That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column. Here is one summary excerpt: One result: Total tangible corporate investment went up by about 11%. That has been a welcome shot in the arm for an economy that was by some measures suffering from an investment drought. The strong state of the Biden economy may, in…
Current state of knowledge on the Trump tax cuts
Current state of knowledge on the Trump tax cuts
25 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economic history, fiscal policy, macroeconomics, politics - USA, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment
“Let’s Hope Today’s Events Inspire Others”: Rutgers Professor Under Fire for Posting on Trump Assassination Attempt
24 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of education, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, crime and punishment, free speech, law and order, political correctness, regressive left
We have been following the controversies surrounding professors commenting on the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Some of those responses have ranged from celebrations to spreading bizarre conspiracy theories. The latest controversy concerns Rutgers University Writing Program Assistant Teaching Professor Tracy Budd, who posted a Facebook message saying ”Let’s hope today’s events inspire […]
“Let’s Hope Today’s Events Inspire Others”: Rutgers Professor Under Fire for Posting on Trump Assassination Attempt
Climate Criminals
24 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: climate activists, climate alarmism
By Paul Homewood . A new organisation called Climate Criminals is calling on the International Criminal Court to bring charges against a large number of businessmen and others from what they call the polluter industrial complex, who they deem to be guilty of various crimes against the climate. They are clearly a bunch of loons, […]
Climate Criminals
Dawkins talks to Kathleen Stock
24 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, health economics, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, gender gap, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Here we have a 55-minute (remote) conversation between Richard Dawkins and Kathleen Stock conducted during the “Dissident Dialogues” conference in NYC last May. Here’s a précis of Stock’s background from Wikipedia: Kathleen Mary Linn Stock OBE is a British philosopher and writer. She was a professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex until 2021. She has published academic […]
Dawkins talks to Kathleen Stock
Supreme Folly: The Lingering and Ironic Legacy of President Biden on Court “Limits”
22 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, constitutional law
Below is my Hill column on President Joe Biden shifting his position on the Supreme Court and agreeing to “limits” on the Supreme Court. This ran before President Biden finally consented to withdraw from the race. It makes this last ditch effort even more tragic for his legacy. As I mentioned in the column, the […]
Supreme Folly: The Lingering and Ironic Legacy of President Biden on Court “Limits”
Hollywood evidence on McCarthyism
21 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of media and culture, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, movies, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left
There is a new NBER working paper on this topic by Hui Ren Tan and Tianyi Wang, here is the abstract: We study a far-reaching episode of demagoguery in American history. From the late 1940s to 1950s, anti-communist hysteria led by Senator Joseph McCarthy and others gripped the nation. Hundreds of professionals in Hollywood were […]
Hollywood evidence on McCarthyism
Another Fake Climate Case Bites the Dust
20 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: climate activists, climate alarmism
The decisive ruling against climate lawfare is reported at Washington Free Beacon Dem-Appointed Judge Tosses Major Climate Case Against Oil and Gas Producers in Blow to Environmental Activists. Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images. Baltimore judge deals blow to left-wing effort to punish oil companies for global warming A Baltimore judge tossed […]
Another Fake Climate Case Bites the Dust
France Bans Muslim Hijabs from the Olympics
18 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, France, free speech, Freedom of religion, political correctness, regressive left
France’s Sports Minister, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, has announced that French Muslim athletes will be barred from wearing hijabs at the Olympics. The decision is a gross violation of the religious freedom of Muslim athletes and should be condemned throughout the world.
France Bans Muslim Hijabs from the Olympics
Dodging Bullets.
18 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Fight! Fight! Fight! Had the assassin’s bullet found its mark and killed Donald Trump, America’s descent into widespread and murderous violence – possibly spiralling-down into civil war – would have been immediate and quite possibly irreparable. The American Republic, upon whose survival liberty and democracy continue to depend, is certainly not out of danger, not yet.…
Dodging Bullets.
Ignore the polls, prediction markets have Trump at 66% chance of winning the election
16 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in econometerics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
CNN Interview of Rutgers Statistics professor, Harry Crane. Below are graphs of the prices of a Trump, Biden, and Harris futures contracts that pays out $1 if they become President. In the last day, the Trump contract has increased by 6¢, indicating a 6% increase in President Trump’s election chances. The blue bars indicate the…
Ignore the polls, prediction markets have Trump at 66% chance of winning the election
BBB in the NYT
15 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
I pitch Build, Baby, Build in today’s New York Times. No illustrations, but a bunch of cool graphs cooked up by Sara Chodosh of the NYT data analytics team. The original title was “The Panacea Policy,” but now it’s “Yes in My Backyard: The Case For Housing Deregulation.” And for you, dear readers, it’s ungated!…
BBB in the NYT
The Attempted Assassination of Trump is Not Nearly as Surprising as it Should Be
15 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Below is my column on the assassination attempt of former president Donald Trump. We all watched as the horrific scene unfolded on television. It was a traumatic moment for the entire country, but it was hardly surprising given this age of rage. We are still learning about the suspected shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was […]
The Attempted Assassination of Trump is Not Nearly as Surprising as it Should Be
Biden’s Desperate Vote-Buying Proposal for Nationwide Rent Control
15 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, economics of regulation, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: rent control
I’m not a political pundit, but I’m guessing that yesterday’s despicable assassination attempt on Donald Trump increases the likelihood that he reclaims the White House. That’s probably not good news for trade policy (though Biden has been just as bad), but it will be very good news for housing policy. Not because of what Trump […]
Biden’s Desperate Vote-Buying Proposal for Nationwide Rent Control
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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