Monthly Archives: November 2006
Regulation Shmregulation
How would you react if NSU’s administration passed a regulation that forbids people who were less than 6 feet tall from teaching Economics 211? Let’s see, there are two people who teach Economics 211 – one of them, Dr. Coats, is a just pinch under 6 feet, so it would appear that this regulation would [...]
Waiting to Exhale
The Sierra Club has brought suit against the EPA, claiming that it isn’t properly enforcing the Clean Air Act. The reason: the EPA has not come up with standards for CO2 emissions for automobiles. Why regulate CO2? Well, in Bill Cosby’s routine about Noah asking God why he should build an [...]
Sad Day for Liberty
My brother just sent me this news story from Reuters: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2006-11-16T185745Z_01_WBT006219_RTRUKOC_0_US-FRIEDMAN.xml&src=rss&rpc=23 The story is about the death of Milton Friedman at the age of 94. Professor Friedman was probably one of the 20th century’s most important social thinkers. His theories, and those of his followers, helped convince policy makers about the importance of bringing down [...]
The Pilgrims’ Progress (and the Peasants’)
Most Americans know the story of the first Thanksgiving and think about the Pilgrims and Indians and the feast. Most Americans, we suspect, forget that when our forefathers landed on the shores of the Plymouth Bay Colony they established a communist economic system. Out of a common product and storage, the settlers set up a [...]
Alaska Drilling Petition?
I talked to a student today who was looking for some folks to sign his petition. The petition, as I read it, is in favor of the Department of Interior’s plan for drilling for oil, amongst other locations, in Alaska. The MMS (Mineral Management Service – a branch of the Department of Interior) continually updates [...]
Aikido Economics and Abortion Control
I don’t know what you think about the abortion issue, nor do I think I have ever let you know my opinion. If it is all the same to you, I prefer it that way. It avoids people getting upset about each other’s beliefs. Pro-choice vs. Pro-life, when does life begin, murder vs. reproductive rights, [...]
Minimum wages – the voters have spoken
For some reason, my table doesn’t display unless you click on the title of the post above. If you do, it will display nicely. There were six states with initiatives on the ballot proposing increaes in minimum wages. All six passed. A “Yes” vote is in favor of raising the minimum wage. State Yes No [...]
The Draft vs. Paid Soldiers
Here is a comment I recently posted to a blog post by Don Boudreaux on his blog, Café Hayek. Read Don’s Nov. 4th post here. Don, Could it be that those who argued against the draft in the 1970s, many good economists, such as Bob Tollison and Roger Miller, were wrong in just not being [...]
Let’s Hope No Trees Come From This ACORN
Many people have more respect for not-for-profit organizations than for-profit firms. We really ought to be equally critical of both. Take, for instance, the group ACORN. There are some claims that ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has been involved in voter fraud, apparently having registered thousands of voters in Missouri. The [...]
Seafood to run out in about 40 years
I just posted a piece about new oil discoveries pushing prices down today before that oil ever comes on line, as other oil will instead be pumped and consumed. A related point is often made with the same theory of non-renewable resources, and that is that we really won’t run out of oil, it will [...]