What Is “Rent Seeking”?

What Is “Rent Seeking”?

I’ve written columns about wonky economic concepts such as “deadweight loss” and “public goods.” Today’s topic is “rent seeking,” which is part of “public choice” and is described by Professor Alex Tabarrok of George Mason University. To elaborate, here’s a video from...
Economics 101 and Soda Taxes

Economics 101 and Soda Taxes

It is not difficult to understand the economics of taxation. Simply stated, the more you tax of something, the less you get of it. You can show the adverse impact of taxation with supply-and-demand curves (very helpful for understanding “deadweight loss“). But...
State Tax Progress

State Tax Progress

Last year I shared a very encouraging map, which identified the many states that have been cutting tax rates. After the November elections, I wrote a couple of encouraging columns about voters making sensible decisions when given the ability...