Yearly Archives: 2010

Archive of posts published in the specified Year

Rapping Economists

Nov. 06, 2010

a very clever way to explain modern economics-  the second video is a follow up and an explanation of how the video developed.

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Decertifying the State Employee Unions

Nov. 06, 2010

Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana, is one of the rising stars of the reinvigorated Republican party. He is fiscally conservative, and has taken innovative action to put his state in the black. Like Chris Christie of New Jersey Mitch is

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Civil Dissent

Nov. 05, 2010

From “The Report of our Death was Greatly Exaggerated” The Conservative Resurgence by Wilfred M. McClay in the November 2010 Commentary Magazine (hard copy): There is a great deal of genteel moaning in the air about civility, or the lack

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Novemer 3rd Observations

Nov. 04, 2010

Not too many surprises that were not predictable. I was surprised that Reid won even though I thought Angle was weak. Intrade missed that one. Angle and O’Donnell may have overcome inexperience and qualifications in the primary, but that did

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Where Bad Ideas Go

Nov. 03, 2010

Writing in Townhall.com, Herb London, When Satirists Dominate the Culture. Excerpt: Oscar Wilde once argued that “when bad ideas have nowhere to go they gravitate to American universities and become courses.” Surely there is truth in this claim, but only

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Does Government Stifle the American Spirit?

Nov. 02, 2010

So I am lucky to catch a debate on Bloomberg on the topic “Does government stifle the American Spirit?” On the side taking the affirmative (that government does in fact stifle the American Spirit) is my favorite economist, Arthur Laffer,

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An Ancient Jewish Tradition

Nov. 02, 2010

This clip of Milton Friedman is a great insight into the ancient tradition of surviving is spite of governmental authority vs those who seek protection from that authority. tips to Bob Cain

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Hatred’s Political Utility

Nov. 02, 2010

Ruth Wisse writes in the November 2010  Commentary (hard copy) The Anti-Semite’s Pointed Finger about the incredible historic persistence of anti-Semitism. She poses and then answers the question of why anti-Semitism remains when other hatreds and failed political philosophies have

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Fighting the Wrong Recession

Nov. 01, 2010

Michael Barone writes in Townhall.com Obama’s Economists Missed What Voters Plainly Saw. Barone makes an astute observation that there is a difference between the business cycle recessions more commonly seen in the past and a recession caused by a financial

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Time To Sell

Nov. 01, 2010

from Townhall.com Why Obama Does Not Get it by Bruce Bialosky Excerpt: Mr. Obama may be a smart man, but he cannot become a business brain through osmosis. It takes experience and a certain aptitude, neither of which he appears

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November 1 Observations

Nov. 01, 2010

Some random observations about this election. If one wants to really know what is motivating the Tea Party movement it would be the single word “arrogance”. John Kerry declares “we’ve lost our minds…truth and science and facts don’t weigh in..” 

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New Political Faces

Oct. 31, 2010

Peggy Noonan claimed, correctly in my opinion, that the Tea Party saved the Republican party (Why It’s Time for the Tea Party -The populist movement is more a critique of the GOP than a wing of it, Wall Street Journal

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In Search of Political Relevance

Oct. 29, 2010

I do not pretend to speak for the other voters.  I was fortunate to be traveling during much of October so I missed most of the trash and noise masquerading as campaign information.  I truly do not care about college

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A Familiar Pattern

Oct. 29, 2010

From the Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal, OCTOBER 28, 2010 There They Went Again The 111th Congress fits a familiar Democratic pattern. In the midst of the final moments of another contentious election The Wall Street Journal points out a

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Collective Manipulation

Oct. 26, 2010

In the October 2010 Commentary Magazine Jeff Jacoby writes What Public Sector Unions have wrought (subscription required for full access). An excerpt: Organized labor in the United States achieved a milestone in 2009 that once would have been unthinkable: for

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Government Unions

Oct. 26, 2010

from the Wall Street Journal online Notable & Quotable Former George W. Bush adviser Mark McKinnon on union funding for political campaigns. Former George W. Bush campaign adviser Mark McKinnon, writing at The Daily Beast, Oct. 24: A record $87.5

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A Long History of Self Delusion

Oct. 26, 2010

The lesson of history, then, is that even as institutions and policy makers improve, there will always be a temptation to stretch the limits. Just as an individual can go bankrupt no matter how rich she starts out, a financial

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The Proper Role of the Central Bank in a Crisis

Oct. 25, 2010

This “lender of last resort” role for central banks was codified by British journalist and economist Walter Bagehot in his 1873 book, Lombard Street. In a panic, Bagehot advised, a central bank should lend freely on good collateral and charge

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To Live and Think as Gardeners

Oct. 24, 2010

Friedrich August von Hayek received one of the first Nobel Prizes in economics in 1974.  His acceptance speech “ The Pretence of Knowledge” addressed the limits of economics and applying science to complex social problems. “Economists are a this moment

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Dangerous Dogs Acts

Oct. 24, 2010

In the Wall Street Journal Online Matt Ridley writes Studying the Biases of Bureaucrats.  He poses the question that while we seek to explain the seemingly irrational economic behavior and crowd mentality in market environments, why don’t we question the

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