Text from National Public Radio, Morning Edition What do you think of when you hear the phrase “raid Social Security?” I see an elderly person, maybe a nice white-haired Grandma about to take a spoonful of soup on a cold winter night. Suddenly, someone grabs the sweet old thing’s wrist…
Read MoreFrom Ideas on Liberty At the heart of almost all economics is the idea of mutually beneficial exchange. When two people voluntarily engage in an activity, economists assume that both parties are better off. Otherwise, one of them would have refused the deal. It doesn’t mean people don’t make mistakes—sure…
Read MoreFrom Ideas on Liberty Roughly 180 years ago David Ricardo discovered comparative advantage. He showed that trade benefits both trading partners even when one is less productive than the other across all activities. There are gains from trade and specialization even in that case. Ricardo’s insight is in the news…
Read MoreNear where I live is a charming little stretch of shops called “the Loop” that caters to students and the university community. There are bars and restaurants and a gorgeous restored movie theater from the 1920s and a bike shop and a juice bar and a used book store and…
Read MoreIn this talk, Russell Roberts makes the case for remaking the way we talk about economics–moving the emphasis away from the sterile and toward the soulful. Using examples taken from the public policy trenches, Roberts talks about how economics can re-engage the importance of human possibility and the individual. Roberts,…
Read MoreFrom Ideas on Liberty One of Frédéric Bastiat’s great insights into understanding economics was to distinguish what is seen from what is not seen. Searching out the unseen is in many ways the essence of economics. A soda bottling plant may seem like a strange place to do economics, but…
Read MoreIt is said that there are two things you should not watch being made: sausage and law. Once upon a time there was a great sausage maker from Arizona. He made sausage from the innards and entrails and unmentionables of the pig and of the cow. His sausage was delightful.…
Read MoreYou might have noticed that Mexican trucks have been in the news lately. Who wins and who loses when Mexican trucks are allowed to carry cargo into the United States? The New York Times reports that a NAFTA dispute resolution panel has ruled that NAFTA requires the U.S. to let…
Read MoreFrom Ideas on Liberty One of the highlights of the 2000 presidential campaign was Winifred Skinner. You may remember her—she was the can-collecting 79-year-old woman who used the money from her foraging for tin and aluminum to finance her prescription drugs. She was interviewed on Good Morning America about her…
Read MoreWhen I travel, I often find myself on an airplane chatting with a stranger and mentioning that I’m an economist. “That must be awfully handy around tax time,” my seatmate will often reply. Or “I bet you’re good at balancing your checkbook.” Truth is, I hate balancing my checkbook and…
Read MoreText from National Public Radio, Morning Edition When I teach economics and talk about how difficult it is for advertisers to sway consumers, someone always brings up subliminal advertising. The student then tells me about the classic experiment when a movie theater repeatedly flashed the words “Eat Popcorn, Drink Coke”…
Read MoreWhen you think of the greatest inventions of all time, you think of the wheel, movable type, electricity. When you think of the greatest inventions and products of the 20th century, you think of plastic, the transistor, the mass-produced car, the passenger plane, the radio, the television and the computer.…
Read MoreText from National Public Radio, Morning Edition The rush toward campaign finance reform continues to pick up momentum. People want to purge money from politics. That’s a little like asking to take the grinder out of the sausage factory. The whole thing is about money. The Federal government will spend…
Read MoreText from Morning Edition The record-shattering performance of Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open has galvanized the Justice Department to examine his dominance of the game of golf. According to lawyers involved in the case, Tiger Woods incredible success on the tour and his enormous earnings have reduced the amount…
Read MoreFrom Ideas on Liberty What we expect from our politicians goes a long way toward determining what kind of politicians we can expect to find in office. Just as suppliers compete by trying to please their customers, politicians compete by trying to please voters. Just as the features of cars…
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