Archive for Ralph Hood
But Is There Such a Thing as a Free Breakfast?
Back in the mid-eighties I participated in a conference of small business owners. (Very small—my own multinational corporation consists of me, my wife, and a dog. The dog is part-time.) One workshop leader explained that we could no longer deduct 100 percent of business travel meals. Henceforth, we could only deduct 80 percent (that dropped [...]
27Jun2010 | Ralph Hood | 0 comments | ContinuedSelling the Free Market to Nonbelievers
Ralph Hood is writer in Huntsville, Alabama. During most of my life I have failed miserably to turn so-called liberals into free-market advocates. Perhaps it was my attitude. “If you weren’t so stupid you could understand” is a poor way to sell an idea, I guess. It surely didn’t work for me. Lately, to my [...]
1Feb2005 | Ralph Hood | 0 comments | ContinuedGovernment Control of Medicine: Thanks, But No Thanks
Ralph Hood is writer in Huntsville, Alabama. Several years ago my doctor informed me that I have diabetes. I was, of course, horrified. What did I know about diabetes? He gave me info and directions, but I was overwhelmed. Then he handed me a box full of coupons and a list of what to buy [...]
1Apr2004 | Ralph Hood | 1 comment | ContinuedAviation, People, and Incentives
Ralph Hood is a pilot, a member of the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame, and a writer in Huntsville, Alabama. An economist once said that economics can be summed up in four words—“people react to incentives.” Yes, and competition speeds the process. Incentives and competition working together generate money, effort, and progress. This has been [...]
1Dec2003 | Ralph Hood | 0 comments | ContinuedFree-Market Miracle: From Sri Lanka to Wal-Mart
Ralph Hood is a writer in Huntsville, Alabama. Having spent much of my adulthood in the aviation industry, I belong to the Greater Northern Alabama Lying Pilots’ Coffee Drinking and Tale Telling Society. We meet erratically and unreliably, solely for our own entertainment. One member, Don Langford, flies freight all over the world in huge [...]
1Jan2003 | Ralph Hood | 0 comments | ContinuedNo Bad Thing at All
Ralph Hood is a writer in Huntsville, Alabama. One of the best observations I ever heard on the free market came from a redneck aircraft mechanic named Claudie. It was sometime back in the seventies at Huntsville (Alabama) Aviation Corporation. I sold airplanes; Claudie fixed them. I walked into the shop one day and Claudie [...]
1Oct2001 | Ralph Hood | 0 comments | ContinuedWhat Am I Missing?
Ralph Hood is a writer in Huntsville, Alabama. My “liberal” friends bemoan the exploitation of third-world peoples by first-world capitalists. We must, they say, stop this horrible mistreatment of the downtrodden by greedy capitalist pigs. I did some research myself and found exactly the situation they deplore. Furthermore, the sob-sister “liberals” have not yet discovered [...]
1Apr2001 | Ralph Hood | 0 comments | Continued-
The Latest
Contraception: Insuring the Uninsurable
Update below. Controversy rages over the Obama administration’s mandate that all employers – including... Read More
The Snow Plowers’ Petition
The following might have happened in a small college town in upstate New York… In a cold and snowy... Read More
Super Bowl versus Education?
In the spirit of Super Bowl weekend I’d like to deconstruct a Facebook status update that a friend... Read More
Capitalism, Corporatism, and the Freed Market
When a front-running presidential contender tells the country that thanks to Barack Obama, “[w]e are... Read More
Creating Jobs versus Creating Value
Picking on New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is one of the largest participation sports on the Internet.... Read More
