I’ve shared several columns (here, here, here, here, and here) reviewing scholarly research on the harmful economic impact of wealth taxation. From now on, however, I think I’ll simply share this clever video from the folks at Reason. The video uses humor to make very important points about how a wealth tax would diminish incentives […]
The (Amusingly) Destructive Economics of Wealth Taxation
The (Amusingly) Destructive Economics of Wealth Taxation
24 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, entrepreneurship, fiscal policy, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
Bet On It Book Club: For a New Liberty, Chapter 13
24 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, environmental economics, environmentalism, history of economic thought, law and economics, Murray Rothbard, property rights, Public Choice
SummaryThis chapter, on “Conservation, Ecology, and Growth,” is an early statement of free-market environmentalism. It begins by ridiculing leftists’ decades of contradictory complaints about capitalism: “Stagnation; deficient growth; overaffluence; overpoverty; the intellectual fashions changed like ladies’ hemlines,” and quoting one of Schumpeter’s best lines:Capitalism stands its trial before judges who have the sentence of death…
Bet On It Book Club: For a New Liberty, Chapter 13
The Case Against Socialism, Part V
24 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, macroeconomics, Marxist economics Tags: North Korea, South Korea
As far as I know, Matt Mitchell and I are not related, but we both have a low opinion of socialism. He covers a lot of ground (defining socialism, the role of prices, socialism’s death toll, and the myth of Nordic socialism) in this 15-minute interview. Matt does such a good job that I didn’t […]
The Case Against Socialism, Part V
Why California High-Speed Rail Failed
23 May 2026 Leave a comment
in transport economics, urban economics
While Wendover Productions, the maker of this video, believes in high-speed rail, it shows that the California project was poorly planned. Planners optimistically believed it could be built in the U.S. for the same costs that high-speed rail had been built in Europe. Among other things, they failed to account … Continue reading →
Why California High-Speed Rail Failed
‘Uncertainty, Evolution, and Economic Theory,’ by Armen Alchian
23 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Armen Alchian, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, survivor principle, theory of the firm
One of the most persistent criticisms of law & economics is that it rests on unrealistic assumptions. Economic models often assume firms maximize profits, investors respond rationally to incentives, and market participants systematically adjust their behavior in predictable ways. Critics frequently point to these assumptions as evidence that economic analysis is detached from reality. Real…
‘Uncertainty, Evolution, and Economic Theory,’ by Armen Alchian
The AI Jobs Panic Comes to Sacramento
23 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, entrepreneurship, human capital, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, market efficiency, occupational choice, survivor principle, theory of the firm
California has seen the future of work, and Sacramento’s first instinct is to convene 14 task forces about it. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-6-26 today, setting California’s workforce agencies in motion on directives involving research reviews, revisions to the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, studies of new safety-net programs, a…
The AI Jobs Panic Comes to Sacramento
The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Sweden, Part IV
23 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, international economics, macroeconomics, public economics Tags: Sweden
I don’t often claim to be ahead of the curve, but I’m going to pat myself on the back in today’s column about Swedish economic policy. More than 16 years ago, I started writing about Sweden’s shift from statism to markets. More than 14 years ago, I praised Swedish policy makers for significantly reducing the […]
The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Sweden, Part IV
The bigger cost saving for NZ Super
22 May 2026 Leave a comment
Henry Cooke writes: There are good reasons for our politicians to look seriously at the long-term affordability of superannuation. It is by far our largest benefit, and largest single-ticket item, taking up around 16.6% of tax revenue and 5% of GDP. It costs close to five times what we spend on the unemployment benefit or…
The bigger cost saving for NZ Super
A federal judge takes apart Nicholas Kristof’s controversial accusations against Israel
22 May 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, laws of war, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: free speech, Gaza Strip, Israel, media bias, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror
If you’re getting weary of the endless but necessary attacks on Nicholas Kristof for his misleading and almost antisemitic column about Israel’s “policy” of sexually assaulting Palestinian prisoners, Roy K. Altman has written in the Free Press the definitive critique of Kristof’s column—that is, until investigations by Israel reveal more information. Wikipedia identifies Altman as…
A federal judge takes apart Nicholas Kristof’s controversial accusations against Israel
Myth, Memory and the BNZ
22 May 2026 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, economic history, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, privatisation, property rights
Winston should be ashamed
Myth, Memory and the BNZ
Put it into Plain English! | Yes, Minister | BBC Comedy Greats
22 May 2026 Leave a comment
in television, TV shows
The economics of unions
22 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, econometerics, economic history, industrial organisation, labour economics, survivor principle, unions
My best read of the evidence is that a union raises wages by around 7% for currently unionized employees. The wage gains from a redistribution of rents evenly across workers. Wage compression exists, but redistribution from worker to worker is only a small part. These are the current effects – unionizing more of the economy […]
The economics of unions
Winding back Treaty references
21 May 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law, racial discrimination
Paul Goldsmith announced: The Government has agreed to amend 19 pieces of legislation to ensure references to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi are clear and consistent, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Over the last 30 or 40 years, Parliament has made all sorts of references to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.…
Winding back Treaty references
Dane Luo: Andy Burnham and the Constitution – The Conventions on the Appointment of the Prime Minister
20 May 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, politics, politics - Australia Tags: British constitutional law, British politics, Canada, constitutional law
After disastrous local government election results for the Labour Party, speculation has been rife about an internal leadership challenge to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. On Thursday 14 May 2026, the Member of Makerfield, Josh Simons, announced he was resigning his Manchester-based seat (formally given effect by an appointment to an ‘office of profit under the […]
Dane Luo: Andy Burnham and the Constitution – The Conventions on the Appointment of the Prime Minister
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments