Two Ways Trade Creates Wealth

– February 20, 2023

“You’ve heard the aphorism ‘one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.’ Trade turns trash into treasure by getting it out of one set of hands and into another.” ~ Art Carden

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Biden’s “Buy American” Scheme a Bad Deal for America

– February 17, 2023

“Paying more to produce goods domestically that could be acquired cheaper from elsewhere, wastes resources, kills jobs in other industries, and makes us poorer as a result.” ~ Brian Balfour

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A Tale of Two Realities

– February 16, 2023

“The media’s incentive is to tell us the portion of the truth that is entertaining. And what we have demonstrated by our behavior is that bad news entertains us.” ~ Antony Davies

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An Economics Pop Quiz

– February 16, 2023

“Here’s a pop quiz. Some questions are conceptual, others ask about particular facts. The correct answers are supplied at the end. (But don’t cheat by peeking beforehand at the answers!) Good luck!” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

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What’s Up (and Down) With the Economy?

– February 15, 2023

“I would keep my eye on the LEI (and AIER’s equivalent) but pay special attention to the manufacturing variables. Outside of the LEI, I would also carefully watch real wage trends and its downstream knockoffs (credit card and other debt and defaults, and the personal savings rate).” ~ Robert E. Wright

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Why “Disincentive Deserts” Matter Far More Than Benefits Cliffs

– February 13, 2023

“Benefits cliffs certainly remain an important area of policy study, but we should pay more attention to creatively solving the problems of disincentive deserts, since they exist for such long and dispiriting spans of workers’ income journey.” ~ Craig J. Richardson

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Is the Debt Ceiling Lunacy?

– February 8, 2023

“Unconstrained politicians are likely to authorize more borrowing than they should. The debt ceiling might provide a useful—if somewhat limited—constraint against excessive borrowing.” ~ William J. Luther

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Book Review: How the “Chip War” Vindicates Economics

– February 7, 2023

” Miller’s book exemplifies good, evidence-driven economic research. By educating the reader on the essential developments of the semiconductor industry, he inadvertently vindicates multiple economic thinkers and principles.” ~ Robertas Bakula

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Be Grateful that First Responders and Teachers Earn Far Lower Incomes Than Sports Stars and Hollywood Actors

– February 7, 2023

“The fact that first responders and teachers are paid so little relative to professional athletes and Hollywood stars is a feature of our world and economy; it’s not a bug. This reality deserves our gratitude.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

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China: House Divided

– January 31, 2023

“To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, the Chinese commercial state cannot stand divided against itself. China will not cease to exist, but it will cease to be divided. It will become all authoritarian, or it will become capitalist.” ~ Michael Munger

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Choosing to Remain in the Global Market Economy

– January 29, 2023

“People who have actually experienced the ‘security’ that comes from insulation from market forces understand that the price they pay for this ‘security’ is far too high.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

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Four Ways to Get What You Want

– January 28, 2023

“For most of our existence, life was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short for pretty much everybody. Then we became a society of traders rather than a society of raiders.” ~ Art Carden

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