Many of Trump’s signature policies overlap with those of the American progressive left—e.g. tariffs, economic nationalism, immigration restrictions, deep distrust of elite institutions, and an eagerness to use the power of the state. Trump governs less like Reagan, more like Perón. As Ryan Bourne notes, this ideological convergence has led many on the progressive left […]
Horseshoe Theory: Trump and the Progressive Left
Horseshoe Theory: Trump and the Progressive Left
26 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, income redistribution, international economics, International law, labour economics, labour supply, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: 2024 presidential election, regressive left, tarrifs
California Dems Reportedly Scrambling To Find Buyer For Refinery After Running Owner Out Of Town
25 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, politics - USA Tags: California
The California Energy Commission (CEC) is reportedly actively seeking buyers to stop the upcoming closure of the Valero refinery in Benicia, California, according to three people familiar with the matter that spoke to Reuters. Democrat officials are now reportedly scrambling to keep the refinery operating in California after enforcing stringent regulations that have helped prompt refineries to close across the state for years.
California Dems Reportedly Scrambling To Find Buyer For Refinery After Running Owner Out Of Town
Shorting Your Rivals: A Radical Antitrust Remedy
24 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, financial economics, industrial organisation Tags: competition law, competition law enforcement, mergers
Conventional antitrust enforcement tries to prevent harmful mergers by blocking them but empirical evidence shows that rival stock prices often rise when a merger is blocked—suggesting that many blocked mergers would have increased competition. In other words, we may be stopping the wrong mergers. In a clever proposal, Ayres, Hemphill, and Wickelgren (2024) argue that […]
Shorting Your Rivals: A Radical Antitrust Remedy
The Timing of Abundance
18 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, environmental economics, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
In case you missed my *Build, Baby, Build* because of the 2024 election.
The Timing of Abundance
Is Progress Progressive?
14 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of education, economics of regulation, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: pessimism bias, The Great Enrichment
We should not assume that all adopted innovations are progressive. Jonathon Haidt’s ‘The Anxious Generation’ illustrates that sometimes they require social measures to enhance well being. Brian Easton writes – The Anxious Generation is a book which probably everyone engaging with adolescents should read. Haidt’s thesis is that smartphones replacing flip phones led to a marked […]
Is Progress Progressive?
Expanding the Milei Miracle: Labor Market Deregulation
12 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in development economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, growth disasters, labour economics, labour supply, Public Choice Tags: Argentina, employment law
Part I of this video series gave a brief summary of how Javier Milei’s free market policies have rejuvenated Argentina’s economy. But more reform is needed and this second video makes the case for labor market deregulation. Politicians impose so-called employment protection laws because of “public choice.” To be more specific, they understand that the […]
Expanding the Milei Miracle: Labor Market Deregulation
Echoes of Citizens for Rowling
07 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, transport economics, urban economics Tags: constitutional law
Karl du Fresne writes – Who remembers the Citizens for Rowling campaign? It was a concerted attempt by the Great and the Good to derail National Party leader Robert Muldoon’s election campaign in 1975. The campaign’s backers didn’t like Muldoon’s combative, divisive brand of politics and argued that Labour’s gentlemanly Bill Rowling, who had assumed […]
Echoes of Citizens for Rowling
“The End Goal of Seizing the Means of Production”: Yup, Mamdani is a Hardcore Marxist
03 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of bureaucracy, economics of education, economics of regulation, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice
Below is my column on Fox.com on the debate that Democratic New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is a socialist, a Democratic Socialist, or a communist. What is clear is that Mamdani is a Marxist and that is a serious problem for New York. Here is the column:
“The End Goal of Seizing the Means of Production”: Yup, Mamdani is a Hardcore Marxist
Berlin Moves To Ban Autos From Inside The City. Widespread Chaos Looms
03 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, Public Choice, transport economics, urban economics Tags: Germany
Just 12 car trips person per year would be allowed! The Berlin Constitutional Court has declared the “Berlin car-free” referendum admissible, paving the way for a possible drastic reduction in car traffic. Hat-tip: Blackout News Cars may soon be banned in Berlin. Image generated by Grok 3 AI The court found that the aim of…
Berlin Moves To Ban Autos From Inside The City. Widespread Chaos Looms
The gender wage gap uses bogus statistics | FACTUAL FEMINIST
02 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economics of regulation, gender, health and safety, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
Supersonics Takeoff!
27 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, transport economics
In Lift the Ban on Supersonics I wrote: Civilian supersonic aircraft have been banned in the United States for over 50 years! In case that wasn’t clear, we didn’t ban noisy aircraft we banned supersonic aircraft. Thus, even quiet supersonic aircraft are banned today. This was a serious mistake. Aside from the fact that the noise was exaggerated, technological development […]
Supersonics Takeoff!
Supreme Court Delivers Blow To California Climate Zealots
24 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, transport economics
“The Supreme Court put to rest any question about whether fuel manufacturers have a right to challenge unlawful electric vehicle mandates,” American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President and CEO Chet Thompson said in a statement.
Supreme Court Delivers Blow To California Climate Zealots
The Supreme Court Delivers a Blow to Transgender Cases
21 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of regulation, gender, health economics, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued its 6-3 ruling upholding a Tennessee ban on transgender medical treatments for adolescents. The ruling has major implications for pending transgender cases, particularly the concurrence of Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejecting the claim that transgender status qualifies as a group entitled to heightened scrutiny under the Constitution. One of those […]
The Supreme Court Delivers a Blow to Transgender Cases
Bish vs the numpties
18 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, environmental economics, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, urban economics Tags: heritage protection
Chris Bishop announced: The derelict and unsafe Gordon Wilson Flats in Wellington will lose its protected heritage status and become eligible for demolition through an amendment to the Resource Management Act (RMA) in the coming weeks, RMA Reform and Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Gordon Wilson Flats were used as social housing until 2012, […]
Bish vs the numpties
Very Expensive Affordable Housing
10 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, offsetting behavior, The fatal conceit, unintended consequences
In my post Affordable Housing is Almost Pointless, I highlighted how point systems for awarding tax credits prioritize DEI, environmental features, energy efficiency, and other secondary goals far more than low cost. A near-comic example comes from D.C., where so-called affordable housing units now cost between $800,000 and $1.3 million dollars each! One such unit […]
Very Expensive Affordable Housing
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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