Russell Roberts's Blog, page 1564

Expert Predictions from 40 Years Ago

Prescient?  (HT Fred Dent)

Lining Up the Arguments

The obnoxious new Arizona statute that further restricts Arizonans' abilities to voluntarily associate, in their own homes and workplaces, with persons of their own choosing is much in the news.

This discussion reminds me of a debate that I had years ago in Manhattan with Michelle Malkin.  Michelle kept repeating that illegal immigrants "cut in line" and that only persons who "wait in line" deserve entry into the U.S.  (Even though I'm sure that I had the better argument – both economically...

Is the Libertarian Case Against Income Redistribution Flawed?

Robert Frank ranks, in my mind, as one of today's most interesting and thoughtful economists.  But sometimes he makes arguments that are so weak as to be baffling.  For example.

Robert Frank argues that the libertarian case against income redistribution "falls on its own terms."

He rests his argument on the fact that in private markets the most-productive workers in a firm generally accept wages that are somewhat below these workers' productivity levels, while the least-productive workers in...

The power of exchange and specialization

Watch the assembly of a Boeing 737 in 2.5 minutes. (HT: Harry Blanek) Beautiful:

Crisis and Leviathan

Here's a letter to the Washington Post:

Discussing the proposed financial "reform," Robert Samuelson uncharacteristically lets hysteria cloud his judgment ("Financial reform's big unknowns," April 26).  Why else would he grant the validity of Peter Wallison's concern that "close regulation of too-big-to-fail financial organizations will give them a privileged status and make them 'tools of the U.S. government'" and then immediately dismiss this concern by saying "Nevertheless, something seems...

The anti-market narrative of the crisis

Louis Uchitelle reviews 13 Bankers by Simon Johnson and James Kwak in the New York Times Book Review and nicely summarizes what has become a mainstream view of the crisis:

To put it bluntly, as this book does: the efficient-market hypothesis does not work. It never has. Markets are not self-­correcting. Left to their own devices, bankers at the biggest institutions can't seem to stop themselves from speculating with borrowed money until they inevitably crash the system.

Those poor impulsive...

First, Clean Your Room!

Here's another letter to the New York Times:

The group Green My Parents teaches children to prod adults into becoming more 'green' ("How to Green Your Parents," April 22).  Allison Arieff approves.  She croons that "GMP recognizes that young people are inherently attuned to their environment and understand the importance of protecting it."

Please.

Kids aren't inherently attuned to the environmental condition of even their own bedrooms, as a peek into a typical twelve-year-old's room will...

My Son Knows Better Than to Try Such Foolishness at Home

Here's a letter to the New York Times:

Applauding efforts to instruct children on how to scold their parents into becoming more 'green,' Allison Arieff reports that families can save both money and the environment "By washing in cold water, walking or biking to school/work and kicking the bottled-water habit….  GMP's [Green My Parents':] founders suggest that by taking simple steps like those, the average family could save over $1,000 each year" ("How to Green Your Parents," April 22).

Wow! ...

Yet More Deficient Thinking

Here's a letter to the Washington Post:

Worried about America's "longstanding manufacturing-dominated trade deficits," Alan Tonelson asserts that "To pay for their current consumption of manufactured goods responsibly, and start paying down still dangerously high debts, Americans and their leaders must start caring about U.S. manufacturing output – and start generating much more of it" (Letters, April 24).

Forget that American manufacturing output, just prior to today's downturn, reached an...

Our Freedoms Shouldn't be on a Smorgasbord for Our Leaders' Choosing

Here's a letter sent to the Washington Post:

Annoyed by today's turbocharged nanny state, Michael Gerson observes that "Democrats in particular seem to be afflicted with Mary Poppins Syndrome: They will not rest until Americans are practically perfect in every way" ("With health-care reform, it's nag, nag, nag," April 23).  He's right.

But by supporting the 'War on Drugs,' Mr. Gerson discards his ability to stand on principle against the state's nannying intrusions.  Even if Mr. Gerson is...