I have a few questions for thought today. I am not answering them, though the reader may well have some idea where I am on them. So just read and ponder. Please feel free to comment too. I have not read the Iran nuclear deal yet, but I understand it will aid Iran in developing […]
Archives
-
Some Questions to Ponder: Just Asking
15 Jul 2015
-
TPP. TPA. I’m Confused–and Still Skeptical
12 Jun 2015
Andrew MCarthy has an interesting post in the National Review Online, in which he says opponents of the TPA (Trade Promotion Authority), which gives the president the authority to ask for an “up-or-down” vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the real legislation, are off base for their opposition. His argument is technically true. What is […]
-
The Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement
05 Jun 2015
This short blog is just a follow-up to my colleague Jeff Haymond’s blog on the trade agreement before Congress now. Dr. Haymond defended the agreement on the correct grounds that it enhanced free trade and that free trade is good for everyone, at least in the longer run (and given some short-run and inevitable disruptions). […]
-
There is another new book out on the alleged problem of inequality. This one is by Anthony Atkinson, a British scholar who wrote Inequality: What Can Be Done? The book was just released so I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but Richard Epstein, a legal and economic scholar with New York University […]
-
It began when the current Pope, Francis, succeeded Benedict XVI and proceeded to issue an encyclical dealing with economics. Many at the time defended him and argued that he could be interpreted in such a way as not to be overly critical of markets and capitalism. But Francis seems to have continued down an interesting […]
-
Update on Trade Deal: Senate agreement gives new life with separate “currency manipulator” bill
14 May 2015
The WSJ reports today that a day after the Democrats in the Senate repudiated Mr. Obama, the Senate agreed to allow a vote on Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), once the Republican leadership agreed to allow a vote to force the administration to punish “unfair” trade in the form of currency manipulation. The concern have over […]
-
Like a stopped clock being right twice a day, Mr. Obama is right on Trade Promotion Authority
07 May 2015
Readers of this blog know I’m critical of the Obama administration generally on economic matters, nevertheless, as we say from my home state of Arkansas, “even a blind hog can find an acorn every now and again.” The Democratic party has been generally hostile toward free trade for most of my life, while Republicans are […]
-
Critics of capitalism or markets are not too difficult to find. They come mainly from the ideological Left, but some also come from what appears to be a non-Leftist position of postmodernism. I actually believe most postmoderns lean Left, some violently, but for now I will let that go. Finally I have found a fairly […]
-
Book Review on the Industrial Revolution
07 Apr 2015
It has been a long time since I have written anything on books I am reading. I think I have a winner in a relatively new book by Joel Mokyr entitled The Enlightened Economy: Britain and the Industrial Revolution, 1700-1850, published by Penguin Books and Yale University in 2011 and 2009. Now I know the […]
-
The Social Justice Crowd Part Two
04 Dec 2014
I was happy to see some response to my earlier blog on the “Social Justice Crowd.” Here I would like to offer some clarifications and responses to the responses. Let me say first that Bert Wheeler gave an excellent rejoinder regarding one of the major benefits of enterprises such as Walmart: It substantially increases the […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach