Topic: Regulation

Antitrust’s Sordid History

– May 20, 2019

The goal was to protect existing, politically influential producers from the competition of newer, more efficient firms.

Regulation, Sound Banking

The jury is still out on whether Dodd-Frank has made the financial system more robust. But we are starting to get a clearer picture of what impact it has had on compliance cost, bank lending, and bank consolidation.

Regulation, Taxation

If You Try to Quit the Habit, We’ll Tax You

– April 29, 2019

Unfortunately, these foolish mistakes will be made on the back of smokers who may get to switch away from tobacco.

Regulation

No Economic System is Perfect

– April 22, 2019

No matter the ideology, anyone who seeks perfection in a philosophy summed up by one or two words will fall far short of that ideal.

Regulation

We Should All Regulate Facebook and Google

– April 17, 2019

Relying exclusively on regulators to protect oneself against identity theft and other inappropriate uses of data is like leaving one’s car keys in the ignition because a would-be car thief faces the threat of jail time.

Regulation

On Family Leave, Leave the Market Be

– April 15, 2019

Social engineering done by those on the political right is nearly always as destructive as is social engineering done by those on the political left.

Regulation

Why Did This Libertarian Get Published in the Washington Post?

– April 10, 2019

Maybe it was just a fluke, but the willingness of the Post to countenance private ordering has given me renewed hope that there might still be some thinking statists left, people who can be persuaded to jettison faith in “compulsory monopoly” solutions to every perceived problem.

Regulation

The Economics of Paid Leave

– April 1, 2019

The fact that the market does not supply as much paid leave as people would want if they did not have to pay full price for it is not a market failure; it’s a market success.

Regulation

Kill The Boeing Bank Once and For All

– March 29, 2019

From a political point of view, with Boeing so much in then news following two recent crashes and with many taking a hard look at all the ways the company may have benefited from government favoritism, it doesn’t seem like a good idea for any legislators to call for the revival the Bank of Boeing.

Regulation

Facebook and Google Must Answer to the Market

– March 26, 2019

Facebook and Google’s ability to watch their customers has made many uncomfortable, but after 2018 both know that their customers are watching back.

Regulation

The Slogan that Unleashed this Hell

– March 24, 2019

What we are seeing in our time are the results of a mandate that all personal problems must and should be channeled to political solutions demanded by a collective activist army, with the goal of constructing an apparatus of coercion and compulsion that knows no limits to its power.

Regulation

Golden Eggs and the Challenge of Our Time

– March 21, 2019

We must find ways to unrig the system where it has been rigged by special interest interaction with politics, to decentralize decisions so that accountability is more vivid and accessible, and to avoid empowering politicians and their appointees to pick winners and monopolize markets.