Employment Options, Not Labor Unions, are the Real Source of Bargaining Power for Workers
“If America really is filled with underpaid workers, before letting politicians and pundits who express this belief put other people’s money where their mouths are, let them put their money where their mouths are by launching new businesses that can profitably employ today’s underpaid workers. If these politicians and pundits are correct, they have nothing to lose and – along with American workers – everything to gain.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
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Let’s Follow the History of Science Instead
“A politician who really had the public’s interest at heart would, instead, say: ‘Times are tough. Some Americans have died from a natural cause and more are likely to. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do because viruses live by their own rules, not ours.'” ~ Robert E. Wright
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Save Yourself: Stop Believing in Lockdown
“As Voltaire wrote during the Enlightenment — when society still had time away from the screen to reflect on philosophy, morality, and fundamental truth — ‘those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.'” ~ Stacey Rudin
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Older Americans Should Be Anti-Lockdown Activists
“The best policy on dealing with a virus – bolstering immunities among young people while protecting the vulnerable – is the freedom to behave rationally. Any other policy risks the kind of carnage we see all around us today, even as the virus has wickedly and profoundly affected our oldest Americans.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker
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Yes, It Was “Real Socialism.” No, We Shouldn’t Try Again.
“Feelings can be deceptive, however, and good intentions do not readily translate into good outcomes. Socialism, as Niemietz explains, has failed repeatedly. It never dies—but it should.” ~ Art Carden
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Terrible Policies Possess Both Virulence and Prevalence
“We have civilization and prosperity not because we are smart but because we permit the freedom to cooperate toward building smart social and economic institutions.” ~ Robert E. Wright
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Ride Sharing and the Absurdity of “Protecting” Workers Out of a Job
“Government regulation unnecessarily pushes up transaction costs. In this case, by mandating unwanted benefits, those transaction costs are so high that Uber/Lyft are choosing not to transact at all in California. This is a huge loss for Uber, Lyft, its drivers, and their thousands of customers.” ~ Raymond C. Niles
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Happy Birthday to Libertarian Firebrand Walter Block
“His positions can be very, very off-putting. He strips pretty much everything down to a simple question: ‘Is it voluntary?’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ then he argues that we have no right to interfere no matter how much we might disapprove.” ~ Art Carden
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Intellectuals, Politicians, and Pot Commitment
“When a politician or another figure of authority lies, or changes their story without conceding previous error, it is important to remember that theirs is, ultimately, an edifice of assumed credibility. Honesty, unfortunately, would only erode it. Perhaps replacing attorneys with poker players would improve the climate of strategic courage in our state houses and Washington, D.C.” ~ Peter C. Earle
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An Economics Lesson on the Ceiling
“Whether you are a student or a senior citizen, be curious about the physics, engineering, and economics behind the everyday devices and systems that you depend on so heavily and take so much for granted. Of course, there isn’t time to research everything but with so many resources now available online, you can reward yourself by learning something new every day.” ~ Warren C. Gibson
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A Three-Item Post-Pandemic Regulatory Wishlist
“It is easy to say ‘this is what the government should do;’ however, it is a lot harder to actually make the government do it. Progress toward a permissive, innovation-embracing political and cultural constitution would be just that: progress.” ~ Art Carden
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Review of Steven Horwitz, Austrian Economics: An Introduction
“Austrian Economics: An Introduction is a very useful and accessible summary of what we know about this simple but powerful paradigm. Teachers and students alike would benefit from consulting it.” ~ Art Carden
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