Below is my column in The Hill on the release of the tapes from former President Joe Biden’s interview with…
The Confession of Joe Biden
The Confession of Joe Biden
05 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA
The Cost of War
04 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, energy economics, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Iran
The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006 to 2008 (2009)
03 Aug 2026 1 Comment
in defence economics, laws of war, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Iraq
“All armies get it wrong at the beginning; the question is who adapts fastest.” (British military historian Michael Howard quoted by Elliot Cohen, page 100) ‘All Americans make promises but nothing ever happens.’ Iraqi housewife complaining why there was still sewage in the street outside her house 5 years after the Americans invaded and promised […]
The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006 to 2008 (2009)
Bill Maher’s latest bit: Communism, the DSA, and the Democrats
02 Aug 2026 1 Comment
in politics - USA, television, TV shows
Bill Maher’s back after his summer vacation, and his latest “new rule” bit starts in with some hard criticism of the “far far Left”—the progressives—for being close to Communists, and the Democratic Socialists of America for using Communist jargon. I’ve talked before about the DSA’s platform, which includes abolishing the Senate and ditching the President…
Bill Maher’s latest bit: Communism, the DSA, and the Democrats
The Sound of Silence: Fauci Takes the Fifth and the Heat Over his Diary Disclosures
31 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of regulation, health economics, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of pandemics
Below is my column on Fox.com on yesterday’s “testimony” from Dr. Anthony Fauci. Americans deserve answers to the questions raised…
The Sound of Silence: Fauci Takes the Fifth and the Heat Over his Diary Disclosures
The Endangered Species Act Reduces Housing
31 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economics of regulation, environmental economics, environmentalism, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, urban economics
Max Tabarrok’s paper on the Endangered Species Act and housing (WP) has just been published in the Journal of Public Economics! It’s a clever paper: Max observed that the moment an animal is put on the endangered species list, developers face enhanced compliance costs and liability risk. But what’s important for an empirical economist is…
The Endangered Species Act Reduces Housing
The Predictable Folly of Government Grocery Stores
30 Jul 2026 1 Comment
in income redistribution, industrial organisation, politics - USA, Public Choice, survivor principle
I don’t like government running post offices, retirement systems, or air traffic control, so you won’t be surprised to learn that today’s column explains why it’s a dumb idea to have government grocery stores. We’ll start with this video from the Foundation for Economic Education. My knee-jerk instinct on this issue is to go to […]
The Predictable Folly of Government Grocery Stores
Criminal “Villification”: Australia Court Upholds Conviction, Massive Fine, and Compelled Speech in Transgender Case
29 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of regulation, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
We have followed the evisceration of free speech values in the United Kingdom and other Western nations. Australia has been…
Criminal “Villification”: Australia Court Upholds Conviction, Massive Fine, and Compelled Speech in Transgender Case
Trump is Right to Take On the Climate Litigation Complex
29 Jul 2026 1 Comment
in applied welfare economics, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of climate change, economics of education, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: climate alarmism
Whatever one makes of President Trump’s chosen words, the underlying demand – that a body claiming the authority of disinterested science should actually be disinterested – is one any serious defender of scientific integrity ought to be able to endorse. Surely the most litigated-against President in US history is right in ensuring that judges overseeing…
Trump is Right to Take On the Climate Litigation Complex
Entryism: The Subversion of Political Parties from Within
28 Jul 2026 1 Comment
in politics - Australia, politics - USA Tags: British politics
Entryism is objectionable not because it advances left-wing or right-wing ideas, but because it seeks political power under a partially false identity. Instead of openly forming a party, presenting a programme and asking voters to support it, entryists join a larger established party and attempt to redirect or capture it from within. Political parties must, […]
Entryism: The Subversion of Political Parties from Within
The DSA and the Myth of Scandinavian Socialism
27 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Norway, Sweden
This week, Darializa Avila Chevalier was asked if there has ever been a “successful model of socialism anywhere in the…
The DSA and the Myth of Scandinavian Socialism
Goldman’s Demand for “One Case” of Immigration Obstruction Fails Spectacularly When DHS Offers 7,000 in New York Alone
27 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration
An over-30-point primary loss would ordinarily produce a degree of introspection and self-reflection in a politician. Indeed, even such a…
Goldman’s Demand for “One Case” of Immigration Obstruction Fails Spectacularly When DHS Offers 7,000 in New York Alone
Occupational Licensing: US and International
25 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of information, economics of regulation, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, occupational regulation, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking
The potential benefit of having the government require that certain jobs require an official license is quality control and protection. Personally, I rather like knowing that my nurse or doctor or dentist has gone through courses and training. The potential cost is that requirement to have a government license can become a way for those…
Occupational Licensing: US and International
The Rise of the Champagne Socialists: Democratic Leaders Join Socialists in Criticizing Capitalism
23 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in Marxist economics, politics - USA
Below is my column on Fox.com about the growing condemnation of capitalism in the Democratic Party as establishment figures such…
The Rise of the Champagne Socialists: Democratic Leaders Join Socialists in Criticizing Capitalism
Oren Cass Again Swings and Misses in His Attempt to Discredit Economists
21 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in human capital, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration
TweetHere’s a letter to the Financial Times. Editor: Oren Cass’s attempt to discredit economists’ support for a policy of liberal immigration is flawed (“Mass immigration is not the silver bullet economists think it is,” July 10). For example, consider this question that he poses rhetorically: “If employers believe they will always have access to a…
Oren Cass Again Swings and Misses in His Attempt to Discredit Economists
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