Peripatetics
Corruption in Government? Shocking!
It’s funny how the people who push hardest for government intervention in more and more areas are the first to gripe that everything has become politicized. What were they expecting? Did they forget that government is a political institution? Paul Krugman and Chris Matthews, among other Progressives, are apoplectic because two senators of the minority [...]
20Apr2010 | Sheldon Richman | 3 comments | ContinuedOpaque by Design
“The House and Senate plan to put together the final health care reform bill behind closed doors, according to an agreement by top Democrats.” That less-than-startling piece of news was delivered by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi back in January. She was at the White House when she said it, so it looks like it’s okay [...]
24Mar2010 | Sheldon Richman | 1 comment | ContinuedThe Market Doesn’t Ration Health Care
Health care “reformers” say they have two objectives: to enable the uninsured and underinsured to consume more medical services than they consume now and to keep the prices of those services from rising, as they have been, faster than the prices of other goods and services. Unfortunately, Economics 101 tells us that to accomplish those [...]
24Feb2010 | Sheldon Richman | 9 comments | ContinuedFrustrating Michael Moore
If Michael Moore would study a little political economy he might turn into a potent champion of individual liberty. As we see in Moore’s new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story, Moore is offended by some truly offensive things: banks engaging in wild speculation without concern for the risk, taxpayer bailouts for banks and other businesses, [...]
1Jan2010 | Sheldon Richman | 6 comments | ContinuedFrom 1944 to Nineteen Eighty-Four
A longer version of this article appears here. I’m inclined to think of George Orwell and F. A. Hayek at the same time. Both showed great courage in writing the truth, undaunted by the consequences. Both valued freedom, though they understood it differently. Orwell, a man of the “left,” could not remain silent in the [...]
18Nov2009 | Sheldon Richman | 1 comment | ContinuedWhat The Drug Warriors Have Given Us
Does anyone still think the “war on drugs” is a good idea?
That may strike some people as an odd question under the circumstances, so let’s take it from another direction. Have you seen the news stories about the violence on the border being perpetrated by the Mexican whiskey and cigarette cartels?
No? That’s probably because there was no such violence and are no such cartels.
So why are there violent cartels in marijuana, cocaine, and heroin but not in whiskey and cigarettes?
All together now: prohibition.
17Jun2009 | Sheldon Richman | 8 comments | ContinuedBailing Out Statism
The key to understanding the saga of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—the recently nationalized twin government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that dominate home financing—is this: They were set up—intentionally—to distort the housing and mortgage markets. Government planners were not content to let voluntary exchange and spontaneous market forces configure those industries unmolested. So—holding the taxpayers hostage—they intervened. [...]
20Jan2009 | Sheldon Richman | 12 comments | Continued
Lost in Transcription
Following rules, such as the rules of language, of the market, or of just conduct, is more about “knowing how” than “knowing that.” This is a lesson taught by many important thinkers, among them, Gilbert Ryle (who used these terms in the title of chapter 2 of The Concept of Mind), F. A. Hayek, and [...]
1Dec2008 | Sheldon Richman | 2 comments | ContinuedBailout Hypocrisy
Thud. That was the sound of the other shoe dropping. In response to severe problems in the credit markets, thanks to years of government intervention, the Federal Reserve—the government’s counterfeiter and chief culprit in the current crisis—has opened its discount window to the investment banks. Interest rate: 2.5 percent. Until recently, only commercial banks could [...]
1Jun2008 | Sheldon Richman | 0 comments | ContinuedHealth-Care Cons
Economist Joan Robinson (1903–1983) wrote, “The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of readymade answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.” A better reason to study economics is to avoid being deceived by politicians; they are the far greater threat to life, liberty, and [...]
1Apr2008 | Sheldon Richman | 6 comments | ContinuedThe Constitution or Liberty
“Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.” We might think those words—or words to the same effect—are in the U.S. Constitution. But they are not. They are from Article II of the Articles [...]
1Jan2008 | Sheldon Richman | 2 comments | ContinuedLost Articles
The Constitution says that to be elected to the U.S. Senate, a person has to be 30 or older, a citizen for at least nine years, and a resident of the state from which the candidate is elected. Alas, it says nothing about knowing American history. Good thing for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). He’d have [...]
1Jun2007 | Sheldon Richman | 6 comments | ContinuedCongressional Generosity
Every now and then we get a glimpse into what government officials really think about our rights to life, liberty, and property. The U.S. Justice Department recently provided such a glimpse in a controversial tax case, Murphy v. IRS. How revealing it is! Did you know that if the government abstains from taxing all your [...]
1Apr2007 | Sheldon Richman | 0 comments | ContinuedGlobal Warming and the Layman
Global warming is a divisive issue. People are either believers or skeptics, with each side viewing the other with apprehension. I’ve sided firmly with the skeptics, but lately I have had a nagging concern. Like most people, I am not an atmospheric scientist. I have no firsthand way to evaluate a scientifically based argument for [...]
1Jan2007 | Sheldon Richman | 5 comments | ContinuedEye on the Ball
Like clockwork, on Aug. 28 the New York Times produced another page-one story purporting to show that living standards for many Americans have fallen, this time because wages in recent years have failed to keep up with inflation. This has been happening despite rising productivity and even taking into account the shift from cash to [...]
1Nov2006 | Sheldon Richman | 0 comments | ContinuedIs the Income Tax Unconstitutional?
Wishful thinking, always a temptation, is hazardous. Example: An awful lot of people think the income tax as it applies to private-sector wage earners is illegal—even unconstitutional—and they assume that if they can only come up with the right legal arguments, judges will strike down the tax and make America a free society once more. [...]
1Sep2006 | Sheldon Richman | 19 comments | Continued“The Tariff is the Mother of Trusts”
Why should we expect business people to favor laissez faire and to abhor government intervention? Few people outside of business do so.
1Jun2006 | Sheldon Richman | 3 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
