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.
How Can We Stop Serving Students So Poorly?
“Efforts to improve things with charter schools have shown some great results, and vouchers are attractive as a means to make educators more responsible to parents than to administrators. But we are still in the early stages of a very long struggle.” ~Gary M. Galles
Thinking About the Regulation of Industrial Emissions Differently, Part I
“Production of the likes of tires, furniture, steel, speedy transportation, and air conditioning and home heating is surely good for humanity. But such production requires energy and it produces harmful by-products.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
ESG as an Artifact of Zero Interest Rate Policy
“The reasons attributed to billions of dollars leaving the ESG sector include concerns about greenwashing and political backlash. That the flight of funds coincides almost perfectly with the start of inflation and turned negative shortly after the Fed began its contractionary policy bias is either not noticed or considered.” ~Peter C. Earle
A Short Guide to ESG: History
“Browsing the websites of ESG-advocating organizations gives the sense that ESG is cutting edge, technologically sophisticated, a wise investment strategy, and the road to increasing profitability.” ~Paul Mueller
‘The Psychology of Money’ Isn’t About Psychology or Money
“Ultimately, Housel’s book achieves its goal of conveying the richness of factors that influence financial decisions, but it blithely ignores economic principles that are the foundation of its subject.” ~Byron Carson
Universal Basic Income? Universal High Income?
“Where would the money come from, existing program cuts, higher existing taxes, new taxes, and/or new money creation? Would a UBI simply displace the current hodge-podge of income transfers or add yet another layer?” ~Robert E. Wright
How Did the Social Justice Movement Take Hold?
Join Kate Wand and Barry Brownstein as they discuss the ideological roots of the contemporary social justice movement, emerging from a zero-sum political philosophy of grievance.
Fact-Checkers Are Gaslighting You on the Feds’ Vehicle ‘Kill Switch’ Mandate
“In a world where traffic cameras, license plate readers, NSA mass surveillance, intelligence-gathering ‘fusion centers,’ and warrantless searches are ubiquitous, privacy might seem like a quaint idea. But it’s one the Framers of the American system took seriously.” ~Jon Miltimore
Economic Growth Remains One Way Out of Historical Tensions
“When the future looks bright and living standards are rapidly improving, old grudges and tensions lose their relevance. We end up forgetting them because the things ahead look so much more enticing.” ~Vincent Geloso
The Fed Delivered Disinflation
“Most prices are higher today than they would have been had they grown at an average rate of 2 percent since January 2020. We oughtn’t pin a medal on an arsonist’s chest for putting out a fire he started.” ~Alexander W. Salter
Why Mr. Beast Is Under Fire for Bringing Clean Water to 500,000 Africans
“This is the real reason Mr. Beast is taking so much heat. He’s showing the power of voluntary action and the miraculous power of the profit motive.” ~Jon Miltimore
Zora and Eleanor: Toward a Fuller Understanding of the First Lady’s Civil Rights Legacy
“Though often a critic, Hurston would have never disputed Eleanor Roosevelt’s remarkable effectiveness as a champion for civil rights, including numerous and undeniable examples of when her tenacity brought to light and remedied injustices.” ~David Beito
AIER’s Everyday Price Index Declines Most Since December 2022
“The October inflation release provides a welcome respite from resurgent price increases over the past few months. But while the most recent CPI and EPI readings relay a positive state of affairs in the resumption of disinflation, challenges and uncertainties persist.” ~Peter C. Earle
Underdog States Improve Their Business Tax Climate
” As they continue to reduce tax burdens, they create environments where individuals and businesses can retain more of their earnings, which invites innovation, improves the quality of life, and encourages moving to those states.” ~Vance Ginn
Before Moving From DC, Move Federal Employees from San Francisco
“To enforce coordination within the federal executive and between federal agencies and state governments — correcting a fatal flaw in Nixon’s original plan — the President should appoint a representative to each state capital.” ~Charles Keckler
Does Everybody Gain?
“Large gains are enabled by protecting individuals’ rights to cooperate with anyone on whatever terms they would find acceptable, combined with others’ rights to say no to whatever offers they find unacceptable.” ~Gary M. Galles
The Jobs You Don’t Want to Be Destroyed By Trade Were Created By Trade
“By keeping prices down, and outputs and product varieties up, trade makes every dollar earned go further.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
A Short ESG Guide: Terms
“While I have attempted to clarify the ESG advocates’ terms, the devil is in the details. One of the weakest parts of ESG is the ambiguity and disagreement, even among its advocates, as to how to define and measure many of their objectives.” ~Paul Mueller
How Can We Stop Serving Students So Poorly?
“Efforts to improve things with charter schools have shown some great results, and vouchers are attractive as a means to make educators more responsible to parents than to administrators. But we are still in the early stages of a very long struggle.” ~Gary M. Galles
Thinking About the Regulation of Industrial Emissions Differently, Part I
“Production of the likes of tires, furniture, steel, speedy transportation, and air conditioning and home heating is surely good for humanity. But such production requires energy and it produces harmful by-products.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
ESG as an Artifact of Zero Interest Rate Policy
“The reasons attributed to billions of dollars leaving the ESG sector include concerns about greenwashing and political backlash. That the flight of funds coincides almost perfectly with the start of inflation and turned negative shortly after the Fed began its contractionary policy bias is either not noticed or considered.” ~Peter C. Earle
A Short Guide to ESG: History
“Browsing the websites of ESG-advocating organizations gives the sense that ESG is cutting edge, technologically sophisticated, a wise investment strategy, and the road to increasing profitability.” ~Paul Mueller
‘The Psychology of Money’ Isn’t About Psychology or Money
“Ultimately, Housel’s book achieves its goal of conveying the richness of factors that influence financial decisions, but it blithely ignores economic principles that are the foundation of its subject.” ~Byron Carson
Universal Basic Income? Universal High Income?
“Where would the money come from, existing program cuts, higher existing taxes, new taxes, and/or new money creation? Would a UBI simply displace the current hodge-podge of income transfers or add yet another layer?” ~Robert E. Wright
How Did the Social Justice Movement Take Hold?
Join Kate Wand and Barry Brownstein as they discuss the ideological roots of the contemporary social justice movement, emerging from a zero-sum political philosophy of grievance.
Fact-Checkers Are Gaslighting You on the Feds’ Vehicle ‘Kill Switch’ Mandate
“In a world where traffic cameras, license plate readers, NSA mass surveillance, intelligence-gathering ‘fusion centers,’ and warrantless searches are ubiquitous, privacy might seem like a quaint idea. But it’s one the Framers of the American system took seriously.” ~Jon Miltimore
Economic Growth Remains One Way Out of Historical Tensions
“When the future looks bright and living standards are rapidly improving, old grudges and tensions lose their relevance. We end up forgetting them because the things ahead look so much more enticing.” ~Vincent Geloso
The Fed Delivered Disinflation
“Most prices are higher today than they would have been had they grown at an average rate of 2 percent since January 2020. We oughtn’t pin a medal on an arsonist’s chest for putting out a fire he started.” ~Alexander W. Salter
Why Mr. Beast Is Under Fire for Bringing Clean Water to 500,000 Africans
“This is the real reason Mr. Beast is taking so much heat. He’s showing the power of voluntary action and the miraculous power of the profit motive.” ~Jon Miltimore
Zora and Eleanor: Toward a Fuller Understanding of the First Lady’s Civil Rights Legacy
“Though often a critic, Hurston would have never disputed Eleanor Roosevelt’s remarkable effectiveness as a champion for civil rights, including numerous and undeniable examples of when her tenacity brought to light and remedied injustices.” ~David Beito
AIER’s Everyday Price Index Declines Most Since December 2022
“The October inflation release provides a welcome respite from resurgent price increases over the past few months. But while the most recent CPI and EPI readings relay a positive state of affairs in the resumption of disinflation, challenges and uncertainties persist.” ~Peter C. Earle
Underdog States Improve Their Business Tax Climate
” As they continue to reduce tax burdens, they create environments where individuals and businesses can retain more of their earnings, which invites innovation, improves the quality of life, and encourages moving to those states.” ~Vance Ginn
Before Moving From DC, Move Federal Employees from San Francisco
“To enforce coordination within the federal executive and between federal agencies and state governments — correcting a fatal flaw in Nixon’s original plan — the President should appoint a representative to each state capital.” ~Charles Keckler
Does Everybody Gain?
“Large gains are enabled by protecting individuals’ rights to cooperate with anyone on whatever terms they would find acceptable, combined with others’ rights to say no to whatever offers they find unacceptable.” ~Gary M. Galles
The Jobs You Don’t Want to Be Destroyed By Trade Were Created By Trade
“By keeping prices down, and outputs and product varieties up, trade makes every dollar earned go further.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
A Short ESG Guide: Terms
“While I have attempted to clarify the ESG advocates’ terms, the devil is in the details. One of the weakest parts of ESG is the ambiguity and disagreement, even among its advocates, as to how to define and measure many of their objectives.” ~Paul Mueller