On tax policy, our friends on the left are motivated by envy and hatred. As shown in this Stossel video, Robert Reich is a sad example of this mindset. John Stossel understates his argument. It’s not that Reich is wrong. He’s wildly wrong. There are four points in the video that deserve attention. It is […]
Debunking Hate-and-Envy Tax Policy
Debunking Hate-and-Envy Tax Policy
27 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economic history, entrepreneurship, financial economics, fiscal policy, health and safety, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, macroeconomics, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, property rights, Public Choice, public economics Tags: envy, regressive left, taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment
After 30 years, there is hope
27 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, environmental economics, environmentalism, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, transport economics, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
Chris Bishop and Simon Court announced: Two new laws will be developed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), with the enjoyment of property rights as their guiding principle, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “The RMA was passed with good intentions in 1991 but has proved a failure in […]
After 30 years, there is hope
The Affordable Rent Act
22 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, income redistribution, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: rent control
Bloomberg: Moraal is among the growing number of Dutch people struggling to find a rental property after a new law designed to make homes more affordable ended up aggravating a housing shortage. Aiming to protect low-income tenants, the government in July imposed rent controls on thousands of homes, introducing a system of rating properties based on […]
The Affordable Rent Act
Australia Moves Toward Draconian Anti-Free Speech Law
14 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, industrial organisation, law and economics, liberalism, politics - Australia, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, media bias, political correctness, regressive left
We have previously discussed how Australia has eagerly joined the plunge into censorship and speech controls, including a court system that has repeatedly refused to protect free speech. It is now on the verge of enacting a new censorship bill that replicates the abuses under the European Union’s draconian Digital Service Act (DSA).
Australia Moves Toward Draconian Anti-Free Speech Law
Well-Known Antifa Member Sentenced to Jail Despite Journalism Defense
13 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, law and order, political correctness, regressive left
Alissa Eleanor Azar, a well-known Antifa activist, was sentenced to jail recently in Oregon after being convicted of felony riot and disorderly conduct. What is notable about the case was the journalism defense put forward by Azar, who claims that she was not a participant but press. That assertion is belied by not just videotapes […]
Well-Known Antifa Member Sentenced to Jail Despite Journalism Defense
Sixth Circuit Hands Down Major Free Speech Win for Professor Against the University of Louisville
13 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit handed down a major victory of free speech this week in favor of professor challenging his treatment by the University of Louisville. In Josephson v. Ganzel, a unanimous panel ruled for Dr. Allan Josephson who was subject to adverse actions after he publicly expressed skepticism […]
Sixth Circuit Hands Down Major Free Speech Win for Professor Against the University of Louisville
Here’s How One Biden-Appointed Judge’s Ruling Could Bring Drilling in Gulf of Mexico to A Halt
12 Sep 2024 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, fisheries economics, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, resource economics Tags: nuisance suits
Notably, oil produced in the Gulf of Mexico is less carbon-intensive than oil produced elsewhere; one May 2023 analysis commissioned by the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) found that oil extracted offshore in the Gulf of Mexico is 46% less carbon-intensive than the global average excluding the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s How One Biden-Appointed Judge’s Ruling Could Bring Drilling in Gulf of Mexico to A Halt
SHOWDOWN: Willie Jackson vs David Seymour on the Treaty Principles Bill
11 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, economic history, law and economics, liberalism, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: constitutional law, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Uber messy
11 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, transport economics, urban economics Tags: employment law, Uber
Caught a fun phone call from an accountant after this week’s column over at the Dom Post (and Christchurch Press, etc) on the court’s decision in the Uber case.If Uber drivers are employees, rather than contractors, as the Court sees things, how will depreciation on their cars be handled? Contractors can count all those expenses…
Uber messy
Get Musk: Leading Investor Calls for the Prosecution of Elon Musk for “Undermining” the Federal Government
10 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: 2024 presidential election, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Silicon Valley investor Roger McNamee this weekend went on MSNBC’s “Last Word” and called for the arrest of Elon Musk for “undermining” the federal government by sharing his opinions on X.
Get Musk: Leading Investor Calls for the Prosecution of Elon Musk for “Undermining” the Federal Government
Uber ruling – driving in the wrong direction
09 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, occupational regulation, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, transport economics, urban economics Tags: employment law, Uber
Dr Oliver Hartwich writes – Last week, an Uber driver surprised me in a conversation about the recent Court of Appeal decision classifying four Uber drivers as employees rather than contractors. My driver was blunt. He has no desire to be an employee. He values his flexibility to take breaks and drive when and where […]
Uber ruling – driving in the wrong direction
Friedman vs Stiglitz: Estonia and Poland vs. Argentina and Venezuela
06 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, entrepreneurship, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, poverty and inequality, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: Argentina, Chile, Poland, regressive left, Venezuela
About 10 days ago, i showed that Milton Friedman was a much better economist than Joseph Stiglitz by comparing Chile (which followed Friedman’s ideas) and Venezuela (which followed Stiglitz’s ideas). It was a slam-dunk win for Friedman. Chile started poor and has become relatively prosperous. The opposite happened in Venezuela, which started relatively prosperous and […]
Friedman vs Stiglitz: Estonia and Poland vs. Argentina and Venezuela
The pro-Hamas protests resume big time at Columbia
05 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, economics of education, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, Gaza Strip, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
I am not being hyperbolic by saying the protestors are “pro-Hamas” rather than “pro-Palestinian,” as they themselves extol Hamas (see below). What kind of student would glorify muderous terroristic thugs? Columbia ones, of course. You didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to predict that pro-Palestinian protests which violate campus regulations, as well as the […]
The pro-Hamas protests resume big time at Columbia
Robert Reich Calls for the Arrest of Elon Musk for Resisting Censorship
04 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
C-Span Screengrab We have previously discussed the anti-free speech views of Clinton’s former Labor Secretary, Robert Reich, who has tried to sell citizens on the perfectly Orwellian view that more freedom means tyranny when it comes to the freedom of expression. He also demanded that former president Donald Trump be banned from ballots as a…
Robert Reich Calls for the Arrest of Elon Musk for Resisting Censorship
California Scuttles Reparations Bills As Supporters Denounce a Political Bait-and-Switch
04 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: economics of slavery
We have previously discussed (here and here and here and here) the push for reparations in California that has been touted by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Demcrats for years. After campaigning on the issue in past elections, I wrote a column about how this bill had come due after years of delay for study and recommendations. The legislature, however, just stamped […]
California Scuttles Reparations Bills As Supporters Denounce a Political Bait-and-Switch
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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