Below is my column in the Hill on the historic defense of free speech by Vice President J.D. Vance in Munich last week. Where John F. Kennedy went to Berlin to declare “Ich bin ein Berliner,” Vance in Munich to declare a type of “Ich bin ein Amerikanisch.” He spoke of free speech as an […]
“The Threat From Within”: J.D. Vance Delivers a Historic Defense of Free Speech
“The Threat From Within”: J.D. Vance Delivers a Historic Defense of Free Speech
18 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, political change, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
“Break Some Sh*t”: Democrats Find Relief from Sanity and Reality in Profanity and Hyperbole
16 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Teddy Roosevelt once said, “profanity is the parlance of the fool.” Democrats appear to be increasingly finding relief from both reality and sanity in profanity. Democratic members have been complaining that left-wing groups have been targeting them to be more aggressive and “fight harder” in the face of the fast-paced actions of President Donald Trump. […]
“Break Some Sh*t”: Democrats Find Relief from Sanity and Reality in Profanity and Hyperbole
EPA’s infamous 2009 “endangerment finding” re. so-called greenhouse gases to be reviewed
16 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: climate alarmism
By order of POTUS the ridiculous ‘finding’ that the vital trace gas carbon dioxide is some sort of hazard to humanity is about to be reviewed. It may well struggle for survival. – – – Source: Climate fact check January 2025. CFACT says: We will close out this month by noting that President Trump has […]
EPA’s infamous 2009 “endangerment finding” re. so-called greenhouse gases to be reviewed
David Friedman on consequences of climate change 2023
13 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, David Friedman, economic history, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, Ronald Coase
I like maps
12 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, International law, law and economics, property rights Tags: economics of borders, maps
The long road to housing affordability
11 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, transport economics, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
There is much work yet to be done in New Zealand to improve housing affordability, despite recent declines in valuations. Eric Crampton writes – It wasn’t that long ago that New Zealand’s housing market made international news because of its insanity. In 2016, The Guardian tagged Auckland as the “hottest property market in the world” […]
The long road to housing affordability
Ireland: Good Corporate Tax Policy vs. Bad Government Spending Policy
11 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, economic growth, economic history, Euro crisis, fiscal policy, global financial crisis (GFC), great recession, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, public economics Tags: Ireland, taxation and investment
I’m a big fan of Ireland’s low corporate tax rate for three reasons. First, it shows that good tax policy generates positive economic outcomes as per-capita GDP in Ireland has grown by record amounts. Second, it shows that lower tax rates can in some cases lead to more revenue. Sort of a turbo-charged version of […]
Ireland: Good Corporate Tax Policy vs. Bad Government Spending Policy
Five More Climate Lawsuits Shot Down
10 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: climate activists, climate alarmism, nuisance suits
Legal Newsline reports the string of climate lawfare defeats in their article Fifth judge agrees with Big Oil, dismisses another climate change case. Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images. TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – A New Jersey state court judge refuses to be the one who sets international energy standards and has […]
Five More Climate Lawsuits Shot Down
Simon Wiesenthal’s interview for Penthouse Magazine
09 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Nazi Germany, The Holocaust, World War II
Earlier this week, I wrote a blog post featuring quotes from Holocaust survivors. Among them, I came across a powerful statement by Simon Wiesenthal: “For your benefit, learn from our tragedy. It is not a written law that the next victims must be Jews. It can also be other people. We saw it begin in […]
Simon Wiesenthal’s interview for Penthouse Magazine
NCAA bans transgender athletes from women’s sports
09 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights, sports economics Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
(This is my 29,994th post, so we’ll reach 30,000 by the end of the weekend. I don’t know what to think about that!) I think we all know now that most Americans, and a majority of individuals in both Democratic and Republican parties, oppose the participation of trans-identified males in women’s sports, presumably on the […]
NCAA bans transgender athletes from women’s sports
“Insubordination”: FBI Official Accused of Defying White House Reform Efforts
07 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, law and economics, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: 2024 presidential election
Last week, some of us discussed concerns over the demand of the Trump Administration for the names of all FBI agents involved in January 6th cases. While noting that we did not have all of the details, I wrote that this would be a critical test for the Administration between reform and revenge. Line FBI […]
“Insubordination”: FBI Official Accused of Defying White House Reform Efforts
Nicholas Reed Langen: The Use and Abuse of Citizenship Deprivation: SSHD v Kolicaj
07 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, war and peace Tags: British politics, constitutional law, Middle-East politics, war against terror
Any British citizen that happens to hold citizenship for another country could find themselves in an invidious position. If the Home Secretary decides that it would be ‘conducive to the public good’, they can single-handedly strip a person of their citizenship, and with it, their right to remain in the country. So long as the deprivation […]
Nicholas Reed Langen: The Use and Abuse of Citizenship Deprivation: SSHD v Kolicaj
It’s comforting to hear Hipkins’ stance on an all-powerful Treaty Commissioner – but what might change his mind?
06 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: Age of Enlightenment, constitutional law, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Bob Edlin writes – Labour leader Chris Hipkins has told RNZ’s Morning Report the Labour Party will not support the Māori Party’s outrageous call for the establishment of a parliamentary commissioner for the Treaty of Waitangi with the extraordinary power to veto parliamentary decisions. His position is stated in this account of his response to […]
It’s comforting to hear Hipkins’ stance on an all-powerful Treaty Commissioner – but what might change his mind?
Gender gaps in education and declining marriage rates
06 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economics of love and marriage, economics of marriage, human capital, labour economics, law and economics, poverty and inequality Tags: assortative mating, economics of fertility
Over the past half-century, the share of men enrolled in college has steadily declined relative to women. Today, 1.6 million more women than men attend four-year colleges in the U.S. This trend has not lowered marriage rates for college women, a substantial share of whom have historically married economically stable men without college degrees. Both […]
Gender gaps in education and declining marriage rates
Identity-based hiring goes wild in New Zealand
05 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economic history, economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: affirmative action, Age of Enlightenment, constitutional law, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Just to show you how, in the hiring process, New Zealand gives much more weight to identity than to merit, I enclose part of the job description for the position of Chief Operating Officer of Wellington Water, the water utility for the Greater Wellington region (Wellington, a lovely city, is the capital of New Zealand). […]
Identity-based hiring goes wild in New Zealand
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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