Topic: Policy

A Closer Look at Biden’s Court Reform Commission

– April 12, 2021

“Biden’s commission may not be the outright rejection of court packing that we should hope for but it seems to be a subtle way of doing so given the pressure from his progressive colleagues. Whether or not it will work is yet to be seen.” ~ Ethan Yang

Education, Policy, Science

Science Is More Complex than Advertised

– April 8, 2021

“The perpetuation of the myth of ‘The Scientific Method’ encourages the pretense that we understand science. More to the point, it encourages the false notion that, because we understand science so well, we can always rely on the implications of a thing called ‘The Science’ as the fount of all political wisdom.” ~ Scott Scheall

Authoritarianism, Policy, Technology

The Right Not to Get Matched

– March 31, 2021

“We all need and deserve tools that we understand and can control. That is why I think we should be really vocal about it and resist technologies that instead of supporting and collaborating with humans, take over and make decisions on their behalf. Pop culture feeds us these scenarios as inevitable. Let’s write different ones in our real lives.” ~ Aleksandra Przegalinska

Economic Education, Free Markets, Policy

The Sin Tax Paradox

– March 1, 2021

“It is time to jettison the notion of taxing sin and think hard again about the LBT advocated by Milton Friedman and Henry George, a tax on the unimproved value of land. It’s a tax, and hence bad, but it’s less distortionary than taxing income or sin and it doesn’t have to be high if government would only stick to its core functions.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Government, Policy, Regulation

Daycare Costs are Driven by Over-Regulation

– February 25, 2021

“Adding the direct and indirect effects of government policies on daycare costs forces one to accept that the crisis is created by government interventions. If one really cares about making it easier for households to have both parents working thanks to accessible childcare, one should really look at policies that increase the supply before considering ways to subsidize demand.” ~ Vincent Geloso

Crisis, Government, Policy

This Is the Way

– February 24, 2021

“If politicians cannot follow a code on their own, they are more unpredictably dangerous than any drug robber or Mandalorian following a strict code with consequences. The American people need to find a way to impose a binding code on politicians because ‘this is the way’ to a more prosperous future for all.” ~ 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

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

Economic Education, Economic History, Policy

Minimum Wages Had a Eugenic Intent

– February 15, 2021

“Let’s say that instead of a $15 an hour minimum, Congress pushed a $15 maximum wage/salary. The rich would simply stop working, while everyone else would likely lose professional aspiration. This is not complicated to understand. So too with a wage floor: it cuts the poor out of the market just as the eugenicists said it would.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

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

Economic Education, Healthcare, Policy

A Vaccine Auction

– February 12, 2021

“As long as the problems of efficiency and distributive justice are separable, one can leave vaccine allocation to a (thoughtfully designed) market while leaving it to elected officials to debate and pursue, at their own pace, the kind of distributive justice that they think their constituents deserve.” ~ Romans Pancs