The Trump administration took a major whack at the climate-industrial complex this week. It’s a fantastic move. But another event this week spotlights the need to do more.
STEVE MILLOY: Trump Dismantles Climate-Industrial Complex
STEVE MILLOY: Trump Dismantles Climate-Industrial Complex
23 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of climate change, economics of education, economics of natural disasters, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: climate alarmism
John Oliver goes after Bari Weiss and CBS News
22 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in industrial organisation, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, television, TV shows Tags: media bias
A reader sent me a video-containing email with the header “John Oliver destroys Bari Weiss”, with the message below saying, “Somebody had to do it.” Well, yes, somebody should criticize the Free Press, which is becoming, in my view, more political (right-centrist) and less full of news. And even news stories aren’t really written by…
John Oliver goes after Bari Weiss and CBS News
Is very clear Tamihere is the true leader of Te Pāti Māori
22 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
The Post reports: Indeed, she says in her sworn affidavit that Tamihere had been chairing the weekly caucus meetings of MPs in Parliament since September. And it was he who sent Kapa-Kingi an ‘ultimatum’ on her overspending that sent the simmering issue into overdrive. To have the party president chair caucus instead of the leader…
Is very clear Tamihere is the true leader of Te Pāti Māori
Rent Control Creates Ghost Apartments
22 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economic history, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, urban economics Tags: rent control
Adam Lehodey writing at City Journal: In New York City, making a profit on real estate has become increasingly difficult. Rent-stabilization laws built on the mantra that “housing is a human right,” a dysfunctional housing court, and myriad other interventions have driven thousands of units off the market, giving rise to the phenomenon of New York’s “ghost…
Rent Control Creates Ghost Apartments
My first AI op-ed summary
21 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, economics of education, economics of information, entrepreneurship, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, politics - New Zealand Tags: gender wage gap
Stop Slaying the Strawman Case Against Tariffs
19 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, international economics, politics - USA Tags: free trade, tariffs
TweetHere’s a letter to a new correspondent. Mr. W__: Because I read the Wall Street Journal avidly, I was familiar, before you sent it, with its report titled “Why Everyone Got Trump’s Tariffs Wrong.” Nevertheless, thanks for your email in which you suggest that this report should prompt me to humbly reassess what you call…
Stop Slaying the Strawman Case Against Tariffs
Crampton on theft from greyhounds
18 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, sports economics Tags: animal rights, Animal welfare, racing, takings
Eric Crampton writes: Legislation before Parliament bans greyhound racing over animal welfare considerations. Buying out the industry, shutting it down, and rehoming the dogs would seem right if you thought animal welfare warranted it. The legislation instead proposes shuttering Greyhound Racing New Zealand and an assortment of private racing clubs. Their net assets will be handed…
Crampton on theft from greyhounds
DON BRASH – RMA Reform: A step forward. But concerns for equal citizenship
18 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, regulation, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, racial discrimination, zoning
The following is written in Don’s capacity as trustee for Hobson’s Pledge: It is almost the end of 2025 and, as you may know, the Government has recently introduced to Parliament the two Bills it seeks to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA) with. The Bills were pushed through first reading under urgency and have…
DON BRASH – RMA Reform: A step forward. But concerns for equal citizenship
JOHN RAINE: DRIVE CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY WITH EVIDENCE NOT ALARMISM
14 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in economic history, economics of climate change, economics of education, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: climate alarmism
The Challenge of Opening Closed Minds The media and many politicians worldwide continue to push a narrative of impending climate catastrophe. Whether or not you are a climate change pessimist, we live on a gradually warming planet and will need to adapt to this. As global temperature rise continues, alarmists will continue to ascribe much…
JOHN RAINE: DRIVE CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY WITH EVIDENCE NOT ALARMISM
Time to Stop Pretending Renewables Are Cheap
14 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: celebrity technologies, solar power, wind power
Policymakers would do well to heed energy experts like Schernikau and Stein. Chasing luxury beliefs do not cost well-heeled climate bureaucrats and renewables ideologues much, but the burdens of irrational energy policies will be borne by the world’s poorest. The real path forward lies in pragmatic, technology-neutral approaches that prioritise energy abundance over austerity.
Time to Stop Pretending Renewables Are Cheap
The Minister for Abundance
13 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, politics - New Zealand
Joel McManus at The Spinoff writes: Bishop sided with former Wellington mayor Tory Whanau’s call to allow more housing in the capital, even though every conservative councillor was opposed. He made Christchurch zone for high-density housing, which centre-right mayor Phil Mauger called a “kick in the guts”. In Auckland he could barely disguise his glee…
The Minister for Abundance
New Zealand’s Planning Revolution: bye bye RMA
13 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
Inside the reform that will change how New Zealand is built Ani O’Brien writes – If you’ve ever tried to build a deck, subdivide a section, or watched a major infrastructure project slowly suffocate in a decade of “consenting hell,” you already know the RMA is New Zealand’s great productivity killer. For over 30 years, […]
New Zealand’s Planning Revolution: bye bye RMA
Humanity Has a Huge Surplus of Economic Misunderstanding
13 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: free trade, tarrifs
TweetHere’s a letter to AP Fact Check. Editor: Melissa Goldin does a deep dive into the cause(s) of the U.S. “agricultural trade deficit” (“FACT FOCUS: Trump blames Biden for the agricultural trade deficit. It’s not that simple,” December 10). To what extent is this “deficit” caused by the policies of Biden? To what extent is…
Humanity Has a Huge Surplus of Economic Misunderstanding
The Legacy of Manifest Destiny: America’s Ambitious—and Controversial—Dream
13 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, politics - USA
On December 2, 1845, U.S. President James K. Polk addressed Congress, advocating for the aggressive westward expansion of the United States—a philosophy widely known as “Manifest Destiny.” I first encountered the term in the 1970s when I heard it mentioned in Redbone’s song Wounded Knee. For years, however, I misheard the lyrics, thinking they sang […]
The Legacy of Manifest Destiny: America’s Ambitious—and Controversial—Dream
Greyhound racing law change is legal overreach
12 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, sports economics Tags: constitutional law, takings
Oliver Hartwich writes – Let me state this clearly at the outset: I have never placed a bet on a greyhound. I have never owned a greyhound. If I were a dog, I would likely prefer a soft sofa to a hard track. I am not writing this because I have a passion for racing, […]
Greyhound racing law change is legal overreach
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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