Topic: Crisis

Will the Politicians Admit Their Lockdown Mistake?

– May 27, 2020

“Was this a mistake? Yes. It’s time to admit it. There ought to be acts of contrition from the political class and the modelers who advised them, in which they loudly and earnestly declare that they are heartily sorry for their sins, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Crisis

The Danger of Economic Mismatches During the Opening

– May 27, 2020

With the air cleared and those who initiated the Great Suppression that created a Say’s Mismatch duly chastened, or chased out of office, America’s innovators might have enough confidence to match new consumer demands with new investments in new products designed for a post-COVID world. ~ Robert Wright

Authoritarianism, Crisis

Coronavirus and the Two Americas

– May 27, 2020

“Coronavirus has exposed the fault line between those who are subsidized by government and those who pay for government. The people who live off the government, either directly or indirectly, have relatively comfortable lives – all financed by the people who deal with much greater levels of hardship and uncertainty.” ~ Dan Mitchell

Crisis, Economic Education, Economic History

Wait, So We Now Can’t Say ‘Human Capital’?

– May 27, 2020

“How a casual reference to a common and widespread conceptual tool from economics can be contorted into a conspiratorial design for malice by persons who present themselves as intellectual elites but lack familiarity with the subjects of their frenzied imaginations.” ~ Phil Magness

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Economic Trends

Freedom Requires Resisting Coronavirus Pessimism

– May 27, 2020

“If there is a chance to not only pull society away from the social and economic abyss towards which it is moving, but return it to a path more in the direction of personal liberty, economic freedom, and equal individual rights under partial rule of law and constitutionally limited government, it requires resisting the pessimism that all is lost and irreversible, and having the courage and willingness to try to restore the free society.” ~ Richard Ebeling

Crisis, History

The 2007 Origins of Forced School Closings and Mandatory Human Separation

– May 26, 2020

“If you have any doubt that the main push for the lockdown was less about therapy than models, inspired by the fantasies of a computer scientist rather than a genuine expert in viruses, a social experiment conducted with disregard for freedom and the rule of law, a wild and foolhardy central plan hatched without regard to experience or serious medical science, this email chain as passionate demand to implement the 2007 CDC blueprint is the proof.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Crisis, Economic Education, Free Markets

Resistance Isn’t Futile, It is Necessary

– May 26, 2020

“Resistance is a necessary part of democratic self-governance, and it becomes even more so at a time when all the calls are for increased centralization and the voices of the technocratic elite grow louder and stronger in insisting that such resistance is futile.” ~ Peter Boettke

Capitalism, Crisis, Regulation

Financial Markets Work Without Coercion

– May 26, 2020

“Coercion is sure to diminish the positive contributions that financial markets make to the larger economy. Even worse, such coercion would violate the rights of the property owners whose voluntary choices give rise to financial markets.” ~ Donald Boudreaux

Capitalism, Crisis

Liberalism Was Born and Grew During Centuries of Pandemics

– May 26, 2020

“Liberalism, as we know it today, was formed not in recent times of peace and prosperity, but in the crucible of the 1600s and 1700s. Indeed, some authors trace liberalism’s roots all the way back to the fall of the Roman Empire.” ~ Jon Murphy

Crisis, Regulation

Micromanaged Business Reopenings Could Cause More Harm

– May 25, 2020

“In attempting to convey that the adults in the room have spent a long time thinking about this difficult issue, Massachusetts instead exposes just how little regulators’ blunt instruments can possibly add.” ~ Max Gulker

Art and Culture, Crisis, Policy

The Climate Impact of Meat

– May 25, 2020

“Ideologues have no patience with nuances…It’s ‘go vegan’ or ‘go home.’ It doesn’t matter much what the facts are, as long as The Cause is advanced.” ~ Joakim Book

Crisis

America Is Opening. It Should Never Have Closed

– May 24, 2020

“This country is about realizing material and spiritual dreams. That means freedom as a first principle – a principle that can never be thrown away no matter the excuse of the moment.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker