Granny and the Anti-Capitalist Cliff

by | Aug 25, 2012 | POLITICS

U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, caricatured in political ads last year and again this month as pushing Granny off the cliff of Medicare, is now the running mate of the maker of RomneyCare, who is running against the maker of ObamaCare. With the consequent renewed debate over...

The Fallacy of the Broken Window

by | Aug 24, 2012 | Economics

First published in 1946, Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt remains one of best books on economics ever published. The lesson, to paraphrase Hazlitt, is that economists must look beyond the immediate and visible consequences of economic policies; they must look...

Occupational Licensing Destroys Jobs

by | Aug 23, 2012 | POLITICS

Let us say that you are one of the millions of unemployed Americans. Unable to find a job, you decide to start your own business. Perhaps you’ve always done your own home repairs and decide to offer a handyman service. You start installing ceiling fans, replacing...

The Economist On Money and the State

by | Aug 22, 2012 | Money & Banking

I couldn’t help being glad to see The Economist refer to Carl Menger’s theory of the origins of money just as I was about to explain that theory to my undergraduate classes. Nor did I at all mind having Menger’s ideas contrasted with those of another...

Paul Ryan and Ayn Rand

by | Aug 21, 2012 | CULTURE

Vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan has reportedly had favorable things to say about Ayn Rand, author of “Atlas Shrugged” and the philosophy of Objectivism, which stresses the absolutism of reason, reality and individual rights (including laissez-faire capitalism)....

Obama’s Pro-Islamic Rewriting of American History

by | Aug 16, 2012 | Religion

Barack Obama said the following at a recent White House dinner: Of all the freedoms we cherish as Americans, of all the rights that we hold sacred, foremost among them is freedom of religion, the right to worship as we choose.  It’s enshrined in the First Amendment of...

Your Life is Your Responsibility

by | Aug 5, 2012 | Psychology & Living

If you were alone on a desert island you would not be able to escape the fact that you must work to sustain your life. Alone on the island you could spend your days in any activity of your choosing—hunting, fishing, building a home, swimming, or napping. But you would...