Tag Archives: Government

A quick exercise based on previous post

Posted on May 18, 2012 by

Think about just about any government program.  Here’s one example: Public education. What problem was it was marketed by politicians (in exchange for votes) and special interests to solve?  Public education was meant to solve the problem of giving everyone … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Government | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Things fail

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

Here’s an interesting post from Arnold Kling on EconLog.  In it, he discusses federalism and cartel federalism. Few people consciously view government in these terms, but should. Federalism is the idea that governments compete for citizens, much like how companies … Continue reading →

Posted in competition, Feedback, Government | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Government is overhead’ follow-up

Posted on April 28, 2012 by

Last August, I wrote this post about how I think we should view government as an overhead expense. Yesterday, Edward wrote the following response to that post: A very interesting post. I agree with your premise that government is overhead. … Continue reading →

Posted in Failure, Feedback, Government, Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Happy Tax Day

Posted on April 18, 2012 by

A family member recently complained about the high cost to have her taxes prepared. I said: Well, taxes are complicated. If you want simpler taxes and a lower cost to prepare your tax return, vote for different people. Congress designs … Continue reading →

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We’re all utilitarians now

Posted on March 28, 2012 by

Alternate title for this post: “That sounds like a good idea” government When discussing what government should and shouldn’t do, it’s rare for anyone of any political persuasion to ask, “Does the government have the power to do that?” That’s … Continue reading →

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A “bold”, slightly less irresponsible plan

Posted on March 22, 2012 by

I agree with Veronique de Rugy about Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan. It’s not enough. (HT: Marginal Revolution)

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Government begets more government

Posted on March 4, 2012 by

I enjoyed this post from W.E. Heasley about government involvement in healthcare, on his blog, The Last Embassy. Here’s a summary: Obamacare is just the next in a long-line of government health care involvement dating back to World War II. … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Health Care, Politics, Power of Incentives | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Government begets more government

Posted on February 8, 2012 by

This post at the Pretense of Knowledge blog points to New York Times article that is yet another (frustrating) demonstration of how government leads to more government. In this case, the initial government interference includes the complex zoning requirements, large … Continue reading →

Posted in Bad Economy, Business, Economics, Feedback, Government, Power of Incentives | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

It’s people

Posted on December 20, 2011 by

Here I wrote about these two observations: 1. Markets fail. Use government. 2. Markets fail. Use markets. Whether you agree with the first or the second, there’s something that is important to recognize about these words. The words markets and … Continue reading →

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What “we owe it to society…” means

Posted on September 28, 2011 by

This is well done (HT: Don Boudreaux, Cafe Hayek).

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