Far too often, against the advice of my better angels, I stumble over to the Reddit forums and engage in my daily ritual of scrolling, squinting, and savoring all the wonders from the front page of the Internet. Reddit is at once a marvelous creation—bringing together multitudes of diverse communities over shared topics—and simultaneously the […]
Archives
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A Modest Defense of Yachts
07 Sep 2024
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Spending Time with Giants
22 Aug 2024
Readers of BATG will of course recognize the name Milton Friedman and may also be familiar with the name John Bogle as well. Friedman (1912-2006) was an American economist who spent most of his academic career at the University of Chicago. He was a strong proponent of monetarism and was awarded the Nobel Prize in […]
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Issue 1: The Nation’s Eyes Turn to Ohio
07 Aug 2023
Issue 1 will provide a foggy but fascinating window into culture war politics. The initiative, which will be voted on tomorrow by Ohio’s electorate, is technically about the process for amending the state constitution. Practically, Issue 1 is another front in our ever present social conflict. Let’s address both dimensions–the mechanics and the politics–in order. […]
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Debt Deal Done
02 Jun 2023
Watching the debt deal play out was not particularly good theater, as each step on the way was perfectly predictable. There was almost never a chance of actual default, and with divided government we were always going to end up with some lukewarm agreement that satisfied almost nobody. But that is the democratic process. Nevertheless, […]
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ChiCom’s show who is the ultimate boss of TikTok
04 May 2023
One of my favorite external groups is the Acton Institute, which explores the intersection of faith and free markets. The faith part is broadly ecumenical, and intentionally international, so it has an interesting set of fellow travelers. I like (and occasionally publish) in their Journal of Markets and Morality. Each summer they host Acton University, […]
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@ Jeff Adams, this one’s for you
22 Jun 2022
:-), since I doubt the Tax Foundation is one of your oft-visited websites.
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J.M. Keynes as a guest Berean?
21 Jun 2022
Well, maybe today. As I’m writing an op-ed for a local paper, I was drawn back to Keynes famous section in his work, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, written in 1919. Below is an extended section; we can discuss in the comments if you like. Lenin is said to have declared that the best […]
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Yes, the median American would take over three years to make in salary what Wall Street financiers made just in bonus last year. You don’t have to be an Occupy Wall Street type to feel that this salary is a bit out of proportion. However, you should not be aiming your pitch forks at Wall […]
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A Case for US/NATO No-Fly Zone (and other covert support) in Ukraine: If not us, who? And if not now, when?
02 Mar 2022
One of the great conundrums for American foreign policy is what precisely should we consider before entering into war. Attacks on us? Just domestic or also attacks on our citizens abroad? How big do they have to be to merit a military response? Beyond that, there is the difficult question of when should we go […]
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Stephen Breyer Steps Down
26 Jan 2022
Stephen Breyer, 83, appears to be stepping off the United States Supreme Court. The oldest member,* Breyer said recently he did not intend to “die on the Court,” though it was not clear he would retire so soon. Breyer was nominated by Bill Clinton and got 87 Senate votes for confirmation, a result that seems […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach