Are sovereign islands the new frontier?
(Details) [Peter] Thiel spends a lot of time thinking about frontiers. “Way more than is healthy,” he admits. Not just financial frontiers, though that’s his day job: He cofounded PayPal,…
The plight of the middle class
Robert Reich connects the dots on the economy, in less than 2 minutes and 15 seconds. A number of questions arise, not the least important of which has to do…
Solving the problem by adding to it and making it worse
(The New York Times) There is something you should know about the deal to cut federal spending that President Obama signed into law on Tuesday: It does not actually reduce federal…
The math behind economies of scale
(TED) Physicist Geoffrey West has found that simple, mathematical laws govern the properties of cities — that wealth, crime rate, walking speed and many other aspects of a city can…
The debt ceiling as a perpetual soufflé
As Veronique de Rugy explains, the debt ceiling was initiated in the U.S. in 1917 as a way to ensure responsibility in congress. Since then, government has raised it nearly…
What is the difference between the Austrian and Chicago Schools of Economics?
Two of the most influential and comprehensive schools of economic thought, the Austrian and Chicago Schools have much in common, especially in their opposition to Keynesianism. But, as Robert P….
New charter city in the works
(TED) Back in 2009, Paul Romer unveiled the idea for a “charter city” — a new kind of city with rules that favor democracy and trade. This year, at TED2011,…
Let’s diversify the states!
In a recent study, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University examined the laws and regulations that each of the 50 American states impose on their citizens and produced a…
What ever happened to free choice?
(TheIndyChannel.com) WASHINGTON –The Health and Human Services Department said Wednesday afternoon that Indiana’s Medicaid plan, which bans funding to Planned Parenthood, is illegal and must be changed. In a letter sent to Indiana’s Medicaid director,…
Is Distributism the answer?
In John C. Médaille’s book, Toward a Truly Free Market, the argument is made that the modern system is a self-perpetuating cycle that can only lead to more regulation and…
How to choose a winner
Thanks to another week of volatility in the markets, we are again face-to-face with the fact that there is absolutely no sensible reason for the movement of stock and derivatives…
How does adding debt prevent us from default?
Geithner’s suggestion is to raise the amount of debt the borrower can take in. But that only allows the borrower to get further in the hole, and end up owing more every year. If the borrower can’t pay off the debt as it stands, what is to say that he will be able to do so when the debt is more than his income?
Is there a difference between economics and politics?
On the surface, the question might seem beside the point. Economics is the study of economic transactions between people and groups and politics is the practice of governing. But with…
What happened in 1900?
Anyone who has studied political economy recognizes that something happened around the year 1900 that changed the way the Western world worked. Historian J.M. Roberts declared that 1900 was the…
What Is the Most Ridiculous Form of Government Waste Going On Now?
In ‘Juggernaut’, I explain what can be called the ‘effective demand problem’. This is the Keynesian notion that a complex economy breaks down in times of high unemployment because the…
Corporations or government–which is a greater threat to personal well-being?
The great debate of our age seems to be based on where the main threat to personal well-being rests–in corporations or government.
Is the pursuit of wealth a zero-sum game?
Allow me to pose three questions to the inquisitive: 1. Is the pursuit of wealth a zero-sum game? 2. Is the pursuit of money a zero-sum game?