Topic: Government

Yellen was Right, the Federal Debt “Should Keep People Awake at Night”

– February 11, 2021

“If the burden of interest payments increases, will Congress make the difficult decisions required to reduce federal spending? What contingency plan do Yellen and Powell have in their back pocket if the dollar suffers a speculative attack owing to an unsound fiscal position? Yellen was right: ‘It’s the type of thing that should keep people awake at night.'” ~ James L. Caton

Authoritarianism, Government, International

Life After Burma: The Saga of Bo Bo Nge

– February 11, 2021

“When Suu Kyi won her reelection early this year in a landslide, Myanmar’s generals had had enough. They reassumed power and on February 1 dispatched five soldiers to arrest Bo Bo at his home in Myanmar’s new capital Naypyidaw. Commented a banker in Yangon, ‘It’s a circular firing squad around here.’ Free Bo Bo! Free the world economy from zero sum generalists.” ~ George Gilder

Economic Education, Government, Policy

Is the Public Interest Really In the Public’s Interest?

– February 11, 2021

“The fact that something is popular doesn’t mean it is right or even beneficial. A better way forward is to simply lay out arguments in full, detailing why and how such proposals would result in the best outcomes for the most people while being prepared to own the consequences. This discussion should be accepting of contributions from all backgrounds and specializations and be open to hearing all solutions, state or market-based.” ~ AIER Staff

Economic History, Financial Markets, Government

Presidential Impeachment and US Equity Markets

– February 10, 2021

“The gradual pace of what is fundamentally a political (as opposed to legal) action tends to result in dampened, rather than heightened, volatility. And nearly as soon as any latent uncertainties are ironed out, broader economic trends resume driving the direction of financial markets. A more profound degree of political upheaval, with a more sudden onset, is required to throttle the stock markets.” ~ Peter C. Earle

Classical Liberalism, Government, History

Liberty or Subjugation?

– February 10, 2021

“Regardless of the origins of the SARS-COV-2 virus, Big Government caused the pandemic and the resulting economic pain by rendering resistance futile and breaking the will of all but a few outlets (like this one). The sooner Americans come to terms with that reality, the sooner they can take steps to render lockdowns, and God knows what other harmful, irrational policies lurking in the shadows, less likely, if not impossible.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Government, History, Policy

Changing DC’s Status Remains Unconstitutional

– February 5, 2021

“By reducing the buffer zone around the core parts of the federal government, DC statehood could very well jeopardize the security of the nation’s capital. One would think that the recent attempt to overrun the White House and the temporary loss of government control of the Capitol would, if anything, have policymakers thinking about reexpanding the government’s buffer zone to the maximum size allowed in the Constitution, not to shrink it.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Crisis, Economic Education, Government

There Are No Experts On That for Which We Really Need Experts

– February 4, 2021

“The pandemic has revealed a shortcoming in our ever more technocratic approach to addressing social problems: there are more and different kinds of problems than there are kinds of experts. The division of scientific expertise according to discipline, field, and sub-field does not encompass, much less map onto, all of the problems for which we might want experts.” ~ Scott Scheall & Parker Crutchfield

Authoritarianism, Government, Socialism

Biden’s Executive Orders vs. American Public Opinion

– February 2, 2021

“Policies implemented are ultimately the outcome of ideas fought over concerning whether or not to value and secure political freedom, economic liberty, and constitutional order. In spite of a lot of totalitarian-like rhetoric in the air, the intellectual field is still open to vigorous debate and competition. It just needs to be taken advantage of by not presuming the contest is already lost.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Crisis, Government, Media

The Attacks on Kristi Noem Have Only Just Begun

– January 30, 2021

“Why would the NYT go out of its way to attack Kristi, who even it admits remains popular in South Dakota? Possibilities abound but I see no reason to reject the hypothesis that the woke newsroom staffers who seized editorial control of the paper after the Cotton op-ed affair see Kristi and the entire state as a threat to their agenda, not just on Covid, but across the board.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

The Lockdown to End All Lockdowns

– January 29, 2021

“Rationally ignorant voters tired of the status quo might flock to a party credibly committed to liberty and the Constitution. A party truly committed to limited government and voluntary association does not need a problematic, charismatic leader like Trump but instead could prevail merely on the incentive-aligned reality of its commitment to the Constitution and liberty.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Authoritarianism, Government, History, War and Peace

No More Wartime Presidents

– January 29, 2021

“Americans need a peacetime president, one who will promote public policies that respect individuals, their freely-made choices, and their property rights, allowing them to run their own lives in peace.” ~ David S. D’Amato

Economic Education, Government, Regulation

Free Labor Markets vs. Biden’s Push for Compulsory Unionism

– January 26, 2021

“Joe Biden’s pro-union labor agenda, if implemented, would rob all those working for a living the liberty and latitude to do so freely and of their own choosing. They would be reduced to servants and supplicants to those controlling the unions and who possess the power to allow or prevent people from working in various walks of life, while determining the wages and conditions under which they may accept and find employment.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling