Monthly Archives: February 2011

Anti-Poverty and the Education Monopoly

Posted on February 27, 2011 by

Thanks to the Amateur Economist blog for these two excellent pieces. First, is Steven Horwitz’s column in The Freeman, A Libertarian Anti-Poverty Agenda.  In it, Horwitz disputes the claim by one of his readers that he “hates poor people” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Politics | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Revealed preferences and unions

Posted on February 26, 2011 by

Many assertions and studies comparing union and non-union pay have been circulating since the teachers union in Wisconsin have been demonstrating against the representatives of their employers this past week.  Some say union workers are overpaid, some say they are … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Education, Government | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Why the U.S. is not a democracy

Posted on February 25, 2011 by

In this previous post, I promised to write about the insights that moved me away from the fence sitting position of ‘fiscal conservative, social liberal’ toward libertarian thinking.  Walter Williams helps me start that discussion. This week, Williams writes about … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Liberty, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Netflix for Kindle — Coming Soon!?!

Posted on February 24, 2011 by

Thanks to my friend Lane Myer for sending me a link to this Wall Street Journal review of the OverDrive ebook lending service that public libraries are beginning to use. The service still doesn’t work on the Kindle — yet … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Value Proposition | 1 Comment

What is a job?

Posted on February 23, 2011 by

Creating jobs is effective political rhetoric.  Who would be against creating jobs? But a job is different than just giving someone money.  It’s a subtle difference that few people understand. Allen Sanderson explains it in this article, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Emergent Order, Experimentation, Government, Questions for Politicians, Trial and Error | Tagged | 3 Comments

Awards don’t say much

Posted on February 23, 2011 by

From this news article: The arrest of 90-year-old Florence D’Imperio stunned the Westchester County community. The elderly volunteer was recently named citizen of the year by Harrison’s mayor for her work at the food pantry that she allegedly plundered.

Posted in Critical Thinking | Leave a comment

Secret to Good Business: Part 2

Posted on February 23, 2011 by

From Rich Karlgaard‘s latest column in Forbes magazine: Bill Gates once said that a great programmer is worth ten thousand times the price of a good programmer. Such extreme talent may or may not be relevant to your company. What … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, People Management | Tagged | Leave a comment

The difference between Eqypt and Wisconsin

Posted on February 22, 2011 by

In Egypt, they protested to remove oppressive bureaucrats from power. In Wisconsin they are protesting over which oppressive bureaucrats they want to have power.

Posted in Politics | 1 Comment

Credentials please

Posted on February 22, 2011 by

In the February 28 issue of Forbes magazine, Steve Forbes writes about how the Internet and other technology will change higher education.  He quotes from a February 1 Forbes.com piece by Louis Lataif of Boston University: If you can buy … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Emergent Order, Experimentation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Great Stagnation

Posted on February 20, 2011 by

In this highly recommended episode of the EconTalk podast, Russ Roberts and Tyler Cowen discuss Cowen’s new $4 ebook, The Great Stagnation. The premise of Cowen’s ebook is that the growth and progress experienced by the average family from around … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment