The Gas-Powered Banning Bandwagon: Why Politicians Should Leave Leaf Blowers Alone
“Given that there is already a severe shortage of labor in the landscape sector, the concern won’t be over what equipment is being used, but rather who will even opt to use it.” ~ Kimberlee Josephson
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There is Cosmic Wisdom in this Simple Question
“Despite too many flaws to count, my dad had a strong sense of dignity and fundamental equality. He greeted those who overstepped with a simple question that is woefully under-appreciated today: Who do you think you are?” ~ Max Borders
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Earth Day, Waste and Productive Complements
“The analysis of productive complements opens the door to understanding the incentives that private property rights and markets provide to reduce waste and pollution, which is so at odds with one of the most common defamations made against them.” ~ Gary M. Galles
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Focusing Exclusively on “Creating Jobs” Can Do More Harm Than Good
“Public policy should seek to free up entrepreneurs to invest in improving productivity, and be sure not to create incentives that discourage the accumulation of productivity-enhancing capital.” ~ Brian Balfour
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Small Change: Let’s Put Pennies and Nickels to Rest
“If we don’t have the vision and political will to do something as unambiguously beneficial as to stop minting pennies and nickels, then perhaps ‘vision and political will’ aren’t going to give us the better future we want.” ~ Art Carden
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The Tax Code: A Playground for the Few, A Labyrinth for the Many
“The tax code’s complexity has created an environment in which tax-preparation services, lobbyists, favored industries, and politicians thrive, while taxpayers struggle to make sense of ever-changing rules and regulations.” ~ Antony Davies
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Online Security Concerns Shouldn’t Enable a Surveillance State
“Historical and empirical evidence proves that a decentralized economy leads to progress and prosperity, so we should enable our digital economy with the same approach.” ~ Kimberlee Josephson
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Manners, the Coase Theorem, and a Park Bench in London
“There are some situations, though, where no one knows who has the initial property right assignment. Under those circumstances, the negotiation is more free form, but the best outcome still depends on how much the parties involved value the alternatives.” ~ Michael C. Munger
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Immigration Can Ease America’s Labor Shortage
“We can — and should — offer ways to draw these domestic workers back into the American economy without casting aside the vast reservoir of immigrant workers awaiting their chance at a new life.” ~ Michael N. Peterson
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Dismal is Better
“Today the social isolation of the economically minded has different proximate causes, but the underlying reason economic reasoning stands alone is that it stands athwart the desire of many people, perhaps most people, to rearrange the actual world into a world that they can imagine.” ~ Michael C. Munger
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De-dollarization Has Begun: Redux
“Given the increasing use of the dollar as a means of imposing sanctions, some foreign powers see a pressing need to develop the capability to transact outside of US-dollar-based systems. We are witnessing the development of financial contingency plans.” ~ Peter C. Earle
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Will AI Eat Our Lunch or Make It?
“Chefs, servers, and hosts often have a wide set of skills that cannot be easily replicated by AI technologies, which suggests fears of AI’s unemployment effects are overblown.” ~ Byron Carson & Katie Pitcher
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