Topic: Economic Education

Gouged by Gouging Laws

– June 2, 2021

“If, however, people realized that such laws actually harm them as consumers—that gouging laws gouge consumers–once all the costs they must bear are considered, perhaps we could put an end to this counter-productive way politicians illustrate Ronald Reagan’s quip that ‘the nine most terrifying words in the English language’ are ‘I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.'” ~ Gary M. Galles

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You Cannot Eat Bitcoin

– May 31, 2021

“You cannot eat bitcoin, or dollars, or bank balances, which means that whatever vehicle you use to move value across time has an exchange rate risk. Many bitcoiners’ mistake is to think that their preferred asset avoids this; Taleb’s mistake is to think that others can have a different view of government than him.” ~ Joakim Book

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Thank Goodness for Economic Ignorance!

– May 31, 2021

“The world would in fact be a much better place if economic fallacies were less prevalent and less widespread. Not the least of these fallacies is the one that holds that economies fail to the extent that they don’t protect existing jobs.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

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The Fed Targets a Crafted Measure of Inflation: A Cautionary Tale

– May 28, 2021

“Understanding government data for what they are and what they are not is vital to understanding the impossibility of targeting the cost of living, even though the Fed is targeting a crafted measure of price inflation.” ~ Gregory van Kipnis

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Biden’s Lumber Protectionism is Commercial Quarantine

– May 28, 2021

“Biden’s doubling of Trump’s lumber tariffs will hurt US consumers, protect American firms from competition, and encourage further rent seeking.” ~ Peter C. Earle

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Unemployment and Bankruptcies – Is This Time Different?

– May 27, 2021

“The recovery we are witnessing today is built on the crumbling foundations of the serial malinvestments which resulted from previous attempts to avoid the recessionary pain caused by the GFC. If structural inflation can be engendered, an escape from the worst ravages of overindebtedness may be nigh, but, until markets clear and zombies die, what economic growth there is will remain suboptimal.” ~ Colin Lloyd

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Shadow of the State or Sunshine of Civil Society

– May 26, 2021

“We are often too quick to pull the trigger on government regulation whenever we suspect a problem exists. It is important to first ask what civil society can do (or is doing) to mitigate that problem before deferring to the coercive shadowy state.” ~ Anthony Gill

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Some Problems with the ‘Repatriating Critical Supply Chains’ Argument

– May 25, 2021

“Even if political pressures were miraculously to disappear, government officials would remain ignorant of most of the detailed bits of knowledge about how resources are, and potentially can be, used. And so any errors these officials make in distinguishing ‘critical’ from not-critical goods and services will result in resources being used more wastefully than otherwise.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

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Supply-Side Neoliberalism Sure Beats the Alternative

– May 25, 2021

“The near-phobic disdain for supply-side economics and neoliberalism this century is part of a new wave of anti-capitalist sentiment. We have seen this movie before. It is a horror film. The true friends of rationality, liberty, and prosperity should wake up, stand proudly, and contend boldly.” ~ Richard M. Salsman

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Pocket Monsters Meet Animal Spirits

– May 24, 2021

“Lockdowns, boredom, and fiscal largesse sparked the incredible rise in Pokémon card values. But the Greater Fool Theory may already be at work.” ~ Peter C. Earle

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Capitalization and Corporate Tax Cuts for the Rich

– May 22, 2021

“When you recognize corporate tax hikers’ massive measurement distortion on top of their trifecta of false premises, it makes it hard to take tax hike promoters’ claims as anything more than intentional misrepresentations that, if heeded, would harm those whose votes they are using it to pander for.” ~ Gary M. Galles

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The Success of Climate Mainstreaming

– May 21, 2021

“Mainstreaming any important topic means to single-mindedly put everyone’s efforts in one basket and ignore all other important issues. That was my mistake ten years ago: not seeing the bigger picture. Now the world has caught up, keen on making that same mistake, central banks more so than most. Don Quixote de la Mancha sends his regards.” ~ Joakim Book

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