Tragedies of Our Time: Pandemic, Planning, and Racial Politics
“The magnitude and depth of what has actually been experienced in declines in production and rises in unemployment have one and only one primary and singular source: the federal and especially state government-ordered shutdowns across the country.” ~ Richard Ebeling
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Should We Be Worried about Big Tech?
“AIER itself has faced throttling by Google, YouTube, and perhaps Twitter, and videos we’ve needed for science-based postings have been deleted. We steadily worked to build our own outlets, preparing for the possibility of full censorship.” ~ Donovan Choy
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Protest Also Against Police Unions and Qualified Immunity
Surprising myself, I write here about the murder of George Floyd. My surprise springs from my long-held belief that I, a professional economist who now specializes in studying trade and trade policy, likely have nothing useful to add to public di …
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Will Social Security Go Bankrupt?
“Where are we now? Is Social Security going bankrupt? Not literally, since bankruptcy law does not apply to government agencies or programs. But it is unquestionably true that Social Security is headed for a fiscal calamity.” ~ Warren Gibson
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Three Unsung Heroes of the Coronavirus Crisis
“Lesser mentioned, but integral to the attempts to wrestle life back to some version of the status quo are numerous groups of professionals and workers whose unseen efforts would be both immediately noticed and sorely missed if absent. Thank you to the three mentioned here and to the many of those who are not.”~Peter C. Earle
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Unemployment Far Worse in Lockdown States, Data Show
“In general, states that were still closed on May 9 had the highest average insured unemployment rates relative to the average for that same group on March 1. The unemployment rate of fully locked down states was at least double than states that had no formal lockdown.” ~ Abigail Devereaux
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How LockDowns Shattered the Structure of Production
“Fully lifting government restrictions and restraints will see people, once again, willingly demanding all the goods they want when they are at liberty to freely work and earn, to supply and demand, once more.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling
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You Can Stop Rio Tinto Mining…By Paying For It!
“To prevent a mining company from using land sacred to someone else, there exists a payment of money such that the conflict can be resolved. You just have to find it, negotiate it, raise the money – and pay. In the age of vast crowdsourcing and rapid information, that shouldn’t be much of a problem.” ~ Joakim Book
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Give Sweden a B- in Coronavirus 101
“The experiences in nursing homes have varied. Let us learn from them without politicizing them. Nursing homes present challenges that call for particular solutions, to be undertaken chiefly by people who are close to those to be protected.” ~ Daniel B. Klein & Charlotta Stern
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Pandemic Policy in One Page
“All the sound reasons why central planning does not and cannot work in the case of the general economy apply equally in this case, along with a few other reasons which are specific to epidemics.” ~ David Hart
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Free Speech Is Not Just Partisan Speech with Which You Agree
“President Trump — and your supporters — lay off Twitter, and the other tech media platforms. All politicians of every political party should stop attacking the media and declare their support for the First Amendment.” ~ Raymond Niles
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The World Health Organization Was Against Quarantines Only Last Year
“The real problem is epistemic: who is to decide what is normal, mild, moderate, or severe pandemic? Leave that decision to politicians and bureaucrats, and you have a problem. They do not know, and, as we’ve seen, immediately adopt the most extreme measures and go beyond them.” ~ Edward Peter Stringham
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