Topic: Government

The Florida Versus California Showdown

– February 22, 2021

“California and Florida provide a clear example for the dubious efficacy of Covid-19 restrictions. Their disparities elucidate the enduring costs of lockdowns with regard to the economy and livelihoods of residents. The states also pave the way for us to better understand whether authoritarian measures truly work in controlling a virus and, on a greater scale, the trajectory of human behavior.” ~ Amelia Janaskie

Authoritarianism, Free Markets, Government

Insight From My Mom On Freedom

– February 21, 2021

“History, and especially my family history, has shown us what happens when we lower our guard in favor of the tempting utopianism of big government. Liberty is always unfinished business and the cost is eternal vigilance, both public and private.” ~ Ethan Yang

Authoritarianism, Government, History

Elites Gone Wild

– February 19, 2021

“With an approval rating that is already abysmally low, Congress may have calculated that keeping its members alive is more important than keeping America’s democratic traditions alive. This is, after all, an age where no death can be tolerated, even if saving one person from something salient, like Covid-19, means another must die from a different, less important cause, like freezing to death.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Free Markets, Government, Policy

Market Governance and Polycentrism

– February 19, 2021

“Not only do polycentric systems of governance produce superior results for society over centralized systems, but such productive mechanisms and their benefits can be observed as institutions reflected by the market. These institutions disperse decision-making rights, provide checks on power, and create systems of order by driving cooperation from a diverse array of actors.” ~ Ethan Yang & Jack Nicastro

Education, Government

Government Schools: More Bureaucracy, Lower Performance, and Higher Costs

– February 18, 2021

“We got more teachers with all that money, but the main outcome was a massive expansion in the number of education administrators and other bureaucrats.” ~ Daniel J. Mitchell

Economic Education, Government, Regulation

Exploring Deeply the Economics of Price Controls

– February 17, 2021

“Governments are fond of dictating maximum prices and minimum wages. To the economically ignorant, these policies appear humane and worthwhile. But when examined through the lens of economics, these policies are clearly revealed to be harmful to the very persons they are ostensibly meant to help.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Free Markets, Government, Policy

The Bankruptcy of Conservative Political Paternalism

– February 15, 2021

“Oren Cass is really figuring out how to outwit the progressives in the game of political plunderhood by devising coalitions in society that will put ‘his side’ in elected office next time around through a ‘conservative’ version of handouts of favors, privileges and subsidies. His ‘new’ conservatism, therefore, is really only the same old political paternalism, just in different rhetorical clothing. We need neither ‘progressives’ nor ‘conservatives’ of Cass’s ilk to manage the world.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Books, Government, Policy

Why We Need Simple Rules for a Complex World

– February 14, 2021

“Our current bias towards trying to make a government rule for every single issue that arises in society is not only ignorant of the very institutions of freedom that make our society prosper, but it also threatens to continue a vicious cycle that fuels an ever-encroaching state. A more optimal solution to address societal issues would be a paradigm shift to a system that understands the power and promise of simple rules in an ever more complex world.” ~ Ethan Yang

Government, International, Policy

A Nuanced Approach to China Part 3

– February 13, 2021

“When it comes to protecting our intellectual property and ensuring good business practices, it is important that we are guided by reality and not a fantasized version drummed up by politicians for political gain. Harsh retaliation is neither productive or justifiable but standing idle is not a solution either. Our response to China must be measured, nuanced, and intelligent, as such an approach is the only way we will ever succeed.” ~ Ethan Yang

Authoritarianism, Government, History

Sovereignty Still Rests with the People, Not Congress

– February 12, 2021

“No amount of selective quotes from the Constitution by Raskin and other righteous legislators will curb the contempt that politicians have richly earned. Many Americans instinctively recognize that, as Thomas Paine declared, ‘the trade of governing has always been monopolized by the most ignorant and the most rascally individuals of mankind.'” ~ James Bovard

Fiscal Policy, Government, Inflation, Taxation

How Will We Pay for a $1.9 Trillion Spending Bill?

– February 12, 2021

“Politicians are quick to ignore the costs of government spending in proposing legislation and obscure those costs by issuing debt rather than raising revenues. It is politically popular to issue debt and send checks to everyone. The benefits of the policy are clear: people get checks. The costs, which ripple out through financial markets as interest rates are bid up, are difficult to tie to the policy.” ~ Nicolás Cachanosky

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Would You Support the Lockdowns If It Meant Losing Your Own Job?

– February 11, 2021

“Belief in the corona-religion is thin, but much worse, it’s gutless. People believe as long their jobs and their businesses aren’t being destroyed. Twenty or one hundred years ago they wouldn’t have been so sanguine. Let’s never stop reminding them of this truth.” ~ John Tamny