240 years ago, more or less on July 4 (the actual date of the signing of the Declaration is debated), the members of the Continental Congress signed a document that severed the bonds of the American colonies from their British rulers.  For many Americans, this day is still cause for celebration for that reason, as […]

In the period from about 1890 to 1920, labeled the Progressive Era, political thinkers, economists (a new profession then) and public intellectuals told Americans and Europeans that the best way to get efficient government that actually worked was to create independent boards, commissions and other similar organizations.  We were told they would be free from […]

Way back in the late 1970s, when the Law and Economics movement was really getting underway, one of the “stars” of that intellectual movement was Richard Posner, a law professor at the time, and one interested in hos economics might be applicable to law.  At the time, I was also developing an interest in economics, […]

I hate to beat a dead horse, but the issue of trade keeps coming up in the news, whether from Donald Trump and the Trumpists or from Paul Ryan or from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, all claiming to have the right position on trade and the place of the United States in the global […]

In today’s Wall Street Journal (gated) reports on a political battle over the provision of food stamps, and it illustrates much of what is wrong in Washington DC.  Many of us lament the almost doubling of the number of people receiving food stamps, with only a slight drop off well after the recession is over.  We […]

A vote is a crude instrument. It is often a binary choice that cloaks oodles of complexity. Consider a typical ballot for office. Are votes cast for or against candidates? What factors are driving the decision? Economics? Party? Social concerns? Foreign policy? Personality? Charisma? Or, more grimly, for how many voters do racism, envy, and […]

“Bureaucrats Stifle Innovation” Maybe that sounds like something I might say.  And you would be right.  But I didn’t say that.  It was the title of an article in Reason on June 1, 2016 by John Stossel.  Yes, Stossel is polemical.  But I think he is also on to something.  The subtitle is “Taught Not […]

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: […]

In an amazing 8-0 decision, the Supreme Court threw out the conviction of former VA governor McDonnell for alleged corruption: The Justice Department alleged Mr. McDonnell agreed to legitimize, promote and seek research studies for the company’s products. The former governor among other things arranged meetings for the businessman, Jonnie Williams, with other government officials […]

Janet Yellen (Federal Reserve chair) received a lot of press in last week after the Fed’s meeting, where she acknowledging that monetary policy can’t really solve the slow growth rate of the U.S. economy.  She, as many other economists, believe there are structural problems which leave us in a “new normal” of lower economic growth […]