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Liberals and Libertarians Agree: Don’t "Privatize" Social Security!
I have been arguing with “Lee Arnold” about climate models over at Marginal Revolution. Anyway, I clicked on his profile and stumbled across his YouTube library of “Ecolanguage” videos. Below I’ve embedded his neat little discussion of President Bush’s ill-fated plan to “privatize” Social Security. As a free market economist, I disagreed with much of […]
Read morePalin’s Gas Tax Moratorium In Effect
Governor Palin’s one-year moratorium on (state) motor fuel taxes is now in effect; see this official announcement. As many of you will recall, when John McCain proposed this for the summer (at the federal level), he was lambasted by his critics. The controversy was over how much of the elimination of the federal 18.4-cent-per-gallon tax […]
Read moreGood News on Oil and the US Dollar?
Driven in part by the lack of major damage due to Gustav, oil prices have fallen to a five-month low, with the near-term futures trading at $109.25. At the same time, the US dollar has risen to a 10.5-month high, with the euro slipping below $1.45. Oil prices, quoted in dollars, are closely connected with […]
Read moreIs Gustav Good for the Economy?
In a previous post, I explained why the conventional GDP accounts–based on Keynesian macroeconomics–lead to all sorts of absurd analyses and policy recommendations, such as viewing a falling dollar and consumer spending as boosting growth. We see similar confusion whenever it comes to disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, when analysts say, “Although the loss […]
Read moreA Seinfeldish Question for Today
Why do they call it Labor Day, if nobody’s working? Shouldn’t they call it Leisure Day? What’s the deeeeeal, with that?
Read moreWere the Early Christians Socialists?
Explanatory note: On this blog, I will focus on economic and financial matters, ranging from the household to a global scale. As the blog’s subtitle suggests, my worldview is informed by my belief in Jesus and individual liberty, meaning I am a harsh critic of coercive government policies. I assume that most readers of this […]
Read moreWhy Government Regulations Keep Us Less Safe
I am a very “extreme” (I prefer the term “consistent”) advocate of free markets. Not only do I think the private sector should provide 100% of the schooling services in a country, but I also think the government shouldn’t be in the business of guaranteeing product safety. For a quick exposition of my views relating […]
Read moreIs Home Equity a Form of Saving?
In a recent NYT article Tyler Cowen wrote: The fundamental problem in the American economy is that, for years, people treated rising asset prices as a substitute for personal savings. The thinking went something like this: As long as your home’s value rose every year, you didn’t have to set aside so much from your […]
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