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Does the Government Own the Whole Economy?

My sources say no: In a recent New York Times op-ed, economist Robert Shiller (coproducer of the famous housing-price index) recommended that the US government begin to sell claims on fractions of Gross Domestic Product. Besides the practical problems with his proposal, it rests on the premise that the US government owns the entire economy. […]

"Those Guys Are Really Smart, Except For That God Stuff"

I don’t remember the exact quote, but in C.S. Lewis’ Surprised By Joy he was explaining his conversion from atheism. He said that the writers/thinkers he respected the most just happened to be Christian, and of course Lewis (when he was still an atheist) thought they were fantastic “except for their Christianity.” Naturally this struck […]

Gary North Tackles the Deflationists

Today LRC ran a Gary North article in which he took on the deflationist camp. Although his official target is a guy named John Exter, the apparent grand-daddy of the viewpoint, North’s critique applies perfectly to someone like Mish who claims that there will be a general deflation yet a constant / rising gold price […]

Epiphany or Brain Fart? Government Debt and Inflation

As I think I have mentioned, I’m working on a textbook for junior high / early high school kids. (It’s a textbook on economics, not yoga, in case you are wondering.) I was being really anal about the precise connection between government deficits and price inflation, explaining that a budget deficit per se doesn’t create […]

Legalizing Poker and Blackjack Today, Marijuana Tomorrow?

CNBC reports: HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania legalized poker, blackjack and other table games at slots casinos Thursday, upping the ante in the increasingly fierce competition among states for gamblers’ money.…It may be more than six months before the first cards are dealt, but millions in license fees are expected to begin pouring into the state […]

How (Falsely) Low Interest Rates Screw Up the Economy

I just made a fairly long and technical post, which I’m sure half of my readers will skip. Let me say it in plainer English: Loosely speaking, the market interest rate allocates the available financial capital among various possible investment projects. The equilibrium interest rate is j-u-u-s-t right so that people save exactly the amount […]

How (Falsely!) Low Interest Rates Contributed to the Housing Boom

In my battles with Greenspan defenders, things often come down to examination of what the Federal Reserve did with the money supply (however defined) after the dot-com crash. The idea is that interest rates per se are irrelevant, since the (typical) way the Fed moves interest rates is by shrinking or enlarging the total amount […]

Bob Murphy, Neo-Confederate?

Steve Landsburg has the distinction of (possibly) being a more narcissistic economics blogger than me. (As Vader would say, “Impressive.”) Not only did Steve decide his readers should see his personal list of heroes, but he broke it up over three posts, making them guess at the identity of the people who were pictured. Anyway, […]