Russell Roberts's Blog, page 1526

And this Infatuation Isn't Even Sober and Mature!

Here's a letter to the Washington Post:

Enjoying an uproariously good time poking fun at the Tea Party, Richard Cohen helpfully explains that its adherents' insistence on strict interpretation of the Constitution is the result of a "fatuous infatuation" with that document – is the consequence of a yokel-like refusal to recognize that the Constitution is valuable "only because it has been wisely adapted to changing times.  To adhere to the very word of its every clause hardly is respectful to...

It's over! (A long time ago)

John Merline on the announcement that the recession ended June 2009:

President Barack Obama has often claimed that the $800-plus billion stimulus package helped prevent the recession from becoming another Great Depression.

The trouble is that we now know the recession ended just as the stimulus money started to get spent. According to the White House's own 100-day stimulus report, issued at the end of May 2009, only $45.6 billion in spending and tax relief had gone out the door by then. In...

Krugman and Taxes

University of Chicago law professor – and Truth on the Market blogger – Todd Henderson has gotten Paul Krugman agitated.  I agree will Todd, except for his claim (if I understand him correctly in context) that "The best taxes are ones that people don't notice": costs unfelt are costs inadequately accounted for.

Relatedly, here's a letter to the New York Times:

Paul Krugman alleges that rich opponents of tax hikes are gripped by "a belligerent sense of entitlement" ("The Angry Rich," Sept...

Recycling a Point About Recycling

Here's a letter to the Boston Globe:

Bravo for Jeff Jacoby's clear-eyed assessment of recycling ("Get excited about recycling? Not me," Sept. 19).  When materials are worth recycling, markets for their reuse naturally arise.  For materials with no natural markets for their reuse, the benefits of recycling are less than its costs – and, therefore, government efforts to promote such recycling waste resources.

Everyday experience should teach us this fact.  The benefits of recycling clothing, for...

A chronicle of Krugmania

Raghuram Rajan responds to criticism from Krugman and Wells (HT: MR). Much of his response will be familiar to Cafe Hayek readers but it is convenient to have all of Krugman's mistakes about the housing bubble assembled in one place.

As a Rule, Protectionism Masks Itself as Competition

Here's a letter to the Wall Street Journal:

Attempting to defend intrusion by antitrust bureaucrats into Google's business operations, Charles Rule writes that "Ironically, many of the most ardent defenders of Google are the same individuals – such as Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO who was an executive at Sun and later Novell – who devoted so much time, money and effort to pushing the frontiers of the law and government regulation against Microsoft a decade ago" ("'Trust Us' Isn't An Answer,"...

When It's Labor Unions Vs. Gaia, Unions Win

Here's a letter to the Boston Globe:

You complain that Beijing subsidizes the production of solar panels and wind turbines in China; you allege that such subsidies "run the risk of killing off worldwide competitors that – with a more level playing field – could come up with more technically advanced models" ("Obama should take on China's trade violations in clean energy," Sept. 16).

So can we expect from you soon an editorial expressing opposition to the billions of dollars now spent annually...

And now for something completely different

A break from stimulus.

Beautiful. (HT: Trivs)

Making Future Magic: iPad light painting from Dentsu London on Vimeo.

Free Trade

Here's a letter to the Boston Globe:

You demand that Uncle Sam slap punitive taxes on Americans who buy subsidized solar panels and wind turbines from China ("Obama should take on China's trade violations in clean energy," Sept. 16).  And you assert that such taxation of Americans is a matter of "sticking up for the principles of free trade."

Wrong.  The principles of free trade demand that no government punish its own citizens with trade restrictions.  Ever.  Even if another government, such...

Are Capitalists Insufficiently Greedy?

Here's a letter to the New York Times:

You support legislation to ease older-workers' ability to prove that they are victims of age discrimination ("Fairness for Older Workers," Sept. 14).

Can you offer one plausible reason why employers would sacrifice profits by firing, or otherwise harming, productive workers simply because these workers are over the age of 50?  Are employers really so soaked with irrational hostility to those of us with graying hair that they need the threat of lawsuits to...