Newsroom reports: The Government should closely scrutinise the visa application of Holocaust denier Candace Owens, the chair of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand has urged. Owens, an American far-right activist with a history of antisemitic, Islamophobic and homophobic comments, is visiting Auckland in November as part of a speaking tour which will also take […]
Let Candace speak
Let Candace speak
30 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: conspiracy theorists, The Holocaust
Zuckerberg’s Censorship Admission is More Contrived than Contrite
29 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in liberalism, politics - USA Tags: 2020 presidential election, 2024 presidential election, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Below is my column in Fox.com on the admission of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg that Facebook yielded to pressure of the Biden Administration to censor citizens. The admission, however, appears more contrived than contrite. Here is the column: “I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about…
Zuckerberg’s Censorship Admission is More Contrived than Contrite
The Cascade of Failures in the Biofuel Industry: A Case of Economic and Environmental Mismanagement
26 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, industrial organisation, politics - USA, survivor principle Tags: biofuels
…the biofuel experiment has left behind a trail of bankruptcies, environmental degradation, and unfulfilled promises.
The Cascade of Failures in the Biofuel Industry: A Case of Economic and Environmental Mismanagement
Price Controls Reflect Utter Economic Insanity
25 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, price controls, regressive left, rent control
TweetIn the print edition of tomorrow’s (Friday’s) Wall Street Journal, Richard McKenzie and I explain some of the many unintended ill-consequences of the price controls proposed by Kamala Harris. A slice: Price-control proponents often justify their position by claiming that grocery stores are monopolies. They point to a fantasy economic theory that purports to show how…
Price Controls Reflect Utter Economic Insanity
Rowling Reportedly Sued by Olympic Boxer Over Gender Criticism
24 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, economics of education, economics of media and culture, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, property rights Tags: Age of Enlightenment, British politics, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
We have previously discussed the cancel campaigns targeting JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. Rowling was not only the greatest selling author of all time but a wildly popular writer until she publicly opposed certain transgender policies as inimical to the advances in feminism. Now, she is the target of a lawsuit […]
Rowling Reportedly Sued by Olympic Boxer Over Gender Criticism
Meanwhile at the Democratic National Convention. . .
23 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, income redistribution, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice Tags: 2024 presidential election
I’m off to the Blyde River Canyon today and most of tomorrow, so posts will be nonexistent or thin for a few days—save for Matthew’s postings of the Hili Dialogues. I’ve largely avoided reading the news, as I find it depressing and not conducive to a relaxing vacation, but two readers sent me stuff about […]
Meanwhile at the Democratic National Convention. . .
Tangled Comparisons: Renewables Versus Fossil Fuels
23 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, politics - USA Tags: solar power, wind power
Wind or solar costs around five times more per megawatt hour compared to, for example, natural gas.
Tangled Comparisons: Renewables Versus Fossil Fuels
‘Third Rail’: Here’s Why Team Kamala Isn’t Peddling the Typical Dem Climate Panic This Election
23 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, climate alarmism, fracking
,,,they can’t afford to lose Pennsylvania. So, they don’t want to talk about climate, because when you talk about climate, then you have to talk about fracking, and then they’re going to have to talk about how she wants to stop fracking, regardless of what she says.”
‘Third Rail’: Here’s Why Team Kamala Isn’t Peddling the Typical Dem Climate Panic This Election
The Intellectual Roots of YIMBYism
23 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, politics - USA, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, zoning
At the Democratic National Convention former President Obama came out strongly in favor of housing deregulation saying “we need to build more homes and clear away some of the outdated laws and regulations that make it harder to build homes”. Robert Kwasny asks on X, “What are the intellectual roots of present-day YIMBYism?” Looking at […]
The Intellectual Roots of YIMBYism
Adam Smith Meets Jonathan Haidt (on political polarization and the animosity of hostile factions)
22 Aug 2024 1 Comment
in Adam Smith, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left. Age of Enlightenment
Jonathan Haidt wrote the book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion. It is about how polarized and nasty our politics have become, how everyone loves to demonize and ridicule anyone from a different political party. But these are things that Adam Smith talked about in his book The Theory…
Adam Smith Meets Jonathan Haidt (on political polarization and the animosity of hostile factions)
Google’s strategy of search engine user lock-in
22 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, politics - USA Tags: competition law
The Financial Times reported earlier this month (paywalled):A US federal judge has ruled that Google spent billions of dollars on exclusive deals to maintain an illegal monopoly on search, in a landmark win for the Department of Justice as it seeks to rein in Big Tech’s market power…The ruling follows a weeks-long trial in which…
Google’s strategy of search engine user lock-in
Why Top CEOs Earn Big Paychecks
22 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of education, entrepreneurship, human capital, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, managerial economics, market efficiency, occupational choice, organisational economics, personnel economics, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, survivor principle Tags: CEO pay, superstar wages
CEO compensation at large firms is high, especially in comparison to average worker wages, sparking debates over income inequality. Critics argue that such pay packages are unfair and disproportionate to actual company performance. Proponents contend that high pay reflects productivity and is necessary to attract scarce top talent to large firms. Let’s go to the […]
Why Top CEOs Earn Big Paychecks
“Keyboard Warrior”: British Crackdown Results in Three-Year Sentence Over Anti-Migrant Postings
21 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: British politics, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Three years ago, we discussed the conviction of a British man for “toxic ideologies,” under the draconian laws criminalizing inciteful or dangerous speech. The erosion of free speech appears to have only accelerated in the UK. As is often the case, the attacks on free speech increase during periods of unrest, anger or fear. With […]
“Keyboard Warrior”: British Crackdown Results in Three-Year Sentence Over Anti-Migrant Postings
When The Democrats Loved Trump
20 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, politics - USA, television, TV shows Tags: 2016 US presidential election, 2024 presidential election, regressive left
Joe Rogan has just dropped some amazing video of Donald Trump in 2011. Watch. That was in 2011. The crowd gives him a standing ovation. Barbara Walters, who used to host The View, greets Trump as “My friend”, and he engages in hugs and kisses with… Joy Behar and Whoopie Goldberg! He even says the […]
When The Democrats Loved Trump
Election Rule #1: Don’t Support Your Opponent
19 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, industrial organisation, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, inflation, monetary policy
Who is advising this woman? In what universe do they think she can say this and at the same time fool enough voters that she hasn’t been part of the Biden Administration that has had these price hikes happen on their watch, on her watch. Did they not think that Trump’s campaign would run with […]
Election Rule #1: Don’t Support Your Opponent
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