October
Up one levelThe AARP Paradox
What explains AARP’s support for Medicare cuts as a means to expand health insurance coverage to the non-elderly, a position that purportedly contributed to thousands of AARP membership cancellations?
Green Revolution in the Balance
A battle is developing over food security and research into bio-engineered crops is in the crosshairs.
Trade: The Unsung Hero
The GDP numbers show the vital role that trade has played in countering the nation’s economic ill health.
Beauty, Art, and Darwin
It is possible that we have a kind of built-in moral resistance to the runaway pathologies now visible in the arts. Where did that resistance come from?
Have We Misdiagnosed the Crisis?
What if the conventional wisdom is wrong? Some basic insights from modern macroeconomics suggest a very different interpretation of recent events.
Rhett Butler Comes to Washington
It would be wise for businesses to band together to defend free-market culture and make their money from our civilization’s rise.
The Peril of Anointing a Favored Financial Few
The Obama administration’s financial reform package hits the trifecta of bad policy making.
Greed Is Not Good, and It’s Not Capitalism
Capitalism doesn’t need greed. What capitalism does need is human creativity and initiative.
How Different Is Grandma’s Spending?
The inflation seniors experience is far more similar to that felt by other Americans than it is different.
A Peek Inside the Deficit
Yes, the recession led to a shortfall in tax revenue, but the deficit is mostly a product of enormous amounts of government spending.
Are Liberals Smarter Than Conservatives?
What if we could know, scientifically, that one side has the edge in brainpower? Should that change how we think about political issues?
The Baucus Plan’s Phony Deficit Reduction
The true effect of Senator Baucus’s healthcare bill will likely be large increases in the deficit, not an $81-billion reduction.
Hold the Champagne on China’s Economy
Those who witnessed Japan's spectacular rise and fall in the 1980s should get a familiar feeling watching China these days.
Coburn vs. the Political Scientists
It would be an enormous mistake to defund political science research.
The Copenhagen Climate Extortion
Going into the Copenhagen climate change summit, the delegates appear to be competing over who can offer the most ambitious and least realistic targets.
Bleeding Biotech
Given all the hopes for medical progress that ride on biotech progress, one might assume that Congress and the administration would seek ways to encourage investment. One would be wrong.
About That Stimulus: The Shovel Wasn’t Ready
Many 'shovel-ready' projects are still tied up in administrative red tape. It is clear that the stimulus bill has done little thus far to help get workers back to work.
Coase vs. the Neo-Progressives
Fifty years ago this month a seminal paper challenged the prevailing intellectual orthodoxy on markets, technology, and regulation. We would be wise to revisit it today.
When the Fed Was Boring
Sometimes people ask if I miss working for the Federal Reserve. Perhaps if it continues expanding its fiefdom.
The End of Giving Till It Hurts
Among Irving Kristol’s many accomplishments was the little-known role he played in transforming American philanthropy.
The Healthcare Co-op: Believe It, It’s Not Butter
If healthcare overhaul legislation including a public plan fails to pass, Democrats could fall back on a homespun idea from the heartland: healthcare cooperatives.
From Start-up to Stop: The Recession and Entrepreneurship
I’ve taken a look at the data, and, I’m sad to report, the Great Recession has badly damaged the entrepreneurial sector of the U.S. economy.
Hondurans, Not Zelaya, Will Decide Their Future
A new proposal by the interim government represents a triumph for the Honduran people and their constitution.
Policy on Hold at the Fed
At its upcoming meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee will likely see little reason to change its monetary policy stance since economic developments have stood very much in line with the Fed’s expectations.