In a National Review article of June 21, 2016, Michael Barone explored the question of whether the United States economy has shown any growth, and if not, why not. The article, entitled “Why We have—and Probably Will Keep Having—Sluggish Job Growth,” relies on a recently published book by the economist Arnold Kling, Specialization and Trade: […]
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its getting serious. News reports continue daily on the deteriorating state of dysfunctionality called government in Venezuela. Not only is food shortage a significant problem for many, but basic protection and law and order functions are missing in action. This is leading to vigilante justice, with some suspected criminals being burned alive on the […]
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This is Not a Shampoo Commercial: It’s Worse
07 May 2016
I read another article today on the evils of occupational licensing, this one coming from Tennessee, which requires 300 hours of approved training to (get this) shampoo hair. And the so-called shampoo degree coats upwards of $5,000 to $12,000! (see The Daily Signal of ma2, at http://dailysignal.com/2016/05/02/it-takes-300-hours-to-become-a-shampooer-in-tennessee). After reading the entire article I was just […]
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Happy Tax Day (Late)
19 Apr 2016
Below is a chart comparing categories of income tax between 1913 and 2016, published by Americans for Tax Reform. Note the categories labeled “Top Tax Bracket Threshold” and “Family Standard Deduction,” both adjusted in terms of today’s dollars. Our tax liability now begins at 25 times the amount it began at in 1913. Our deduction […]
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Minimum Wage, Minimum Work, Minimum Dignity
11 Apr 2016
California, predictably, has passed a $15/hour minimum wage. New York is likely to. A few cities have done it already. Bernie Sanders wants a Federal wage of $15, while Hillary Clinton wants a $12 wage. And so the issue is once again on the table, at a time when wages are stagnant and unemployment is […]
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It seems this blog overlaps one just published by my colleague Jeff Haymond. But I will publish mine anyway, since it nicely supplements his. Donald Trump has been saying quite a bit recently about the disappearance of (especially) manufacturing jobs in the South as well as the “Rust Belt,” blaming those lost jobs on the […]
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Frederic Bastiat as Prophet
28 Feb 2016
I have been reading quite a few articles lately in which the individuals (politicians, bureaucrats and just ordinary citizens) are asked about various issues related to the presidential campaigns. One answer I have heard quite a bit is simply that “the government” should do something. Sometimes the issues are even cast in terms of a […]
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There was a time, way back in the eighteenth century, and as recently as the nineteenth century in the United States, that a person who owned land possessed legal title (in so-called “fee simple,” the normal way people own land unless they lease it) to it from the “center of the earth to the zenith […]
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At the Democratic candidate debate last week, Bernie Sanders was asked how big government should be. His response was illuminating, as was Hillary Clinton’s response to Sanders’ answer. Here is part of what he said: WOODRUFF: “And, welcome back to this PBS Newshour debate, Democratic debate, here in Milwaukee. Let’s get right to the questions. Senator […]
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Yesterday the Heritage Foundation released the 2016 Index of Economic Freedom. This annual publication is produced by the Heritage Foundation in conjunction with the Wall Street Journal. In addition to the 2016 Index the foundation also published Economic Freedom in America, a supplement outlining trends in economic freedom in the United States. Figure 1 illustrates the overall composite […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach