One of my principle objections to the whole Trump movement is its ill deserved label of conservative. Mr. Trump is the same 1990s big government Democrat he always has been, with the exception of his conversion on pro-life issues during his first term, where he can legitimately be described as the most pro-life president we’ve […]
Archives
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Home (Not) Alone: New York’s Airbnb Crackdown
18 Sep 2023
On September 5, New York City implemented a handful of new regulations targeting short term rentals. Most notably, those hoping to rent out their property must register with the city and be present on the premises during the rental period. This kills many Airbnbs and Vrbos where the owners are not always on the property […]
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Have you ever noticed how every consumer group and politician always claims to be acting on behalf of the consumer? And yet every action either reduces consumer choice or leads to higher prices (and usually both)? As just one recent example, there is a big push amongst progressives to ban gas stoves in homes for […]
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In the case of the Hollywood writers’ strike, who has the moral high ground? Many have seen the consistent refrain that Hollywood executives are taking advantage of poor, overworked writers via streaming culture changes and AI’s rise.* Hollywood studio executives are trying to cut costs to preserve profits in a new and changing environment for […]
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The Allure of Extraction
10 Jul 2023
From a legal and economic standpoint, I’m relieved the Supreme Court stood firm on executive power. However, a part of me is a bit disappointed that I won’t be receiving “free” money. I want to point out one of the economic problems with a large portion of government: extraction. Many policies are written to take […]
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When I was in my much younger college days, there was an 80s heavy metal band called Twisted Sister, who had a mega-hit “We’re not gonna take it”. The band of my youth is now, like me, old and gray, and you can watch a short clip of the refrain here (or the younger full […]
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Don’t Tax Me! I’m Irish!
25 Jul 2021
The Biden administration seeks to form an international agreement to establish a global minimum corporate tax at 15%. According to CNN, 132 nations back the proposal, but some notable holdouts including Ireland, block the way. The EU needs to vote unanimously to pass the proposal, so as long Ireland opposes it, there’s no deal. Over […]
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The Perfect Time to De-Tariff
24 May 2021
The other day I read a Wall Street Journal piece about EU tariffs on U.S. goods that (thankfully) never came to be. It reminded me about the Trump administration’s departure from U.S. policy for the last few decades which generally aimed to increase free trade. The Biden administration has yet to make any strong changes […]
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Markets Matter (Apparently, So Do Minks)
13 Nov 2020
Early on in the lockdown, probably April, I read an article that pointed out the mob related issues created by the pandemic. Essentially, the Italian government is concerned that the mob will take advantage of the distressed businesses. Later on, the mob will come back and ask for favors that the business owner can no […]
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Bing’s Big Day
22 Oct 2020
I’m sure no one was surprised by the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against Google. Someone who handles over 80% of domestic internet queries is definitely a monopoly, right?! Even better, Chrome controls about 70% of global browser traffic, 85% of the world’s smartphones run on Android, and Google receives 63% of search engine ad revenue in […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach