In which I go on Piers Morgan Uncensored (sex and gender issues, of course), followed by a debate

When I was invited to go on Piers Morgan Uncensored, I was deeply undecided.  I knew Morgan was quite conservative and religious, and I’ve seen clips of him bullying his guests.  So I had a back-and-forth with the producer, trying to discern what Morgan wanted to ask me about. I got a long list of […]

In which I go on Piers Morgan Uncensored (sex and gender issues, of course), followed by a debate

DON BRASH: Equality is not a dirty word

Surely, in a liberal democracy, there are few words more chilling to read written in earnest than the “flawed concept of ‘equality’”. But there they were, in print, in an opinion piece by the National Urban Māori Authority’s Lady Tureiti Moxon published in the NZ Herald on Tuesday last week. The Treaty Principles Bill has…

DON BRASH: Equality is not a dirty word

Good Riddance, Joe Biden

This is the last full day of Joe Biden’s dismal presidency, so let’s do what we did with Justin Trudeau and reflect on his pathetic legacy. I’ve already provided my own economic assessment of Biden’s record, so now let’s review how he is seen by others. We’ll start with the American people. According to a […]

Good Riddance, Joe Biden

I See Dead Amendments: President Biden Issues Otherworldly ERA Declaration

Below is my column in Fox.com on President Joe Biden’s last-minute declaration that the 28th Amendment is now part of the United States Constitution. It appears that our president sees dead amendments, but that is not the greatest thing that should worry you. Here is the column:

I See Dead Amendments: President Biden Issues Otherworldly ERA Declaration

No Tech Workers or No Tech Jobs?

Several recent tweets(xeets) about tech talent re-ignited the conversation about native-born STEM workers and American policy. For the Very Online, Christmas 2024 was about the H-1B Elon tweets. Elon Musk implies that “elite” engineering talent cannot be found among Americans. Do Americans need to import talent? What would it take to home grow elite engineering […]

No Tech Workers or No Tech Jobs?

Quotation of the Day…

Tweet… is from page 53 of the late, great Harold Demsetz’s excellent 2008 book, From Economic Man to Economic System: Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus differed in their forecasts of mankind’s future. Smith (1776), in his Wealth of Nations, offered an optimistic view, basing this on his understanding of the new economic system that began…

Quotation of the Day…

Margaret Thatcher, Michael Curley, and the 19th Theorem of Government

In this 12-second video, Margaret Thatcher is talking about the Labour Party in the United Kingdom, but her warning has universal application. And when I say her warning has universal application, I’m not joking. Politicians generally can’t resist the temptation to buy votes. And I fear that this can and will happen at all levels […]

Margaret Thatcher, Michael Curley, and the 19th Theorem of Government

Bad leaders solicit bad advice

When Jacinda Ardern became Prime Minister, she was determined to increase income for children in welfare-dependent families – her magic bullet for solving child poverty. The Welfare Expert Advisory Group, led by Cindy Kiro, was convened to make the desired recommendations. A number of evidence briefs were provided to the group, one concerned the “likely…

Bad leaders solicit bad advice

Winston Peters: “Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi – Deletion” Bill…

The New Zealand Centre for Political Research dipped into the Parliamentary archives and retrieved Winston Peters’ speech on the first reading of New Zealand First’s “Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi – Deletion” Bill on 8 June 2005   Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) : I move, That the Principles of the Treaty […]

Winston Peters: “Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi – Deletion” Bill…

The Acemoglu arguments against high-skilled 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

Some Links

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

Willis on targeting vs universality

The Herald reports: She said the current system was problematic in that many entitlements were claimed by wealthy people and paid for by hiking taxes on workers of all income levels. “There are a lot of entitlements and support that have crept into the middle and upper class, and I would prefer to have a […]

Willis on targeting vs universality

Evolving Returns to Personality

Weanalyze trends in labor-market returns to psychological traits using data from half a million Finnish men from 2001 to 2015. Cognitive skills’ value declined, while noncognitive skills’ value increased. Our novel findings show that extraversion drives this rise, while conscientiousness remains stable. Extraversion’s rising returns are most pronounced for lower earners and those on the […]

Evolving Returns to Personality

Left-Wing Economists Were Wildly Wrong about Javier Milei and his Libertarian Agenda for Argentina

It’s easy to mock economists. Consider the supposedly prestigious left-leaning academics who asserted in 2021 that Biden’s agenda was not inflationary. At the risk of understatement, they wound up with egg on their faces.* Today, we’re going to look at another example of leftist economists making fools of themselves. It involves Argentina, where President Javier […]

Left-Wing Economists Were Wildly Wrong about Javier Milei and his Libertarian Agenda for Argentina

JOHN MENDZELA: Submission on the Treaty Principles Bill

4 January, 2025 Justice Committee Parliament of New Zealand Dear Committee Members, I wish to make a submission on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill that you will be considering in the near future. As the map below demonstrates, I have independently consulted on governance and management in dozens of diverse nations. Many…

JOHN MENDZELA: Submission on the Treaty Principles Bill

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