The Myth of the Recovery
The gains on Wall Street have been goosed largely by government spending and guarantees, not the usual private sector–funded growth. And federal spending cannot continue indefinitely without deficits and debt service spiraling out of control. John Silvia, chief economist for Wells Fargo, says, “We have seen a recovery, but [...]
ABOVE: Father Tim Jones of the Church of England. Used to be when you invited the pastor over for dinner, you didn’t have to count the silverware afterward.
The BBC informs us (in a story I am for some reason unable to link to – so go look it up) that a priest in Britain [...]
At the request of BlueCross BlueShield, Oliver Wyman did a study of the Senate health care bill. Unsurprisingly, this study estimates that the bill will cost consumers quite a bit more than the CBO estimated.
John Goodman summarized the findings this way:
Premiums for individuals and families purchasing coverage on their own will go up [...]
It wouldn’t surprise me a bit to learn that Adam already knows about this theory. But it was news to me and fairly fascinating to boot.
I just finished Richard Friedman’s Who Wrote the Bible? It’s a classic popularization of the Documentary Hypothesis, which claims that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the [...]
I just read a pretty good essay over at The Freeman, discussing the difference between what we can do and what we ought to do. Too often, people talk about what we ought to do before even considering if we can do it. The essay, appropriately enough is Ought Implies Can.
There are two parts I [...]
Sheldon Richman on “Proposers versus Producers.”
“The dynamic leader who gives impassioned speeches and sponsors legislation on behalf of social justice is portrayed as heroic in part because few people can find the logical flaws in the program. As a result, all that counts are presumed motives. But motives divorced from understanding are worthless [...]
I finished listening to an old EconTalk podcast, during my commute this morning. Russ Roberts was talking to Karol Boudreaux about her fieldwork on property rights and economic reforms in Rwanda and South Africa. They spent the first half of the conversation talking about Rwandan reforms and the second half talking about South African reforms. [...]
Russ Roberts reminds me about the difference between health care and health insurance — especially as it pertains to the elderly.
It’s the wrong question because when you’re 65 the problem isn’t getting insurance. It’s paying for health care. But the public debate has become so obsessed with health care insurance we’ve forgotten what [...]
The Capital Times published an article on the shortage of child day care in Dane County. It’s not until the 11th paragraph that they finally reveal that the state government is to blame.
The primary reason it’s so hard to find care for infants is because of a state mandated caregiver-child ratio that requires [...]