Martha (Netflix): A compelling bio on Martha Stewart. Her divorce from Andrew Stewart happened more than 30 years ago so the intensity of her anger and bitterness comes as a surprise. With barely concealed rage, she recounts his affairs and how poorly he treated her. “But didn’t you have an affair before he did?” asks […]
Martha
Martha
15 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of crime, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, law and economics
Climatists Make Their Case by Omitting Facts
15 Jan 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic history, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA Tags: climate activists, climate alarmism

One of the world’s top economists has written an expert court report that forcefully supports a group of children and young adults who have sued the federal government for failing to act on climate change. (Source: Inside Climate News here) Excerpts in italics with my bolds. Stiglitz, a Columbia University economics professor and former World […]
Climatists Make Their Case by Omitting Facts
How Jack Smith Destroyed His Own Case Against Trump
14 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2020 presidential election, 2024 presidential election

Below is my column in The Hill on the one thing that the forthcoming report of Special Counsel Jack Smith will not address: how he destroyed his own case against Donald Trump. Smith will be something of a tragic figure for future special counsels. The only thing missing is a shirt reading, “I spent over […]
How Jack Smith Destroyed His Own Case Against Trump
Not a useful question
14 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, transport economics Tags: state ownership
Radio NZ report: A new poll has found close to half of New Zealanders want the new Interislander ferries to be rail-enabled. The government is still considering replacement options after ditching Labour’s iRex project citing a large cost blowout, in particular from upgrading port infrastructure, taking the pricetag upwards of $3 billion. Horizon Research has found 48 […]
Not a useful question
Horse Manure, Climate Change, and Nuclear Energy
14 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, health economics, politics - USA, transport economics, urban economics Tags: climate alarmism
The “Great Manure Crisis” of the late 19th century offers some serious lessons for those worried about the “existential threat” of global warming from CO2 emissions.
Horse Manure, Climate Change, and Nuclear Energy
Economists Should Never Abandon Their Principles
14 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, economics of information, economics of regulation
TweetIn the Spring of 2023 I had the honor of delivering, at the Richmond Fed, the annual Sandridge Lecture to the Virginia Association of Economists. The text of that lecture – the title of which is “The Role of the Economic Scholar in Highly Politicized Society” – is available here. And pasted below are two…
Economists Should Never Abandon Their Principles
The Acemoglu arguments against high-skilled immigration
13 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of education, entrepreneurship, human capital, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality Tags: economics of immigration
Here is Daron Acemoglu’s Project Syndicate piece, mostly critical on high-skilled immigration. Here is the first argument from Acemoglu: …one would expect corporate America’s growing need for skilled STEM workers to translate into advocacy for, and investments in, STEM education. But an overreliance on the H-1B program may have broken this link and made American […]
The Acemoglu arguments against high-skilled immigration
Climate Crisis Policies Destructive to Los Angles Area Environment and Harmful to Wildlife
13 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of natural disasters, economics of regulation, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA Tags: climate alarmism
When Americans supported the Endangered Species Act, these were some of the species they had in mind…not bait fish.
Climate Crisis Policies Destructive to Los Angles Area Environment and Harmful to Wildlife
Many supporters of sensible climate science policies have gone into great depth about the realities of climate change because of these fires. However, this is the first time I recall “climate crisis’ propaganda posts being so heavily ratioed.
Will Australia’s Mandatory Climate Reporting make Greenwashing Illegal?
13 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of information, economics of regulation, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, environmentalism, financial economics, global warming, politics - Australia Tags: climate activists, climate alarmism

Legal penalties for greenwashing could force Aussie companies to declare their total lack of interest in climate action.
Will Australia’s Mandatory Climate Reporting make Greenwashing Illegal?
Noah Smith on L.A: fire lessons
13 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of natural disasters, environmental economics, environmentalism, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: unintended consequences
The best piece I have seen so far, here is one bit: Basically, the lessons I take away from the horrific L.A. fires are: The insurance industry as we know it is in big trouble. Climate change is making wildfires worse, but there’s not much we can do about that right now. Forest management needs […]
Noah Smith on L.A: fire lessons
Joyce on Kaye and Turia
13 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
Steven Joyce writes: I first met Nikki Kaye more than 20 years ago. She was a young researcher in the National Party Leader’s Office, and I had just been appointed to chair the investigation into what was then (and remains) the National Party’s worst-ever election result. The deputy leader at the time, Roger Sowry, directed me to the Backbencher […]
Joyce on Kaye and Turia
Is ESG investing illegal? In TX it is.
13 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in financial economics, politics - USA Tags: efficient markets hypothesis, regressive left
Breaking: …US District Judge Reed O’Connor found that the airline breached its fiduciary duty … by prioritizing ESG considerations over the financial interests of participants. … The court criticized American Airlines for allowing its asset manager, BlackRock, to advance goals unrelated to maximizing returns for plan participants. “ERISA does not permit a fiduciary to pursue…
Is ESG investing illegal? In TX it is.
‘A Huge Win’: Woke ‘Cartel’ Of Financial Giants Dealt Death Blow 11 Days Before Trump Takes Office
13 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of climate change, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, environmentalism, financial economics, global warming, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: efficient markets hypothesis
“The news of BlackRock’s departure from NZAM should be music to the ears of every American consumer,” Will Hild, executive director of conservative nonprofit Consumers’ Research, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “NZAM is an illegitimate cartel of asset managers pushing harmful and costly net zero policies across the entire economy. The activities of NZAM and its members raise prices on Americans everywhere from the gas pump to the grocery store.”
‘A Huge Win’: Woke ‘Cartel’ Of Financial Giants Dealt Death Blow 11 Days Before Trump Takes Office
Some Links
12 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, budget deficits, development economics, economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, fiscal policy, global financial crisis (GFC), great recession, growth disasters, growth miracles, human capital, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, job search and matching, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, monetary economics, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle, unemployment
TweetGMU Econ alum Holly Jean Soto busts the myth of “greedflation.” Scott Lincicome identifies an interesting contrast between the facts and opinion about China. George Will decries the spinelessness of the modern U.S. Congress. A slice: The incoming president will be able, on a whim, to unilaterally discombobulate international commerce — and the domestic economy…
Some Links
Gas Storage Plunges to “Concerningly Low Levels”
12 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: British politics
But of much greater concern is what will happen when North Sea gas production drops away. Demand for natural gas will still remain high in winter for many years to come – we still need it to heat our homes and generate electricity in weeks like this one. Banning further North Sea development, as Miliband wants, will simply make us ever more reliant on imported LNG, something that will not only cost money but also endanger our energy security.
Gas Storage Plunges to “Concerningly Low Levels”
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