Topic: Government

Economic Education, Financial Markets, Government, Inflation

What’s Up (and Down) With the Economy?

– February 15, 2023

“I would keep my eye on the LEI (and AIER’s equivalent) but pay special attention to the manufacturing variables. Outside of the LEI, I would also carefully watch real wage trends and its downstream knockoffs (credit card and other debt and defaults, and the personal savings rate).” ~ Robert E. Wright

Government, Monetary Policy, Unemployment

Joblessness and the Fed

– February 15, 2023

“Without a symmetric response to deviations from the target, the Fed’s so-called average inflation target will not produce 2 percent inflation on average. Instead, it will tend to produce inflation that exceeds 2 percent. That’s a far cry from price stability.” ~ Alexander William Salter

Education, Government, Socialism

Now the Education Department Wants To Make It Even Easier on Students Who Have Borrowed for College

– February 14, 2023

“Student borrowers will pay substantially less than before. The Department justifies this by saying that many are struggling with their loan repayments. Some are, but why should the government shield them from the consequences of bad decisions?” ~ George Leef

Education, Government, History

A Canadian Lesson About School Choice and Its Potential To Reduce Socioeconomic Disparities in the United States

– February 14, 2023

“The long-documented black/white differences in returns from schooling, which are similar to those observed between French and English speakers in Quebec pre-1940, could begin to recede.” ~ Vincent Geloso

Energy, Government, Regulation

The “New Study Finds” Approach to Overregulation

– February 13, 2023

“The distinction between correlation and causation is not important to those who want to expand governmental power. An aggressive bureaucracy needs only an affectation of justification for a regulation or ban already in the works.” ~ Jon Sanders

Economic Education, Fiscal Policy, Government

Why “Disincentive Deserts” Matter Far More Than Benefits Cliffs

– February 13, 2023

“Benefits cliffs certainly remain an important area of policy study, but we should pay more attention to creatively solving the problems of disincentive deserts, since they exist for such long and dispiriting spans of workers’ income journey.” ~ Craig J. Richardson

Art and Culture, Education, Government

The Diversity Dodge

– February 12, 2023

“Denying colleges and universities the right to base admission and hiring decisions on race, religion, sex, and ethnicity is not some fundamental moral requirement, but a necessary prophylactic against the temptation to advance the interests of socially favored groups over those of others.” ~ John Hasnas

Crisis, Fiscal Policy, Government

Will Federal Spending Be Brought Under Control?

– February 10, 2023

“Will Congress actually cut spending? History suggests not. Economic historian Robert Higgs invented the term ‘ratchet effect’ to describe the way that government growth after a crisis tends to be locked in: the size of government never retreats to what it was before the crisis.” ~ Jason Sorens

Art and Culture, Classical Liberalism, Free Markets, Government

Reimagining Fusionism

– February 9, 2023

“The primary significance for any revitalization of fusionism in our time may well be that of reminding classical liberals and conservatives what is at stake by pointing to principles that many in both camps consider to be important truths that matter if America’s experiment in ordered liberty is to endure.” ~ Samuel Gregg

Crisis, Environmentalism, Government

Lust for Power is More Dangerous Than Climate Claims

– February 9, 2023

“In the face of growing regulatory risks to our preferred ways of life, the least we can do is see the perpetual crisis narratives for what they are: a tool to legitimize dangerous increases in the size and scope of government.” ~ David Waugh

Financial Markets, Government, Regulation

Government Siphon Targets Corporate Stock Buybacks

– February 8, 2023

“This particular increase in the corporate repurchase excise tax seems unlikely to pass, but some form of it probably will in the future. When it does, another market function will have fallen prey to the unslakable thirst of the insatiable American state.” ~ Peter C. Earle

Economic Education, Fiscal Policy, Government

Is the Debt Ceiling Lunacy?

– February 8, 2023

“Unconstrained politicians are likely to authorize more borrowing than they should. The debt ceiling might provide a useful—if somewhat limited—constraint against excessive borrowing.” ~ William J. Luther