Is the modern political economy a zero-sum game?
In Part III of Juggernaut, I show how the use of government as a wealth-transferring system necessarily exasperates competition in the economy and creates what can best be described as…
Government-first health care a risk to well-being
(Reason) For the past several years, the medical profession has been undergoing a disturbing transformation. The process was begun by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in an…
IRS to institute licensing for tax preparation?
For more visit http://www.ij.org/IRS Congress never gave the IRS the authority to license tax preparers, and the IRS can’t give itself that power. But last year the IRS imposed a…
- Budget Deficit
- Capitalism
- Competition
- Complexity
- Consumerism
- Currency
- Current Events
- Debt Ceiling
- Economic Policy
- Euro Crisis
- Federal Budget
- Foreign Aid
- Free Market
- Inflation
- Interdependency
- Keynesianism
- Marxism
- Motivation
- Perpetuity
- Political Theory
- Poverty
- Public Choice Theory
- Systems Theory
- Welfare Statism
Greece–a portent of things to come?
Moodys Investors Service considers Greece to have defaulted per its default definitions. The announcement comes despite Athens reaching a deal with private creditors for a bond exchange that will shave…
Are food trucks dangerous for kids?
A state assemblyman wants to significantly limit where lunch wagons can operate, keeping them even farther from schools than marijuana dispensaries. His legislation could put many of the mobile kitchens…
Should contraception be a right?
Anyone following the latest on Obama’s healthcare mandate will surely have heard of Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown University law student, who told House Democrats why she supports the contraceptive mandate. The…
The striking connection between contraception and sovereign debt
Mark Steyn has an uncanny knack for pointing out obscure and yet compelling aspects of our political economy. In his latest column, he shows how the latest controversy over Obama’s…
The parasite economy
From a recent Heritage release: This annual study by The Heritage Foundation analyzes federal assistance programs for everything from housing, health care, and food stamps to college tuition and retirement…
- Austrian School
- Autarchy
- Behavioral Economics
- Closed System
- Competition
- Complexity
- Culture Divide
- Current Events
- Free Market
- Frontier Thesis
- Game Theory
- Interdependency
- Keynesianism
- Legal Theory
- Motivation
- Political Theory
- Polycentrism
- Public Choice Theory
- Self-Government
- Self-Reliance
- Self-Rule
- Self-Sufficiency
- Systems Theory
- Trade
- Welfare Statism
Is the government an agreement between the people, or is it a coercive force that dictates what the people do?
This question is at the heart of the great debate: Is the government an agreement between the people, or is it a coercive force that dictates what the people do?…
Two questions from the early 20th century
From Max Weber’s essay, Parliament and Government in Germany under a New Political Order, published as a series of articles in the ‘Frankfurter Zeitung’ in 1917 as a critique of…
- 2007-08 Crisis
- Austrian School
- Closed System
- Competition
- Complexity
- Current Events
- Debt Ceiling
- Economic Policy
- Economic Theory
- Federal Budget
- Foreign Aid
- George Mason School
- Inflation
- Interdependency
- Keynesianism
- Marxism
- Motivation
- National Debt
- Perpetuity
- Political Theory
- Systems Theory
- Wealth
- Welfare Statism
- Zero-sum
The end of the euro?–Tyler Cowen on the European crisis
(EconTalk) Tyler Cowen of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the European crisis. Cowen argues that Greece is likely to default either in fact or in…
Are the 1% really that different from the 99%?
The culture divide is probably best displayed by the anguish of protesters (in the Tea Party and in the Occupy Wall Street movements). For the most part, the protesters have…
- Chicago School
- Closed System
- Competition
- Complexity
- Distributism
- Division of Labor
- Ecology
- Economic Policy
- Economic Theory
- Free Market
- Frontier Thesis
- Interdependency
- Keynesianism
- Motivation
- Perpetuity
- Polycentrism
- Self-Reliance
- Self-Sufficiency
- Simplicity
- Solutions
- Specialism
- Systems Theory
- Trade
- Wealth
- Welfare Statism
- Zero-sum
The inefficiency of home-grown food
Recently, two members of congress have introduced legislation which is aimed at lowering carbon output by encouraging local food production and distribution. There are a number of things wrong with…
The bane of representative government
(Reuters) Lawmakers abandoned their high-profile effort to rein in the country’s ballooning debt on Monday in a sign that Washington likely will not be able to resolve a dispute over…
Why would people want to raise taxes but not be willing to donate to the treasury?
Washington — Two dozen “patriotic millionaires” traveled to the Capitol on Wednesday to demand that Congress raise taxes on wealthy Americans. The Daily Caller attended their press conference with an…
- Austrian School
- Capitalism
- Chicago School
- Closed System
- Competition
- Complexity
- Culture Divide
- Distributism
- Division of Labor
- Economic Policy
- Economic Theory
- Free Land
- Free Market
- Game Theory
- Interdependency
- Keynesianism
- Marxism
- Political Theory
- Poverty
- Self-Government
- Self-Reliance
- Self-Rule
- Self-Sufficiency
- Sociology
- Systems Theory
- Trade
- Wealth
- Welfare Statism
- Zero-sum
Zero-sum economics: the core issue of the great debate
Is the economy a zero-sum game? John Mackey, co-founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Market says that it isn’t a zero-sum game. (WSJ.com) Business is not a zero-sum game struggling…
Does forgiving debt reduce economic stress?
(Christian Science Monitor) President Obama on Wednesday is launching a new plan to lower the cost of paying back student loans for millions of borrowers – the latest installment in…
- 2007-08 Crisis
- Autarchy
- Budget Deficit
- Closed System
- Competition
- Complexity
- Culture Divide
- Current Events
- Economic Policy
- Economic Theory
- Federal Budget
- Inflation
- Interdependency
- Keynesianism
- Marxism
- Motivation
- National Debt
- Perpetuity
- Political Theory
- Poverty
- Resources
- Self-Reliance
- Self-Sufficiency
- Sociology
- Systems Theory
- Wealth
- Welfare Statism
- Zero-sum
I could be wrong, but I’m not
Part of the 99%: Part of the 53%:
The Juggernaut in a nutshell
Before talking about economics, I want to say something about democracy. In July, I was in Spain, talking to the “indignados” there, the protesters. There, I could use a bullhorn….
Propaganda: repetition and fear
A propaganda film about propaganda. Learn how the powers that be use argumentum ad metum (the appeal to fear) and constant repetition to subtly manipulate your emotions. Be sure to…