What is Economics?

To know what economics is, we must first know what an economy is. Perhaps most of us think of an economy as a system for the production and distribution of the goods and services we use in everyday life. That is true as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough....

What About the War Against Chutzpah?

As we undertake the War against Terrorism, President Bush should simultaneously announce a “War against Chutzpah.” New York Rep. Nita Lowey, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairwoman, stands near the top of the Most Wanted List in our new...

Enron and Social Security Reform

Everyone with an axe to grind is using the example of Enron to grind free markets. And Paul Krugman is doing no less in a December 4, 2001, New York Times op-ed, “A Defining Issue.” Krugman is using Enron to demonstrate the terrible dangers of...

Reducing Expenses in a Down Economy

Most of the people I know are looking for ways to reduce expenses, either because they have lost most of their net worth, lost Wheir job, or feel they are about to lose their job. Not a very happy way to begin this column on personal finance,?but those are the cold...

Grave Matters for America’s Vets

Arlington National Cemetery, Va. — On a cold gray day, the fierce colors of the American flag cloaked Johnny “Mike” Spann’s coffin and warmed the air with patriotic incandescence. Nearby, the clip-clop of a riderless horse’s hooves and...

Investing Lessons from the Collapse of Enron

Leafing through a recent edition of the Value Line Investor Survey, an excellent research service with a track record for prudence and accuracy, I ran across what looked like the perfect company. Its profits were rising strongly and consistently. It had a solid...

Stop Throwing Money at CDC

Dr. David Satcher, the nation’s lame duck surgeon general, wants taxpayers to cough up more money for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This irrelevant bureaucrat’s last-ditch money grab is one of the more distasteful examples of exploiting...

Will eBay Survive?

With the death of Napster, eBay is the closest thing we have today to a broadband killer internet application. Since its inception, eBay has grown rapidly to its position of domination in the on-line auction market. It has been so successful that it’s stock has...