Unemployment
Business & Economics
A Clarion Call for Expanding E-Commerce
America’s winemakers have won a victory for online wine sales in Kansas, but the legislative battle demonstrates the challenges that e-commerce, a key force for economic recovery, still faces from outdated thinking and entrenched political institutions. Signed into law in April, 2009, Kansas Senate Bill 212 allows direct-to-consumer (DTC) wine ...
Commentary
Yes, I Do Have a Nerve
Well, I’m in the same boat. So, I’ll be happy to enter into a “compact” with Mr. Wright (and everybody else): if he’ll ask the government to return the share of my paycheck that it has taken for Medicare, which his parents use, then I’ll ask the government to return ...
Business & Economics
State voters signal loud and clear: Down with taxes
Californians did not solve all our state problems at the ballot box Tuesday. Far from it. They did, however, send a signal that could help end our economic nightmare if politicians take heed. On Tuesday, Californians made it clear they reject higher taxes, with good reason. We are already one ...
Business & Economics
Oh Canada! … Role-Reversal in North America?
Stereotypes are often rooted in some current or past reality, but they can also become outdated. While the USA and Japan have for a long time been regarded as small-government countries, among industrial countries, Canada has long been considered more ‘socialistic’ and closer to the big-government model of Western Europe. ...
Business & Economics
Revive state’s start-up culture
Californians perceive the Golden State as a bastion of entrepreneurship and innovation, and in some ways they’re correct. Silicon Valley, after all, is a hub of researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and innovators. But a look at the entire state tells a different story. California’s vaunted start-up culture is under siege. ...
Commentary
Does Universal Preschool Improve Learning? Lessons from Georgia and Oklahoma
Campaigning for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama pledged to help states implement taxpayer-funded universal preschool–preschool for all.[1] The President’s early education plan, for which he has advocated spending up to $10 billion annually in federal expenditures, encourages states to provide preschool for every child.[2] As President, Obama reinforced his ...
Commentary
Wall Street Journal Joins the Media Chorus on “Universal” Health Care
Right off the bat, the reporter notes the key difference in outcomes for the two unemployed men: the American lost his health benefits and the German did not. I’m no fan of employer-based health “benefits”, largely because they artificially inflate the number of uninsured. So, I have long advocated tax ...
Business & Economics
Did FDR Make the Depression Great?
Robert Murphy demonstrates in this excellent book a penetrating ability to explain the essence of fallacious economic doctrines. As he notes, three theories offer competing explanations of the Great Depression: the Keynesian account, which stresses a lack of aggregate demand; Milton Friedman’s monetarism, which ascribes the severity of the early ...
Business & Economics
Docket Case: Pennsylvania Tort Reform Advocates V. Critics
Docket Case: Pennsylvania Tort Reform Advocates V. Critics, No. 052009, P.A. (2009). Questions: Is Pennsylvania tort reform necessary? Will the suggested tort reforms offered by the advocates save money, encourage business, and stimulate the economy? Plaintiffs’ (Advocates’) Opening Statement, Exhibits Resting on its laurels. Allowing society to shoulder excessive costs. ...
Business & Economics
The Nuttiness of Negative Interest Rates
In his April 18 New York Times op-ed, Harvard professor (and Bush adviser) Greg Mankiw calls on the Federal Reserve to promise future inflation, in order to fix the economy. Mankiw’s article beautifully illustrates what is wrong with today’s economics profession: it consists of very sharp guys (and gals) who ...
A Clarion Call for Expanding E-Commerce
America’s winemakers have won a victory for online wine sales in Kansas, but the legislative battle demonstrates the challenges that e-commerce, a key force for economic recovery, still faces from outdated thinking and entrenched political institutions. Signed into law in April, 2009, Kansas Senate Bill 212 allows direct-to-consumer (DTC) wine ...
Yes, I Do Have a Nerve
Well, I’m in the same boat. So, I’ll be happy to enter into a “compact” with Mr. Wright (and everybody else): if he’ll ask the government to return the share of my paycheck that it has taken for Medicare, which his parents use, then I’ll ask the government to return ...
State voters signal loud and clear: Down with taxes
Californians did not solve all our state problems at the ballot box Tuesday. Far from it. They did, however, send a signal that could help end our economic nightmare if politicians take heed. On Tuesday, Californians made it clear they reject higher taxes, with good reason. We are already one ...
Oh Canada! … Role-Reversal in North America?
Stereotypes are often rooted in some current or past reality, but they can also become outdated. While the USA and Japan have for a long time been regarded as small-government countries, among industrial countries, Canada has long been considered more ‘socialistic’ and closer to the big-government model of Western Europe. ...
Revive state’s start-up culture
Californians perceive the Golden State as a bastion of entrepreneurship and innovation, and in some ways they’re correct. Silicon Valley, after all, is a hub of researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and innovators. But a look at the entire state tells a different story. California’s vaunted start-up culture is under siege. ...
Does Universal Preschool Improve Learning? Lessons from Georgia and Oklahoma
Campaigning for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama pledged to help states implement taxpayer-funded universal preschool–preschool for all.[1] The President’s early education plan, for which he has advocated spending up to $10 billion annually in federal expenditures, encourages states to provide preschool for every child.[2] As President, Obama reinforced his ...
Wall Street Journal Joins the Media Chorus on “Universal” Health Care
Right off the bat, the reporter notes the key difference in outcomes for the two unemployed men: the American lost his health benefits and the German did not. I’m no fan of employer-based health “benefits”, largely because they artificially inflate the number of uninsured. So, I have long advocated tax ...
Did FDR Make the Depression Great?
Robert Murphy demonstrates in this excellent book a penetrating ability to explain the essence of fallacious economic doctrines. As he notes, three theories offer competing explanations of the Great Depression: the Keynesian account, which stresses a lack of aggregate demand; Milton Friedman’s monetarism, which ascribes the severity of the early ...
Docket Case: Pennsylvania Tort Reform Advocates V. Critics
Docket Case: Pennsylvania Tort Reform Advocates V. Critics, No. 052009, P.A. (2009). Questions: Is Pennsylvania tort reform necessary? Will the suggested tort reforms offered by the advocates save money, encourage business, and stimulate the economy? Plaintiffs’ (Advocates’) Opening Statement, Exhibits Resting on its laurels. Allowing society to shoulder excessive costs. ...
The Nuttiness of Negative Interest Rates
In his April 18 New York Times op-ed, Harvard professor (and Bush adviser) Greg Mankiw calls on the Federal Reserve to promise future inflation, in order to fix the economy. Mankiw’s article beautifully illustrates what is wrong with today’s economics profession: it consists of very sharp guys (and gals) who ...
