Business & Economics
Business & Economics
’08 election lesson: Live free or die off
In the 2008 election, key swing states included Colorado, Nevada, and Virginia, all growing rapidly and on track for even more political clout after the 2010 census. A big reason for the demographic growth in all three states has been their expansion of economic freedom. Colorado , Nevada, and Virginia ...
Business & Economics
How to Pay Doctors? A Lawyer Chimes In
I have (gratefully) never had to engage a trial lawyer, but I know that many clients are very frustrated by the common practice of charging by billable hours. Writing in Forbes, Mr. Evan R. Chesler of Cravath, Swaine, & Moore, LLP, says that his colleagues should “kill the billable hour”. ...
Business & Economics
Why many Michiganians stay as others flee
Perhaps you can find a time in your life when conditions have been more difficult in Michigan, but I have been unable to do so. The state unemployment rate is approaching double digits. The Big Three automakers continue to announce cutbacks as they try to scale back their business model ...
Business & Economics
Tort reform can help states’ fiscal crises
The Wall Street meltdown, with the Dow hovering near its lowest level in years, has obscured a troubling reality. Economic growth in the northeast region has been stunted for a long time, for a simple reason. Four states in particular — New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island — ...
Business & Economics
Choices hint at move to middle
Many conservative pundits have predicted a radical shift in U.S. economic policy and serious, prolonged economic stagnation under the incoming Obama administration. In many ways their analysis is correct, but things could turn out quite differently if President Obama pulls a Clinton – meaning he shifts quickly to pragmatic, workable ...
Business & Economics
Assessing Obama’s Economic Team
Conservatives are understandably depressed these days, but they now have something to smile about in President-elect Obama’s picks for key economic posts, such as Tim Geithner for Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Geithner, currently president of the New York Federal Reserve, boasts an intimate knowledge of international economics. During his ...
Business & Economics
“I’d like to buy the world a Coke, and keep its taxes high”
When I was a kid, the jingle went: “I’d like to buy the world a Coke, and keep it company; I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony…” Apparently, the composers were motivated by a group of stranded travellers at the airport in Shannon Airport, Ireland, hanging ...
Business & Economics
Growth is the only solution to state’s crisis
Most of the proposed solutions for California’s budget problems – spending cuts, tax increases, infrastructure spending – attempt to patch a Band-Aid on a festering wound but do not address the underlying causes of the infection – an economy weakened by improper nutrition and the wrong medications. We cannot cut, ...
Business & Economics
Inadequate labeling or human error?
Re: Nov. 28 commentary “Court takes up pre-emption doctrine.” It’s hard to see how “inadequate labeling,” not human error, resulted in the amputation of Diana Levine’s arm, as Thomas O. McGarity claims. The FDA-approved label on the anti-nausea drug Phenergan contained prominent warnings: “extreme care should be exercised to avoid ...
Business & Economics
Hayek Tells Bill Buckley That Even Keynes Was Afraid of the Keynesians
Last month Bob Roddis caused a stir when he made available the audio recording of Hayek’s 1975 “Meet the Press” appearance. Well Roddis has done it again. He has provided me with this recording (mp3) of Hayek on Bill Buckley’s Firing Line. Buckley asks Hayek about the popularity of Keynesianism, ...
’08 election lesson: Live free or die off
In the 2008 election, key swing states included Colorado, Nevada, and Virginia, all growing rapidly and on track for even more political clout after the 2010 census. A big reason for the demographic growth in all three states has been their expansion of economic freedom. Colorado , Nevada, and Virginia ...
How to Pay Doctors? A Lawyer Chimes In
I have (gratefully) never had to engage a trial lawyer, but I know that many clients are very frustrated by the common practice of charging by billable hours. Writing in Forbes, Mr. Evan R. Chesler of Cravath, Swaine, & Moore, LLP, says that his colleagues should “kill the billable hour”. ...
Why many Michiganians stay as others flee
Perhaps you can find a time in your life when conditions have been more difficult in Michigan, but I have been unable to do so. The state unemployment rate is approaching double digits. The Big Three automakers continue to announce cutbacks as they try to scale back their business model ...
Tort reform can help states’ fiscal crises
The Wall Street meltdown, with the Dow hovering near its lowest level in years, has obscured a troubling reality. Economic growth in the northeast region has been stunted for a long time, for a simple reason. Four states in particular — New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island — ...
Choices hint at move to middle
Many conservative pundits have predicted a radical shift in U.S. economic policy and serious, prolonged economic stagnation under the incoming Obama administration. In many ways their analysis is correct, but things could turn out quite differently if President Obama pulls a Clinton – meaning he shifts quickly to pragmatic, workable ...
Assessing Obama’s Economic Team
Conservatives are understandably depressed these days, but they now have something to smile about in President-elect Obama’s picks for key economic posts, such as Tim Geithner for Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Geithner, currently president of the New York Federal Reserve, boasts an intimate knowledge of international economics. During his ...
“I’d like to buy the world a Coke, and keep its taxes high”
When I was a kid, the jingle went: “I’d like to buy the world a Coke, and keep it company; I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony…” Apparently, the composers were motivated by a group of stranded travellers at the airport in Shannon Airport, Ireland, hanging ...
Growth is the only solution to state’s crisis
Most of the proposed solutions for California’s budget problems – spending cuts, tax increases, infrastructure spending – attempt to patch a Band-Aid on a festering wound but do not address the underlying causes of the infection – an economy weakened by improper nutrition and the wrong medications. We cannot cut, ...
Inadequate labeling or human error?
Re: Nov. 28 commentary “Court takes up pre-emption doctrine.” It’s hard to see how “inadequate labeling,” not human error, resulted in the amputation of Diana Levine’s arm, as Thomas O. McGarity claims. The FDA-approved label on the anti-nausea drug Phenergan contained prominent warnings: “extreme care should be exercised to avoid ...
Hayek Tells Bill Buckley That Even Keynes Was Afraid of the Keynesians
Last month Bob Roddis caused a stir when he made available the audio recording of Hayek’s 1975 “Meet the Press” appearance. Well Roddis has done it again. He has provided me with this recording (mp3) of Hayek on Bill Buckley’s Firing Line. Buckley asks Hayek about the popularity of Keynesianism, ...
