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Monthly Archives: December 2010
Alternative Education
Thanks to Forbes magazine’s The Names We Need to Know in 2011 for bringing the Khan Academy to my attention. From the Forbes article (emphasis added): Salman Khan was a hedge fund analyst educated at MIT and living in Boston … Continue reading
Posted in Black Swan, Education, Emergent Order, Private Solutions, Value Proposition
Tagged Education, Forbes, Salman Khan
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The economic way of thinking
Here’s an excellent column, On Truth’s Side, by George Mason University economics professor Don Boudreaux. I’ve copied the column in it’s entirety under the fold to save for the future. This is a keeper.
Posted in Critical Thinking, Debate, Economics, Markets, Myths, Power of Incentives, Pricing
Tagged Don Boudreaux, economics thinking
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Giving Gifts
At this time of year, I like to review Milton and Rose Friedman’s Four Ways to Spend Money. It helps me feel better about converting Category II to Category I spending by giving cash and gift cards in place of … Continue reading
Let’s Thank the Top 1%
Alan Reynolds makes a great point in his opinion piece, Taxes and the Top Percentile Myth, in the Wall Street Journal today. Arguments for these retaliatory tax penalties [reinstating pre-Bush tax rates] invariably begin with estimates by economists Thomas Piketty … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Economics, Power of Incentives, Systems thinking, Taxes, Trade Offs
Tagged Alan Reynolds, Taxes, Top 1%, Wall Street Journal
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Last Call!
In a recent interview with Dennis Miller, Tim Pawlenty offers a great illustration of how incentives matter. All you really need to know about what we need to do with government is go to two weddings. Go to one where … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Economics, Education, Government, Health Care, Liberty, Politics
Tagged Dennis Miller, incentives matter, Tim Pawlenty
6 Comments
Private Solutions: Getting Off Your Duff
Some folks advocate for government solutions when they see something that just “ain’t right” and “we ought to do something about it.” There’s a few directions the discussion can take from here. One direction: If I agree that whatever it … Continue reading
Allocation Through Pricing
Several years ago a friend got me hooked on the annual tradition of buying Beaujaolais Nouveau in November. This red wine is made from the grapes of this year’s harvest and is shipped out across the world on the third … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Economics, Opportunity Cost, Pricing
Tagged Economics, Pricing, Russell Roberts, wine
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Double team
Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell are double teaming the electorate. Heres’ the opener from Walter Williams’ column this week, Changing America. Dr. Thomas Sowell, in “Dismantling America,” said in reference to President Obama, “That such an administration could be elected … Continue reading
A different kind of evolution
How did we get here? I carry a Blackberry, use an iPod touch, live in a home with indoor plumbing, central air and heat, kitchen, refrigerator, washer and dryer. That doesn’t even scratch the surface of modern conveniences. We have … Continue reading
Posted in Black Swan, Books, Experimentation, Trial and Error
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Letting tax “cuts” expire aka BIG government bailout
We bailed out mortgage lenders who made the mistake of loaning money on the promise of rising home prices. We bailed out homeowners who made promises they could not keep. We bailed out auto companies who wrote checks to their … Continue reading
