The status quo in American health care is indefensible–an expensive regulatory and bureaucratic mess. What that calls for, however, is not more layers of regulation and complicated mandates. Nor should government take over health care completely and run it as part of a political spoils system. State government proposals have proven too expensive in California […]
Archive | April, 2008
Before and After Hurricane Katrina: How Government Makes Disasters More Disastrous
In a speech from New Orleans last week, Republican presidential candidate John McCain lashed out at the Bush administration for its response to Hurricane Katrina. McCain’s remarks, which appeared calculated to make disaster relief a key campaign issue, revived harsh memories of the savage storm that inundated the Mississippi Delta in late August 2005, leaving […]
John Hancock and Cigarette Smuggling
While it’s politically popular to impose confiscatory taxes on America’s 40 million tobacco smokers, there are a number of consequences one might consider, but let’s start out with a quiz. If a carton of cigarettes sells for $160 in New York City, and $35 in North Carolina, what do you predict will happen? If you […]
Obama: An Old Newness
Many years ago, a great hitter named Paul Waner was nearing the end of his long career. He entered a ballgame with 2,999 hits — one hit away from the landmark total of 3,000, which so many hitters want to reach, but which relatively few actually do reach. Waner hit a ball that the fielder […]
Politics and Black Americans
Dr. Thomas Sowell’s recent column, “Republicans and Blacks,” (April 10, 2008) pointed out the foolhardiness of Republican strategy to secure more black votes. He pointed out that it is a losing strategy to reach blacks through the civil rights organizations and black politicians. It’s like a quarterback trying to throw a pass to a receiver […]
The Economics of College, Part III
Why does college cost so much? There are two basic reasons. The first is that people will pay what the colleges charge. The second is that there is little incentive for colleges to reduce the tuition they charge. Those who want the government to provide subsidies to help meet the high cost of college seem […]
The Economics of College, Part II
Those who argue that the taxpayers should be forced to subsidize people who go to colleges and universities seldom bother to think beyond the notion that education is a Good Thing. Some education is not only a good thing but a great thing. But, like most good things, there are limits to how much of […]
The Economics of College, Part I
A front-page headline in the New York Times captures much of the economic confusion of our time: “Fewer Options Open to Pay for Costs of College.” The whole article is about the increased costs of college, the difficulties parents have in paying those costs, and the difficulties that both students and parents have in trying […]
Climate Change 101: Key Global Warming Facts
The Earth’s warming since 1850 totals about 0.7 degrees C. Most of this occurred before 1940. The cause: a long, moderate 1,500-year climate cycle first discovered in the Greenland ice cores in 1983. The cycle abruptly raises our temperature 1 to 3 degrees C above the mean for centuries at a time–as it did during […]
On April 22, Celebrate Exploit-the-Earth Day
Because Earth Day is intended to further the cause of environmentalism–and because environmentalism is an anti-human ideology–on April 22, those who care about human life should not celebrate Earth Day; they should celebrate Exploit-the-Earth Day. As I wrote for The Objective Standard‘s “Exploit the Earth or Die” campaign: Either man takes the Earth’s raw materials–such […]
Global Smearing Courtesy of ABC “News”
By any standard, atmospheric physicist Dr. S. Fred Singer is a remarkably accomplished scientist. But his outspoken questioning of global warming alarmism has just earned him one of the most outrageous mainstream media smear pieces I’ve ever seen. ABC News reporter Dan Harris interviewed Dr. Singer for more than an hour at the recent International […]
Should Heidi Moore Read Ayn Rand?
On the website of the Wall Street Journal, under the heading “Capitalism Shrugged: Should Ayn Rand Be Required Reading?“–and after stating a few uncontroversial facts, several inaccuracies, and some inconsequential fluff–Heidi Moore gets to her point: Rand has a bit of a reputation problem among those who have not drunk the Kool-Aid. . . . […]
