Traffic Jam near the Brandenburg Gate after the fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989.
19 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in liberalism Tags: The fall of the Berlin Wall
Thomas Sowell (former Marxist) Dismantles Leftist Ideology
19 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, liberalism Tags: Leftover Left, progressivism, Thomas Sowell
The free market as the foundation of social peace
18 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in liberalism, Milton Friedman Tags: Milton Friedman, spontaneous order
Why Jargon Feeds on Lazy Minds | Scott Berkun
18 Nov 2014 1 Comment
in economics of media and culture, liberalism
Words that should be banned:
- Breakthrough
- Transformative
- Next-generation
- Seamless
- Game-changing
- Revolutionary
- Ideation (oh how I hate this word)
- Disruptive
- Incentivize
- Innovation
- Innovation Infrastructure
- Customer-centric
- Radical
Richard A. Posner – Our Domestic Intelligence Crisis
17 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Richard Posner, war and peace Tags: national security, privacy, Richard Posner, security and intelligence, terrorism
Sam Peltzman radio interview
17 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, business cycles, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, liberalism, macroeconomics, Sam Peltzman Tags: Sam Peltzman
Happy birthday to Robert Nozick
17 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in liberalism, Rawls and Nozick Tags: Robert Nozick
Net and average tax in NZ | Kiwiblog
17 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
Air Crash investigations is running out of air crashes to investigate
17 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in liberalism, technological progress, TV shows Tags: air crash investigations
My favourite programme on TV is Air Crash Investigations – drama, heroism, technology and a detective story all rolled into one. The show is in its 14th season now, so it is running out of decent crashes to investigate.
The planes are getting smaller; some even have propellers on them. The show is also investigating crashes in developing countries, where the causes of the crash are often too obvious before the show starts.
Surprisingly, some of the investigations about propeller driven aircraft were actually rather interesting.
One of these programs was set in 1955: a mid-air collision over the Grand Canyon, which turned out to be a rather interesting a crash investigation.
Back then, not only were there no black boxes, air traffic control consisted of the pilot radioing his airline who would then telephone the air traffic controller.
There are not that many planes in the air at that time, but enough to run into each other over the Grand Canyon. The causes of the crash were identified through brilliant detective work.
A surprisingly large number of crashes are caused by pilots forgetting to fly the plane. A malfunction warning distracts the entire crew in solving the problem, in part, because flying is so automated that they have nothing else to do. Hence the rise of crew resource management as a solution to this.
Very few air crashes actually have one cause. Usually, there can be two or three or even half a dozen factors. All had to be in play for there to be the disaster. This confluence of unusual factors can lead to a situation outside the experience of the pilots which can overwhelm them before they work out what is happening.
Many crashes are averted by the skill, initiative and improvisation of the pilots and their stout refusal to stop fighting to the last. More lives are saved by the calm ability of the cabin crew to evacuate the plane so quickly.
Thoughts on the special votes and the Greens
16 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in liberalism, politics - New Zealand Tags: 2014 New Zealand general election, green party, Leftover Left
A rather good analysis of the abysmal failure of the green party in the 2014 New Zealand election to increase its party vote despite the disastrous result of its main rival for left-wing votes.
Two-thirds of New Zealand gave their party vote to non-left-wing parties.
Tax Burdens: Some Facts (For a Change) | Pundit 2011
16 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in income redistribution, liberalism, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics Tags: tax burdens, tax incidence
What if We’re Looking at Inequality the Wrong Way? – NYTimes.com
16 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, entrepreneurship, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, Marxist economics, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, public economics, Rawls and Nozick, technological progress Tags: Piketty, poverty and inequality
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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