Experience From Other Countries Show Lockdowns Don’t Work
“For months we have hailed countries like Taiwan and South Korea for their model responses that kept the virus at bay while inflicting relatively minimal restrictions on society. Advocating for draconian lockdown measures while still praising these countries is not only blind to the evidence but also comes from a position of privilege and hypocrisy.” ~ Ethan Yang
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Government Can’t Police Itself
“I will always support more transparency and more oversight, if only because doing so is part of my job and makes that job easier– one of which I’m proud. But intoning ‘more transparency’ is no silver bullet for shrinking the size of government and for getting rid of bad programs. The only ‘substantive’ result of such proclamations is that they provide Congress a rationale for holding ever-more pointless hearings.” ~ Veronique de Rugy
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Economic Freedom Is Essential for Managing Pandemics
“There is an important lesson for the future. If one desires the downward trends in the human and economic costs observed over the course of the 20th century to continue, one must push for a greater deal of institutional flexibility. That flexibility is what makes the market’s process of discovery work and makes us more resilient to future shocks.” ~ Vincent Geloso
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On “You Didn’t Build That”
“Unethical redistribution occurs to the extent that the taxes an individual pays are paid without his or her consent, for such ‘payment’ implies that the value of the benefits gotten from government by this taxpayer are less than the cost this taxpayer is forced to pay. Yet these complexities do nothing to justify the claim that provision by government of some goods and services creates among citizens indebtedness to the state.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
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In Defense of Bitcoin Billionaires
“It’s refreshing to read an account of early Bitcoin – not the programming, the cryptography, or the scandals, but the dreamy futurists and their financiers.” ~ Joakim Book
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The Use of Knowledge in a Pandemic
“As Hayek reminded us, ‘We need decentralization because only thus can we ensure that the knowledge of the particular circumstances of time and place will be promptly used’ (p. 524). We’ve been here before. You are more of an expert than you might think.” ~ Jonathan Newman & Anthony Gill
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William Harold Hutt: A Birthday Appreciation
“Hutt was a complex thinker in a difficult time who worked to split the difference between the best world we can imagine and the best world that is feasible subject to the constraints we face in the world we actually inhabit. As Ludwig von Mises put it, “Professor Hutt’s rank among the outstanding economists of our age is not contested by any competent critic.” May his contributions endure in our age and in ages to come.” ~ Art Carden
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So-Called Stablecoins
“Regular consumers are slowly becoming more interested in financial privacy. But they shouldn’t have to rely on systems that ignore the law. A more durable solution is to work towards changing those laws.” ~ J.P. Koning
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Should Dr. Fauci Be the Economic Czar?
“Much like how the response to COVID-19 requires understanding and input from a variety of perspectives, the same goes for economic policy. Dr. Fauci and public health experts like him have more than a right to voice their opinions on the economy. Whether or not we should take them seriously is another question entirely.” ~ Ethan Yang
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Evolutionary Failure: When Mass Psychology is like a Negative Technology Shock
“This general acceptance of a fear of others that separates us from each other exacerbates all our worst proclivities and maximizes the economic destruction of the pandemic. We need to return to a robust market to preserve the division of labor. Perhaps you think this is an exaggeration, and we hope you are right, but we also hope you will join us in asking for some moderation in the panic around the new virus.” Diana & Michael Thomas
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Peter T. Leeson: A Birthday Appreciation
“Peter T. Leeson is well-positioned to continue making important and creative contributions to our beloved dismal science. His message–that free and creative people have a good track record of solving problems without anyone forcing anyone else to do anything–is as timely now as it was when he was just getting started–but I can’t really imagine a time when it won’t be.” ~ Art Carden
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Computer Models Can’t Substitute for Real Life
“Life is NP-Hard, and attempting to express that mentation in a few lines of code is imprudent, yet in and of itself probably harmless. But bringing those projected outcomes to politicians, who have neither the inclination to be skeptical or incentives to act cautiously, is dangerous.” ~ Peter C. Earle
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