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Monthly Archives: September 2009
Coercion
Here’s a good example of it: State to mom: Stop baby-sitting neighbors’ kids Some neighbors have a voluntary arrangement between neighbors where everyone involved comes out ahead. One mom lets several neighbor kids in her home before the school bus … Continue reading
A Few Good Columns
The first from John Stossel. In it, he links to and quotes from a blog post from Mario Rizzo. One interesting quote regarding the stimulus package: At the outset of the Obama Administration, as Greg Mankiw reminds us, their economists … Continue reading
Posted in Capitalism, Economics, Government
Tagged Capitalism, government programs, Politics
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Really?
Russ Roberts at Cafe Hayek posted a link to this story in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. The Obama administration is close to committing as much as $35 billion to help beleaguered state and local housing agencies continue to provide mortgages … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Government
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Thomas Sowell’s Brainy Bunch
Here’s a good read today from Thomas Sowell. Some key words: There is usually only a limited amount of damage that can be done by dull or stupid people. For creating a truly monumental disaster, you need people with high … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Government, Leadership, Politics
Tagged Capitalism, Leadership, Reagan, Thomas Sowell
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Milton and Rose Friedman on Adam Smith's Key Insight
From the Introduction of Free to Choose: One set of ideas was embodied in The Wealth of Nations, the masterpiece that established the Scotsman Adam Smith as the father of modern economics. It analyzed the way in which a market … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Systems thinking
Tagged Capitalism, Economics, Leadership, Milton Friedman, Politics
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Lub Dub
“It’s the heartbeat of the world. What seemed like a good idea five or ten years ago, isn’t a good idea now and it must be reversed.” That’s how a colleague described the “Lub Dub Cycle” to me several years … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Government, Politics, Root Cause, Systems thinking
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You Aren't Entitled to Anything
Several weeks ago, my pal Raoul Lufberry sent me this story from the Wall Street Journal, Why Your Coach Votes Republican. Lou Holtz sums up the parallels between football and conservative principles: You aren’t entitled to anything. You don’t inherit … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Politics, Systems thinking
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Good Column on Life Expectancy
Thank you Mary Josee-Kravis for this excellent debunking of the use of life expectancy as a measure health care effectiveness. Some key words: U.S. life expectancy at 65 (17.1 more years for males and 20 for females) is higher than … Continue reading
Posted in Government, Health Care
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Supply and Demand Refresher
More words from Milton and Rose Friedman: Economists may not know much. But we know one thing very well: how to produce surpluses and shortages. Do you want a surplus? Have the government legislate a minimum price that is above … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
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Obvious Questions
In 1980, Milton and Rose Friedman wrote these words in their book Free to Choose regarding the energy crisis of that day: Government officials, newspaper reports, and TV commentators regularly attribute the energy crisis to a rapacious oil industry, or … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Debate
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