Monthly Archives: April 2011

“Giving back”

Posted on April 29, 2011 by

This post from Don Boudreaux and this opinion piece from Daniel Henninger at the Wall Street Journal are about  “giving back” to the community. Boudreaux takes exception to the use of the phrase after receiving a promo piece from Ritz-Carlton … Continue reading →

Posted in Capitalism, Economics, Opportunity Cost, Trade Offs | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

I was the 301st person to watch this on Youtube

Posted on April 28, 2011 by

Here’s the second round of the Keynes vs. Hayek.  Enjoy.  I donated $50 to this project. And here’s Round 1 in case you missed it. Thanks to Russ Roberts and John Papola for their excellent efforts, great lyrics and high … Continue reading →

Posted in Debate, Economics, Emergent Order, Global Warming, Myths | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Gas prices

Posted on April 27, 2011 by

A common quandary that perplexes many folks is fluctuating gas prices.  Whenever gas prices increase quickly, I typically hear something like the following: The cost of the current stock of gas in the underground tank at the gas station was … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Opportunity Cost | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Trump ignores the opportunity costs of his foreign trade policy

Posted on April 27, 2011 by

In today’s column, Thomas Sowell proposes that one reason Trump is leading the Republican polls is his: …ability and the willingness to articulate his positions clearly, forcefully and in plain English. Too many Republicans talk like the actor of whom … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Opportunity Cost, Politics, Trade | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Why not?

Posted on April 26, 2011 by

I stumbled upon this nice article about Brian Wong, young CEO of Kiip, a company that is effectively integrating ads into mobile games.  He asks an interesting question. Every single one of us wanted to be an astronaut when we … Continue reading →

Posted in Business | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The tax machine

Posted on April 26, 2011 by

In a recent column, Taxes and Politics, Thomas Sowell writes: Someone once said that taxes are the price we pay for civilization. That may have been true when he said it, but today taxes are mostly the price we pay … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“You can’t run the government like you run a business”

Posted on April 25, 2011 by

I often hear folks proclaim that you can’t run the government like you run a business. Next time I hear that I intend to ask, what should you run the government like?  Is there a good analogy? What special circumstances … Continue reading →

Posted in Government | Tagged | 1 Comment

“Decimal points are people too”

Posted on April 25, 2011 by

Here’s a long post from Megan McArdle on health care and it’s well worth reading.

Posted in Economics, Health Care, Markets | Tagged | Leave a comment

That’s not “market based reform”

Posted on April 25, 2011 by

In the Wall Street Journal, Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers, writes that Markets Aren’t the Education Solution. Market-based reformers advocate using student test scores to evaluate and compensate teachers, increasing the number of charter schools, firing teachers … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Markets | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Majority “fallacy”

Posted on April 25, 2011 by

One conversation from the dinner table this weekend sticks out. The topic was a ranking of favorite candies in Readers Digest.  The #1 favorite candy was Reese’s Peanut Butter cups.  Some found this surprising.  They didn’t care for peanut butter … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Critical Thinking, Emergent Order | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment