While healthcare in Canada’s single-payer health care system is technically free, its real price is measured in wait times. In 2023, the median wait time from a general practitioner’s referral to treatment reached 27.7 weeks—the longest ever and nearly triple the 9.3 weeks reported in 1993. (MuskegonPundit) To see this, think of “free” as…
The price of “free” healthcare is the wait
The price of “free” healthcare is the wait
06 May 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, health economics, politics - USA Tags: Canada, health insurance
Reform to ‘wage war’ against net zero ‘lunacy’ after local elections
05 May 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: British politics, solar power, wind power
The political pushback against futile climate obsession is moving forward. Voters who resent having their pockets picked via massive subsidies for renewables, while facing government pressure to buy expensive electric cars, unwanted heat pumps, and more, can clearly see an alternative. – – – Reform has said it will “wage war” against the “lunacy” of […]
Reform to ‘wage war’ against net zero ‘lunacy’ after local elections
Buffett’s Alpha
05 May 2025 Leave a comment
in entrepreneurship, financial economics Tags: active investing
Berkshire Hathaway has realized a Sharpe ratio of 0.76, higher than any other stock or mutual fund with a history of more than 30 years, and Berkshire has a significant alpha to traditional risk factors. However, we find that the alpha becomes insignificant when controlling for exposures to Betting-Against-Beta and Quality-Minus-Junk factors. Further, we estimate […]
Buffett’s Alpha
Trump proposes 100% tariff on movies shot outside the United States
05 May 2025 1 Comment
in industrial organisation, international economics, movies, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Here is one link. Of course the proposal is not easy to understand. If it is a Jason Bourne movie, do they add up the number of scenes shot abroad and consider those as a percentage of the entire movie? Does one scene shot abroad invoke the entire tariff? o3 guesstimates that about half of […]
Trump proposes 100% tariff on movies shot outside the United States
Has international travel to the U.S. really collapsed?
05 May 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - USA, transport economics Tags: 2024 presidential election
But despite some ominous signs, a close look at the data shows that travel to the United States is largely holding up — at least so far. Nearly as many foreign travelers have arrived at American airports this year than during the same period last year, according to an analysis by The New York Times […]
Has international travel to the U.S. really collapsed?
Some weak evidence in favour of an information intervention in economics to close the gender gap
05 May 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economics of education, experimental economics, gender, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice Tags: gender gap, sex discrimination
I’ve written a couple of times about information interventions designed to attract more female students to study economics (see here and here). The results have generally been disappointing. That shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. If it was really simple to get people to change their behaviour with information, then advertising would be far…
Some weak evidence in favour of an information intervention in economics to close the gender gap
Misguided branch of British Medical Association rejects UK’s Supreme Court decision that “woman” is defined by biological sex
04 May 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, gender, law and economics, property rights Tags: free speech, gender gap, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
As I reported two weeks ago, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom voted unanimously to affirm that the term “woman” under the legal Equality Act refers only to biological women and not trans-identified men. That means that a biological male holding a gender reassignment certificate would not have the same legal status as a […]
Misguided branch of British Medical Association rejects UK’s Supreme Court decision that “woman” is defined by biological sex
Pershing Under Pressure – The End Of La Lys I THE GREAT WAR Week 197
04 May 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: World War I
“Take out Every Single Person Who Supports Trump”: Maine Teacher Calls for the Secret Service to Go on a Killing Spree
03 May 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
We have been discussing the increasing political violence on the left. That includes a student who published a column recently on “when must we kill them?” I noted that such views are often reflections of the many extremists currently in teaching. That was evident this week in Maine, where English teacher JoAnna St. Germain of […]
“Take out Every Single Person Who Supports Trump”: Maine Teacher Calls for the Secret Service to Go on a Killing Spree
Sex is binary
03 May 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, health economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Trans activists and their supporters have confused feelings with facts in trying to convince themselves, and others, that sex isn’t binary. Science disproves that: Here’s why sex is binary, explained in 5 minutes. pic.twitter.com/DuX7Yk7Z0f — Zachary Elliott (@zaelefty) April 26, 2025
Sex is binary
Have The Intermittent Energy Blackouts Begun?
03 May 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA Tags: celebrity technologies, solar power, wind power
As Schellenberger points out, with just “a hair” more frequency variation it could have been far worse. Will that happen some time soon? I’m not going to pretend I know. But I do know that the electricity system in most of Europe and many U.S. states is in the hands of crazed fanatics who have no idea what they are doing. My own bet would be that there are many far worse blackouts to come, until this idiotic “net zero” thing is abandoned.
Have The Intermittent Energy Blackouts Begun?
The Iberian Blackout
02 May 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: solar power, wind power
What happened and early lessons
The Iberian Blackout
Trump Admin Sues to Block Blue States From Taking Fossil Fuel Companies To Court Over Climate Change
02 May 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: climate activists, nuisance suits
The Trump administration filed lawsuits Wednesday against Michigan and Hawaii in an attempt to block the states from seeking damages in court against fossil fuel companies for alleged environmental harm.
Trump Admin Sues to Block Blue States From Taking Fossil Fuel Companies To Court Over Climate Change
The First 100 Days: The Method Behind the Madness in Court Challenges
02 May 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, constitutional law, economics of immigration
Below is my column in the New York Post on the first 100 days of the Trump Administration in court. It is too early to handicap many of these lower courts decisions. I have been critical of some of these orders as either premature or unconstitutional. There is a reason for the hyperkinetic pace of […]
The First 100 Days: The Method Behind the Madness in Court Challenges
Twisted Illogic
02 May 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tarrifs
TweetHere’s a letter to The Hill. Editor: Pres. Trump said that “China probably will eat those tariffs” (“Trump says China ‘probably will eat those tariffs’,” April 29). So the president believes that the tariffs will be ‘eaten’ by China – meaning, he believes the tariffs won’t result in higher prices in America of Chinese goods.…
Twisted Illogic
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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