Archive for Randall G. Holcombe
Randall Holcombe is the DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University.
Transforming America: The Bush-Obama Stimulus Programs
George W. Bush’s and Barack Obama’s “stimulus” programs will permanently transform the American economy. The market-based system that has produced unprecedented prosperity relies on profit and loss, which rewards individuals and firms that add value to the economy and penalizes those that detract value. The various stimulus programs undermine that system. My discussion will focus [...]
19Aug2009 | Randall G. Holcombe | 13 comments | ContinuedThe Death Tax Is Fair?
When George McGovern was running for president in 1972, he gave a talk to a group of auto workers in which he advocated increasing the estate tax, and his audience reacted by booing his position. McGovern was baffled by the audience reaction, and after his talk, commented to his own advisers, “It’s not like they [...]
1Oct2000 | Randall G. Holcombe | 1 comment | ContinuedThe Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor by David S. Landes
W.W. Norton & Company • 1998 • 650 pages • $30.00 Randall Holcombe is DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University. Economic historian David Landes explains in this book why some nations are rich and some poor by appealing to the historical record. The history is fascinating, and Landes does a good job [...]
1Apr1999 | Randall G. Holcombe | 3 comments | ContinuedThe Arc of the Pendulum: A Philosophy for Government in the 21st Century
In The Arc of the Pendulum, Charles Stewart Goodwin advocates moving government power from the national to the local level and narrowing the scope of government at all levels. He calls this philosophy antifederalism, after the philosophy of those who opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution on grounds that the central government would be too [...]
1Oct1998 | Randall G. Holcombe | 1 comment | ContinuedEconomic Freedom and Economic Growth
One of the most enduring questions in economics is what causes economies to grow. The full title of Adam Smith’s well-known treatise, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, clearly shows that the causes of prosperity were Smith’s primary concern. He concluded that free markets, the protection [...]
1Feb1998 | Randall G. Holcombe | 26 comments | ContinuedFederal Government Growth Before the New Deal
Professor Holcombe teaches economics at Florida State University. Popular opinion holds that most of the credit (or blame) for the incredible growth of the federal government should go to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal. While Roosevelt certainly was a willing participant in that process, the federal government began its amazingly rapid growth [...]
1Sep1997 | Randall G. Holcombe | 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
