Gas Prices and Price Controls

by | Dec 7, 2005 | POLITICS, Price Controls

With all the recent hype and demagoguery about gasoline price-gouging, maybe it’s time to talk about the basics of exchange. First, what is exchange? Exchange occurs when an owner transfers property rights or title to that which is his. Here’s the essence...

Christmas Reading

by | Dec 6, 2005 | POLITICS

My annual list of books to recommend as Christmas presents is led by the clearest front-runner in years: “1776” by David McCullough. There was a time when the very mention of 1776 struck a responsive chord in Americans, as the year in which their...

Oil Company Profits and The Senator From Windfall

by | Dec 5, 2005 | POLITICS

Of all the politicians complaining about the profits and practices of America’s wicked oil companies, few can top Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). Among her latest ventures is a demand that the oil company executives who testified Nov. 9 be brought back to the...

The Unlearned Lesson of Enron–4 Years Later

by | Dec 4, 2005 | POLITICS

Four years ago this month, Enron Corporation–number 7 on the Fortune 500–filed for bankruptcy, culminating a collapse that shocked America. It is commonly believed that Enron fell because its leaders, eager to make money, schemed to bilk investors. The...