Topic: Policy

What the Data Say About Civil War Monuments

– June 23, 2020

“The course in public memorialization of anti-slavery figures and events is at long last moving in a positive direction. It can and should be sustained, provided that the mob, now haphazardly targeting almost any form of public statuary, does not make those same monuments into additional casualties of iconoclasm.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

Central Banking, Economic Education, International, Policy

The ExIm Bank is Still the Bank of Boeing

– June 22, 2020

“The bank has a long track record of serving mostly large foreign and domestic airlines in higher income nations, and distorting capital markets to fund projects that would likely be funded otherwise. It’s called cronyism.” ~ Veronique de Rugy

Economic Education, Free Markets, Policy

The Dangers of National Service

– June 20, 2020

“There is no acting entity called “the nation” to be served. The reality: what is called national service means doing the bidding of the particular politicians and bureaucrats who hold the reins, issue the orders and reap whatever sadistic satisfaction they gain from so doing.” ~ Warren Gibson

Crisis, Policy

End Qualified Immunity for Politicians

– June 20, 2020

“Another approach to the problem would be to end the immunity of all politicians and policymakers, not just that for police officers, so that they can at least be sued in their personal capacities if they fudge up.” ~ Robert Wright

Crisis, Healthcare, Policy

Was Governor Cuomo Responsible for the Death of Thousands of Nursing Home Inhabitants?

– June 19, 2020

“Ordering 4,500 COVID-19 patients to be transferred from hospitals to the most vulnerable populations in the state was perhaps the worst decision during the entire pandemic.” ~ Ethan Yang

Crisis, Healthcare, Policy

At Least Some Politicians Admit Error (Sort of)

– June 19, 2020

“Government officials are loath to admit error on any actions much less incompetence in any area of life, even when their actions have impoverished and destroyed the lives of millions.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Central Banking, Policy, Sound Banking

The Fed Is Not Independent, But It Should Be

– June 19, 2020

“To be an effective central bank, the Fed must strive to remain independent of short-term political influence. A strict separation of monetary and fiscal policies helps bolster central bank independence.” ~ Thomas L. Hogan

Crisis, Healthcare, Policy

What Spike? Hospitalization Data Show No Indication of a Second Wave

– June 16, 2020

“Most states are either seeing declining or flat trends in hospitalizations, with a few notable exceptions such as North Carolina, Texas, and Arizona. But in those states the number of hospitalizations is still relatively low, a fraction of the totals that New York and New Jersey were seeing in April.” ~ Steve Miller

Art and Culture, Crisis, Economic Theory, Policy

The Desperate Loneliness of Social Media

– June 15, 2020

“Other-directed voters go on social media to try to figure out which politicians and policy proposals will earn them the most plaudits from assorted avatars and social influencers. They value fitting in over logic or consistency and many seem genuinely puzzled when the inconsistencies in their expressed opinions are pointed out to them.” ~ Robert Wright

Capitalism, Central Banking, Economic Education, Policy

Ignore the Cooing of the Deficit Doves

– June 15, 2020

“We skeptics of government power should never stop warning of the dangers of deficit financing, for such financing lowers political decision-makers’ costs of expanding government’s size and scope.” ~ Donald Boudreaux

Crisis, Free Markets, Policy

The State Isn’t Going Crazy; It’s Going State

– June 15, 2020

“If you want to use the state to accomplish your goals, you cannot “fall out only with the abuses.” You have to recognize that it’s the nature of the state, the thing itself, to use violence against its own citizens.” ~ Michael Munger

Crisis, Fiscal Policy, Policy

The Three Best and Worst Ideas of the Crisis

– June 12, 2020

“I picked as my three best policies ones that target America’s most significant looming issues. (Some of these issues, unsurprisingly, were created by government interventions in the first place.) Good policies, of course, should allow for flexibility and innovation without bankrupting future generations.” ~ Veronique de Rugy