The vast majority of Amazonian deforestation happens on land directly controlled by Brazilian states or the federal government.
MARKETS
TikTok, Trump and the Art of the Shakedown
The impending takedown of TikTok sets a dangerous precedent. It marks a serious diminution of the rule of law and a major step-up in the authoritarian use of power by our executive branch.
Kudos to Trader Joe’s
By rejecting unfounded accusations and standing by its products and their marketing, Trader Joe’s (and indirectly, its customers) displayed all of them—and therefore has earned the designation as a corporate hero.
Goldbugs for Trump? Paul Krugman’s Ad Hominem Defense of Central Banking
America’s disastrous history with central banking makes the case for why paper money and central banking are what should be challenged.
A Crucial Choice for Business: Conform to Social Pressure or Defend Freedom?
Business—and the rest of us—cannot afford to conform to social pressure but must find the courage to speak up and defend freedom.
Gold and Free Banking versus Central Banking
In the absence of government regulation and monopoly control, a free monetary and banking system would exist; it would not have to be created, designed, or supported. A market-based system would naturally emerge, take form, and develop out of the prior system of monetary central planning.
Help Wanted: Price Gougers and Profiteers
Anti-price gouging laws are not only unjust, but to the extent they cause shortages in emergencies they also deprive people of things they need badly and would be willing to pay more for.
Big Tech Giant “Monopoly” Power is Overhyped
The tales of MySpace, AOL and Yahoo’s fall from glory shows how spectacularly wrong tech analysts can be, and how complex the machinations of a market economy are.
How Government Lockdowns Shattered the Structure of Production
There is no “paradox” to increased savings and its underutilization for investment and employment purposes, when governments have barred the doors to the factory entrance and the shopkeeper’s counter.
The Creep of Authoritarianism
Why are the governments dictating when and how the economy can re-open?
Free Trade vs. The Folly of Protectionism
Protectionism fully implemented across all industries would mean a lower standard of living, because it would result in capital and labor unnecessarily being diverted into the production of goods that could more economically be produced elsewhere.
No Recovery Without Production
“Saving lives” is inseparable from saving livelihoods.
There Will Be No New Bitcoin Man
A disturbing trend among true believers is to quip that “Bitcoin fixes this,” almost regardless of what the problem may be.
COVID-19 Pandemic Wake-Up Call: Business Needs a Moral Defense
The COVID-19 pandemic may help by bringing a clearer understanding why business needs a moral defense from its leaders and that such defense must be based on the principle of individual rights.
A May Day Remembrance
The inescapable conclusion of the Mises-Hayek argument about socialist calculation is that an efficient socialist society cannot be designed.
United States Needs Freedom, Not Fascism
America does not need the command-and-control planning authorized under the Defense Production Act to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, it needs greater deregulation to free the entrepreneurial discovery process. In short, the United States needs more economic freedom, not fascism.
Supply-Side Panglossians are Not Objective
Capitalism (and economic analysis) requires reason, not faith, facts, not what feels good. The supply side is the right side, but the Pollyannas must cease their bias and at least try becoming more objective. They must defend the right policies, not merely those imposed by politicians they deem to be in the right because they are on the right.
Canada: No Shortages Thanks To No National Law Against “Price Gouging”
In contrast to Canada, which has no national restrictions against price gouging, 39 American states now have stringent laws or executive orders against raising prices during emergencies.
Benefits vs. Costs of the Government Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
We should focus on shielding the elderly and people with comorbidities while allowing the young and healthy to associate with one another in order to build up immunities
The Real Meaning of the “Stimulus”: A 2.2 Trillion-Dollar Capital Consumption Program
The proper name for “government stimulus” is: “capital destruction.” It’s the unreplaced using up of the factors of production.
The Economy Needs Not Keynes or Kudlow But a Ventilator
Today it’s no mystery why non-sober Keynesians like Paul Krugman might love the demand-side, anti-capitalist, Trump-Kudlow policy mix, or why Trump foes might eagerly insist that the economy remain closed, not to preserve the nation’s health but to dissipate its wealth (and the probability of Trump’s re-election). But why would Trump do this? It seems politically suicidal.
Bankrupting America
You can stretch a rubber band only so far, until it breaks. Our debt will wreck our children’s lives.
Unwealthy is Unhealthy, So Why Mandate It?
To the extent capitalism fosters the creation of wealth – a truth denied today only by the hopelessly biased – it also fosters the creation of health.
“Price Gouging” Restricts “Hoarding” and Eliminates Shortages
Higher prices charged have a couple of unappreciated benefits.
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