. She added: “It sounds much better than having to live with guilt. “It’s […]

Aggression Is Counterproductive

This story was making the rounds in my circle of odd associates on Facebook: When FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force agents raided multiple activist homes in the Northwest last week, they were in search of “anti-government or anarchist literature.” The raids were part of a multi-state operationthat targeted activists in Portland, Olympia, and Seattle. At […]

Life Insurance, the Forgotten Savings Vehicle

Most Americans today know precious little of their country’s history, besides things like certain U.S. presidents and big wars. For example, most Americans don’t know that because of Constitutional concerns, the Eisenhower Administration had to cite the need to quickly move tanks and troops around to fend off an invasion, as a national security justification […]

My Two Cents on Caplan’s “Proof”

[UPDATE below.] I saw this post from Bryan Caplan when I was jet-setting to Vegas, and thought something was really wrong with it. But I haven’t had time until now to write it up. Here’s Bryan: When economists explain marginalism, students often object, “But surely no one ever changes his behavior over a single penny.” […]

Non-Conformists

According to my anecdotal evidence, David Friedman and I are the only economics bloggers who ignored the 100th anniversary of Milton Friedman’s birth. We focus on ideas, not people. We follow our hearts, not the crowd. Where others run, we walk. Where others drink, we slurp. Others write of anarchy; we live it.