We have the theory. We have the empirical research. Now we see the stories.

Once again trying to talk some sense into those who think emotion can trump real-world economics

The great Krugtron the Invincible argues the minimum wage can be increased without much consequence. He says there’s “hardly any cost to raising it,” and that “we can raise these wages without losing lots of jobs.” Notice the weasel language. We can raise it without losing “lots” of jobs, but regardless of what he subjectively […]

I’m beginning to think that people from some nations are smarter and more rational than others. That may explain, for instance, why voters in Estonia support fiscal restraintwhile voters in France foolishly think the gravy train can continue forever. But I’m not making an argument about genetic ability. Instead, what I’m actually starting to wonder is whether […]

Like John Stossel and Thomas Sowell, I’m not a big fan of the Federal Reserve. It’s not just that I’m a libertarian who fantasizes about the denationalization of money. I also think the Fed hasn’t done a good job, even by its own metrics. There’s very little doubt, for instance, that easy-money policies last decade played a major role in creating the housing […]

If I banged my head against the wall every time politicians advocated bad policy in Washington – which is a tempting impulse, I would have been institutionalized because of brain damage a long time ago. But it’s difficult to maintain my self control when I think about minimum wage laws. All sentient human beings should know […]

I’m not a big fan of the German government. Angela Merkel has a disturbing desire to impose fiscal and political union on the European continent. And even the supposedly free market Free Democratic Party seems perfectly comfortable with a gradual descent into statism. No wonder I mocked the Washington Post for labeling Germany a “fiscally […]

Should the federal government make life more difficult for low-skilled workers? I hope everyone will emphatically say “NO!” Heck, most people understandably will think you’re crazy for even asking such a preposterous question. But some of those people will also think that it’s a good idea for politicians in Washington to make low-skilled workers less […]

My Cato colleague, Mark Calabria, recently explained how the minimum wage destroys jobs, and I’ve written on several occasions why government-mandated wages can create unemployment by making it unprofitable to hire people with low work skills and/or poor work histories. And I’ve attacked Republicans for going along with these job-killing policies, and also pointed out […]

Our latest Econ 101 video is a must watch.  If you haven’t seen it yet, Orphe Divounguy succinctly explains the role of minimum wage laws in creating unemployment in this video titled, “The Job-Killing Impact of Minimum Wage Laws:” Minimum wage laws seem like a good idea, but arbitrarily mandating a certain wage can have […]