I’ve just been looking at the 19 charter schools approved to date, and am impressed with how well they cater for all types of kids, They are not about replicating state schools, but providing alternatives for those who need or desire them. The focus of the schools are: And not a single student at these…
The great diversity of charter schools
The great diversity of charter schools
14 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, politics - New Zealand
Inconvenient wind turbine facts
14 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in energy economics Tags: wind power
Wind turbines are intermittent, inefficient, labor-and resource-intensive, and require a tremendous footprint on land or water. These massive turbines extract a heavy toll on eagles, hawks, birds, bats, and marine life.
Inconvenient wind turbine facts
Bet On It Book Club: For a New Liberty, Chapter 6
14 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in Austrian economics, liberalism, libertarianism, Murray Rothbard
[Update: I’m on vacation next Friday, so the next installment of this book club will be in two weeks.]SummaryIn this chapter on “Personal Liberty,” Rothbard puts run-of-the-mill “civil libertarians” to shame. He’s more radical than most of the left on traditional civil liberties like freedom of speech, drugs, and wiretapping. He stands up for the…
Bet On It Book Club: For a New Liberty, Chapter 6
Cost Overruns Are Bad for Taxpayers, Good for Insiders
14 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of bureaucracy, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, managerial economics, market efficiency, organisational economics, Public Choice
My First Theorem of Government is the simple observation that insiders are the biggest beneficiaries of government. I was motivated to release that theorem because bad news for taxpayers is good news for bureaucrats, consultants, contractors, lobbyists, and politicians. A classic example is the Department of Education in Washington, which has squandered more than $2.6 […]
Cost Overruns Are Bad for Taxpayers, Good for Insiders
Don’t Copy Europe
14 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, macroeconomics Tags: European Union
Since I’m currently in Europe as part of the Free Market Road Show, I’m going to share some more data (for other examples, see here, here, here, and here) on why the United States should not become more like Europe. As I noted a few years ago, people in the United States enjoy much higher levels […]
Don’t Copy Europe
Two Great Escapes
14 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles Tags: China, Indonesia
Liberalism.org
13 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
…on March 12 we’ll be launching Liberalism.org, a new project from IHS [Institute for Humane Studies]. We’re aiming to build something akin to a modern-day coffee house of the liberal tradition—a digital gathering place where today’s most innovative liberal thinkers can weigh tradeoffs, think across differences, and apply liberal values to the challenges of today and…
Liberalism.org
Fleecing Rich Taxpayers: Europe vs. the United States
13 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, entrepreneurship, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
I frequently make the point that America’s tax system is more progressive than European tax systems. But not because the United States imposes higher tax rates on upper-income households. Instead, the big difference is that lower-income and middle-class households in the United States face much lower tax burdens than their European counterparts. In those columns, […]
Fleecing Rich Taxpayers: Europe vs. the United States
The Covid inquiry’s verdict nobody quite wants
13 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: economics of pandemics
The final phase of the Covid inquiry is out, and almost nobody will be fully happy with what it says. The report says New Zealand got plenty right, but it also lays out a string of failures, blind spots and overreaches. It is neither the devastating indictment that opponents of the Labour government wanted, nor […]
The Covid inquiry’s verdict nobody quite wants
Why is Phil Twyford publicly endorsing a Marxist group which supports the Iranian dictatorship?
13 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, laws of war, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Iran, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
Last night I and a number of NZ Against Hamas members attended what was for me one of the most entertaining events of the last 12 months: a mass protest of a few hundred Kiwi Iranians against a dozen or so elderly communists who turned up to a meeting in Mt Eden War Memorial Hall…
Why is Phil Twyford publicly endorsing a Marxist group which supports the Iranian dictatorship?
Eat the Rich: Sanders and Khanna Introduce Federal Billionaires Tax
12 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, entrepreneurship, financial economics, fiscal policy, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
Below is my column on Fox.com on the new push by Democrats to impose a wealth tax nationally. While the…
Eat the Rich: Sanders and Khanna Introduce Federal Billionaires Tax
Greens draft list demotes several MPs
12 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
The Greens have published their draft list, voted on by delegates. It sees several MPs dropped to probably unwinnable places. Steve Abel has the biggest drop from 9 to 14. He is probably the most environmentally focused MP in their caucus, so I guess he hasn’t done enough campaigning on Gaza. Scott Willis drops from…
Greens draft list demotes several MPs
Tech Has Never Caused a Job Apocalypse. Don’t Bet on It Now.
12 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, survivor principle Tags: creative destruction
Neither theory, history nor the latest data suggests a recession driven by AI job dislocation is likely By Greg Ip. Excerpts:”Technological advancements always cost some people their jobs—those whose skills can be easily substituted by tech. But their loss is more than offset through three other channels. The new technology enhances the skills of some survivors,…
Tech Has Never Caused a Job Apocalypse. Don’t Bet on It Now.
Must be getting crowded up there
11 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in international economic law, International law, transport economics Tags: space
U.S. Withdrawal from UN Framework on Climate Change Underway
11 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, International law, politics - USA
“The global climate elite are scrambling for relevancy and power. The poll-conscious wind and solar lobbies are disingenuously pitching affordability. And the climate zealots are getting nutty. Energy reality bats last.”
U.S. Withdrawal from UN Framework on Climate Change Underway
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments