Do the poor get poorer?
People often say that “the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer.” Economics professor Steve Horwitz explains why in the United States, this characterization is largely a…
21st century Chinatown?
Those who remember the 1974 classic film Chinatown will find this story eerily familiar. (ReasonTV) The Antelope Valley is a vast patch of desert on the outskirts of Los Angeles…
The virtues of competition
Orson Welles as Harry Lime in the film adaptation of Graham Greene’s Third Man. Don’t be so gloomy. After all it’s not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy…
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…
An ethical case for ‘Loser Pays’
In a recent article, Gozmodo reports of an independent artist that was charged with copyright infringement, and was forced to settle for tens of thousands of dollars, even though he…
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…
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…
The unrecognizable future
With a predicted population of 9 billion, food production and competition for resources could change the face of our planet. http://news.discovery.com/earth/earth-unrecognizable-2050-resources-110220.html While there can be no doubt that the future…
What Happens When Alternatives Are Eliminated?
A clip from Alain Resnais’ Mon Oncle d’Amerique shows what happens when alternatives are eliminated, both in scientific studies and fictitious real-world scenarios. Is this not our modern system in…
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?