Paul Krugman recently argued that a fake threat from space aliens would be good for the economy because the people of earth would waste a bunch of money building unnecessary defenses. That was a bit loopy, as I noted a few days ago, but other Keynesians also have been…
Daily Analysis
A Despicable Human Being Created by the British Welfare State?
Every so often, I can’t resist condemning someone for grossly immoral behavior. I beat up on Robert Murphy for stealing the value of someone else’s property. I attacked Olga Stefou for symbolizing the looter-class mentality of Greece. And I mocked Michael Wolfensohn…
Creating Galt’s Gulch from Scratch?
Advocates of limited government love to fantasize. But because we’re strange people, we don’t have ordinary fantasies about supermodels or playing pro baseball. We daydream about a libertarian nirvana, where the rights of individuals are protected, guided by a moral…
When Germany and France Both Agree on Something, You Can Safely Assume It Is a Terrible Idea
I’ve joked on many occasions that bipartisanship occurs in Washington when the evil party and the stupid party come up with an idea that is simultaneously malicious and misguided. The international version of two-wrongs-don’t-make-a-right occurs whenever the French…
Paul Krugman Meets E.T.
I’ve poked fun at Paul Krugman for his views on health care and British fiscal policy, and I’ve semi-defended him about unemployment subsidies and housing bubbles. Now it’s time for some more mockery. Back in 2001, Paul Krugman received some much-deserved criticism…
Warren Buffett’s Fiscal Innumeracy
Warren Buffett’s at it again. He has a column in the New York Times complaining that he has been coddled by the tax code and that “rich” people should pay higher taxes. My first instinct is to send Buffett the website where people can voluntarily pay extra money to…
Should the Government Try to Stop Discrimination Against Ugly People?
While the case for minimal government is very strong, that doesn’t mean that there are easy answers for every question. For instance, we know that markets will – over time – penalize people who discriminate. A merchant or employer who deliberately shuns women, blacks,…
The Futile Stupidity of Laws Against “Short Selling”
The governments of Spain, Italy, Belgium and (of course) France recently imposed 15-day bans on “short selling,” which means they are prohibiting people from making investments that would be profitable if certain stocks fall in value. According to the politicians, the…
D.C. Needs to Junk Jock Tax Plan
The Washington Times recently reported that the D.C. Council’s plan to introduce a “jock tax” will need an unlikely vote from Capitol Hill to succeed. Hopefully for D.C. sports fans the proposal will fail. What is a “jock tax,” you might ask? It is an income tax…
Reid and Pelosi Appoint Fiscal Foxes to Serve on Super-Committee Henhouse
Wow. Not even a pretense of caring about fiscal responsibility. Keep the status quo, even if it means America is doomed to suffer a Greek-style budget meltdown. Those were my thoughts when I heard that Harry Reid appointed Senators Kerry, Murray, and Baucus to the…