Now there’s no more oak oppression For they passed a noble law And the trees are all kept equal By hatchet, axe and saw - Rush, The Trees This is an announcement from Genetic Control: It is my sad duty
Archive for December, 2013
Mandela and the Economics of Apartheid
Reprinted from Circle Bastiat Nelson Mandela, public face of the anti-Apartheid movement and South Africa’s first post-Apartheid president, has died. Much will be written about Mandela in the coming days, but little of it will deal directly with the Apartheid
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But the Progressives Told Us Abenomics Would Be Great for Japan
When newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised new deficit spending and pedal-to-the-metal monetary inflation, the progressive Keynesians were excited. And indeed, debasing the yen seemed to work for a few months, with analysts saying US policymakers should follow
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Prostitution Ruling - Good or Bad?
The world’s oldest profession had its legality upheld recently by the Canadian Supreme Court. On December 20, 2013, the high Court struck down laws banning brothels, making a living from prostitution, and soliciting clients on the street as none were
My letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer re: Mark Zandi ignores reality
Re: Good Times Ahead, by Mark Zandi Dear Sirs: According to Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, the only possible bump in the inevitable road to economic recovery in 2014 is another threatened government shutdown. Mr. Zandi, like all
China’s Failing One-Child Policy
Implemented in 1979 in a bid to alleviate social, economic and environmental problems in China, the country’s one-child policy was once heralded as a textbook example of good government policy. Faced with a reduction in the availability of health-care services
Is UPS Just as Bad as Healthcare.gov?
Paul Krugman is no stranger to silly statements that come back to haunt him, but it has been particularly amusing to watch him twist and turn with the debacles of Healthcare.gov, the website devoted to “ObamaCare.” Krugman’s latest analogy is
A Simple Math Question for Bankers
Think back to your high-school math class, and reminisce about this question: “Train A departs from Union Station at noon travelling eastward to Halifax at a speed of 80km/hr. Train B departs three hours later from the same station travelling
Yes, It Really Is a Wonderful Life
In the spirit of the holiday season, I recently watched the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life. Starring the drawl-voiced James Stewart, the movie depicts numerous hardships faced by small town loan man George Bailey. The film is well-renowned for
The Cowboys: Learning Life on the Job
There’s plenty of fretting about children. They’re obese, mentally weak, lack ambition, feel entitled, and must have instant gratification. This is all the result of walling off children from adults with child labor laws and an increasing minimum wage. Now
Collapse of the Irish Housing Boom
Re: Irish Try to Eradicate Ghosts of a Housing Crash Lord Keynes famously said that paying people to dig holes and fill them back up was necessary for recovery. His disciple Paul Krugman wants Martians to attack earth so that
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Financial Media: Laughter, Tears, Frustration and Exhaustion
Kurt Vonnegut once said “Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion.” When it comes to watching the financial media discuss the “rosiness” of the US economy, frustration and exhaustion are two words that definitely come to mind.
We Are the Radicals Now
Reprinted from Bogpaper.com It is said that the modern political landscape was shaped by the baby boomers of the post-war era. In fact, the progressive philosophy they embody pre-dates them, but it is true that much of what passes for
Less Inflation, Not More
Amongst other things, inflation is a form of taxation. As prices rise the purchasing power of savings falls. As a consequence, savers are harmed while creditors gain by having to repay their debts with less valuable money than when they
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The Economic Lessons of Bethlehem
Reprinted from LewRockwell.com At the heart of the Christmas story rests some important lessons concerning free enterprise, government, and the role of wealth in society. Let’s begin with one of the most famous phrases: “There’s no room at the inn.”
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The Market Economy: Where Everyone Is a Winner
David R. Henderson relays the following quotation from Alan Blinder’s book, Hard Heads, Soft Hearts: The soft-hearted attitude holds that we ought to soften the blows for those who play the economic game and lose, or who cannot play it
Rogoff, Reinhart and Ricardian Equivalence
The largest economics controversy of the year belonged to Ken Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart for their research describing the relationship between economic growth and government debt. Their research, based on their popular book looking at the striking similarities between recurring
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The Great North Pole Heist
Santa Claus is not going to be too pleased this Christmas. Asserting Canada´s rights in the Arctic has long been a popular domestic issue for Stephen Harper. Now it looks like the Canadian government is making a grab for the
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Why Christianity Will Never Be at Peace with Free Markets
More than any recent Christmas season, Christianity’s position regarding free markets is a hot topic of discussion. This is owing to the appearance of Evangelii Gaudium, an apostolic letter authored by Pope Francis I. Helping the message of that letter resonate further
Generation Wars
I’ve written before on the raw deal Canadians are getting on the CPP, and it isn’t pretty. I estimate that by being forcefully enrolled in to the Plan, Canadians are losing out on potentially earning an additional million over the
