Topic: Policy

Can We Talk About Something Else Now?

– June 12, 2020

“We might, as the protesters I heard on the radio, remember that other things matter too, that one type of risk must be balanced by the harms of another, that risk-mitigating policies be proportionate to the damage, that few things warrant the wholesale closing of commerce and civil society.” ~ Joakim Book

Crisis, Economic Theory, Fiscal Policy, Philosophy, Policy, Sound Banking

Free Down Payments and Subsidized Mortgages are Not Social Justice

– June 11, 2020

“Despite 50 years of debacles, politicians are still glorified for pretending that free downpayments and subsidized mortgages are “magic beans” that multiply social justice in America.” ~ James Bovard

Crisis, Policy, Regulation

Don’t Defund Police, Make them Part of the Market

– June 10, 2020

“There is an argument regularly doled out by police unions which states that without the wide swath of protections that police officers face, they would be more reluctant to investigate, pursue, and apprehend wrongdoers. If so, there are ways to fix that problem.”~Peter C. Earle

Crisis, Policy

Massachusetts’ Phased Reopenings Harm Businesses, Help Nobody

– June 7, 2020

“Governor Baker’s plan is understandable politics but unforgivable policy.” ~ Max Gulker

Art and Culture, Crisis, Policy

The Climate Impact of Meat

– May 25, 2020

“Ideologues have no patience with nuances…It’s ‘go vegan’ or ‘go home.’ It doesn’t matter much what the facts are, as long as The Cause is advanced.” ~ Joakim Book

Crisis, Policy

There Really Is a Solid Reason for Optimism

– May 24, 2020

“We can make the rebuilt political economy better than the bloated, creaky rent-selling machine that we had at the start of 2020.” ~ Michael Munger

Crisis, Policy

The Worst Public Policy in a Century

– April 20, 2020

America has implemented a lot of really bad policies since the New Deal and fought needless wars and endured long, senseless occupations of places like the Philippines and Afghanistan. But at least all those policies were vaguely constitutional. The economic lockdowns, by contrast, have turned the Constitution into a frail and worthless fabric.

Crisis, Policy

Can Medical Supply Autarky Save Us from Pandemics?

– April 19, 2020

When proposing expansions of government power we must recognize the powers in question will not be wielded by philosopher-kings. They will be wielded by actually existing politicians and bureaucrats, with all their biases and imperfections.

Crisis, Policy

Soaring Unemployment Benefits Will Delay Recovery

– April 17, 2020

Policymaking is not easy. And policymaking in a pandemic is harder still. The CARES Act is a huge expenditure package. Some of it is likely to promote a speedy recovery. But some of it will drag the recession out unnecessarily.

Policy

If the Government Doesn’t Do It, Who Will?

– April 9, 2020

Governments have been providing fire protection, police services, roads, and other public services for pretty much our entire lives. Private, volunteer companies were getting the job done — until political entrepreneurs noticed a way to obtain power and resources for themselves by taking over previously-private volunteer fire departments to create patronage jobs for political allies.

Policy

Is this America’s Turning Point?

– April 8, 2020

The real problem is the loss of what Bill White called America’s Fiscal Constitution, a set of borrowing and budget rules first developed by Alexander Hamilton, America’s first Treasury Secretary. The idea was that the federal government should keep a lot of “dry powder” so that it could borrow to fight wars, purchase territory, and respond to shocks.

Crisis, Policy, Regulation

People Adapt, Thwarting Government Plans

– April 3, 2020

If you derive no other takeaway from the political response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, let it be this: human behavior adapts in real-time to ever-changing expectations of the future.