Daily economy news from the American Institute for Economic Research: data, stories, research, and articles touching on economics, politics, culture, education, policy, opinion, technology, markets, healthcare, regulation, trends, and much more.
What accounts for America’s life expectancy gap?
“A large portion of the gap (but not all of it) is due to unique features of American life that are unrelated to health care services.” ~ Vincent Geloso
The (Big Labor) Empire Strikes Back in Michigan
“Labor unions prefer to obtain all their dues through the easy method of coercion. They hate RTW statutes because they give disaffected workers an escape hatch.” ~ George Leef
The Myth of American Inequality and Stagnation
“The familiar trope of the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, and the middle classes treading water is disproved by devastatingly large amounts of empirical evidence.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
How Arrogance Threatens Freedom
“Those who demand special treatment from impersonal, anonymous, and uncontrollable processes lack humility. They want credit for their achievements, and they blame others when their goals fall short. With such arrogance, freedom is indeed impossible.” ~ Barry Brownstein
A Sick (Pay) Policy that Redefines Work
“To the extent that these app-based companies are about matching unused resources, no matter how small, to those who want to employ those resources, this policy undermines the most beneficial aspect of the sharing economy.” ~ Anthony Gill
Why Intellectuals Hate Al Czervik
“Power, by which I mean political power, is always zero-sum: if the intellectual elite has it, you and I don’t have it.” ~ Michael Munger
Eliminating the Debt Ceiling: Is There Anything the 14th Amendment Can’t Do?
“The Biden administration threatens to invoke Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment to sidestep the longstanding federal debt ceiling in a way that would increase the power of the executive branch. ” ~ Robert E. Wright
The FTC should answer its Call of Duty to Gamers
“There are so many holes in the FTC and Sony’s opposition to the Microsoft-Activision merger that an analogy to Swiss cheese is in order.” ~ Gary M. Galles
What’s Next for the Fed?
“A wide range of outcomes are still possible for 2023, ranging from stagflation to a ‘soft landing.'” ~ Thomas L. Hogan
Economic Growth Makes Graceland Less Impressive
“The real ‘capitalist achievement,’ however, isn’t Graceland. It’s the fact that compared to the stuff of the average person’s day-to-day life in 2023, Graceland just isn’t that impressive.” ~ Art Carden
All Housing is Still Affordable Housing: “Seen and Unseen” Edition
“The unseen cause of gentrification is the knee-jerk NIMBYism of affluent leftist neighborhood associations. And that causes the elimination of almost all affordable housing in the city, quickly.” ~ Michael Munger
The Greedflation Myth
“Politicians on the left would like us to believe inflation is caused by greedy corporations. And some academics are all too happy to provide them with theoretical cover.” ~ William J. Luther
Three Proposals for Price Stability
“As a ‘dark horse’ candidate, Ramaswamy has a greater burden of proof before the electorate. He needs to prove his policy proposals are a cut above his rivals’.” ~ Alexander W. Salter
America’s Long Depression
“The US economy may continue to grow or shrink a few percent from year to year, but it will remain mired in a deep depression compared to what it could have achieved.” ~ Robert E. Wright
Without Economic Freedom, None of the Others Matter
“Forbidding entrepreneurial ventures that have not been granted prior approval and design review by unelected officials is, practically speaking, state ownership of the means of production.” ~ Paul Schwennesen
How Congress Should Reform the Fed
“Congress should narrow the Fed’s regulatory concerns to maintaining adequate bank capital. It should also consider abolishing the discount window entirely.” ~ Alexander William Salter
Can the Fed Continue to Fight Inflation without Risking a Financial Crisis?
“In principle, the Fed has the ability to provide liquidity to the banking system while simultaneously reducing the incentives banks have to make loans.” ~ Bryan Cutsinger
Taylor Swift, Turn Your Wrath to Government!
“The entity that Taylor Swift and her legion of fans are turning to save themselves from a predatory monopoly that engages in shifty pricing is itself a predatory monopoly that engages in shifty pricing.” ~ Anthony Gill
What accounts for America’s life expectancy gap?
“A large portion of the gap (but not all of it) is due to unique features of American life that are unrelated to health care services.” ~ Vincent Geloso
The (Big Labor) Empire Strikes Back in Michigan
“Labor unions prefer to obtain all their dues through the easy method of coercion. They hate RTW statutes because they give disaffected workers an escape hatch.” ~ George Leef
The Myth of American Inequality and Stagnation
“The familiar trope of the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, and the middle classes treading water is disproved by devastatingly large amounts of empirical evidence.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
How Arrogance Threatens Freedom
“Those who demand special treatment from impersonal, anonymous, and uncontrollable processes lack humility. They want credit for their achievements, and they blame others when their goals fall short. With such arrogance, freedom is indeed impossible.” ~ Barry Brownstein
A Sick (Pay) Policy that Redefines Work
“To the extent that these app-based companies are about matching unused resources, no matter how small, to those who want to employ those resources, this policy undermines the most beneficial aspect of the sharing economy.” ~ Anthony Gill
Why Intellectuals Hate Al Czervik
“Power, by which I mean political power, is always zero-sum: if the intellectual elite has it, you and I don’t have it.” ~ Michael Munger
Eliminating the Debt Ceiling: Is There Anything the 14th Amendment Can’t Do?
“The Biden administration threatens to invoke Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment to sidestep the longstanding federal debt ceiling in a way that would increase the power of the executive branch. ” ~ Robert E. Wright
The FTC should answer its Call of Duty to Gamers
“There are so many holes in the FTC and Sony’s opposition to the Microsoft-Activision merger that an analogy to Swiss cheese is in order.” ~ Gary M. Galles
What’s Next for the Fed?
“A wide range of outcomes are still possible for 2023, ranging from stagflation to a ‘soft landing.'” ~ Thomas L. Hogan
Economic Growth Makes Graceland Less Impressive
“The real ‘capitalist achievement,’ however, isn’t Graceland. It’s the fact that compared to the stuff of the average person’s day-to-day life in 2023, Graceland just isn’t that impressive.” ~ Art Carden
All Housing is Still Affordable Housing: “Seen and Unseen” Edition
“The unseen cause of gentrification is the knee-jerk NIMBYism of affluent leftist neighborhood associations. And that causes the elimination of almost all affordable housing in the city, quickly.” ~ Michael Munger
The Greedflation Myth
“Politicians on the left would like us to believe inflation is caused by greedy corporations. And some academics are all too happy to provide them with theoretical cover.” ~ William J. Luther
Three Proposals for Price Stability
“As a ‘dark horse’ candidate, Ramaswamy has a greater burden of proof before the electorate. He needs to prove his policy proposals are a cut above his rivals’.” ~ Alexander W. Salter
America’s Long Depression
“The US economy may continue to grow or shrink a few percent from year to year, but it will remain mired in a deep depression compared to what it could have achieved.” ~ Robert E. Wright
Without Economic Freedom, None of the Others Matter
“Forbidding entrepreneurial ventures that have not been granted prior approval and design review by unelected officials is, practically speaking, state ownership of the means of production.” ~ Paul Schwennesen
How Congress Should Reform the Fed
“Congress should narrow the Fed’s regulatory concerns to maintaining adequate bank capital. It should also consider abolishing the discount window entirely.” ~ Alexander William Salter
Can the Fed Continue to Fight Inflation without Risking a Financial Crisis?
“In principle, the Fed has the ability to provide liquidity to the banking system while simultaneously reducing the incentives banks have to make loans.” ~ Bryan Cutsinger
Taylor Swift, Turn Your Wrath to Government!
“The entity that Taylor Swift and her legion of fans are turning to save themselves from a predatory monopoly that engages in shifty pricing is itself a predatory monopoly that engages in shifty pricing.” ~ Anthony Gill
