economics in practice

About a year ago, Dr. Thomas Sowell discussed the role of the Tea Party. In this interview he also talked about his book ‘Basic Economics‘ and the economics profession:

One of the sad things about the economics profession is that you have excellent people at the top but very little of that ever gets down to the actual public. Or even to the politicians, not that they would care that much.

In the second part of the interview, he dissects the impact of stimulus spending:

I am amazed that no one looks at the track record of what actually happens if you do nothing as compared to when the government intervenes.

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intuition vs reality

John Stossel is not an economist. He studied psychology at Princeton and has been a journalist for the last forty years. But throughout his career, he has done what an economist could not do better: trace and analyze the impact of government intervention.

His discussion with Peter Robinson from Uncommon Knowledge took place about a year ago. Stossel reminds me of my recent post on Jeremy Clarkson, which makes the video all the more worth watching:

The economy is not like an orchestra that a conductor to has to start or a car that needs jump-starting. An economy is people with needs and if you leave them alone they will do amazing, wonderful things to meet those needs. And we take it for granted that a supermarket has thirty thousand products, and they are all cheap, and it is open 24/7, and they rarely poison us.

Robert Hicks said ‘war is the friend of the state’. Well, so is crisis and fear.

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sowell on obama

Although this interview took place before the presidential election, with president Obama’s victory it is all the more important. Peter Robinson and Thomas Sowell discuss Obama’s track record, the importance of the election, and what America can expect with the president’s reelection:

It’s like being a mosquito in a nudist colony: you don’t know where to start. We will not be able to be on air long enough to dissect all the faults in those few words. [on Michelle Obama’s speech]

It is painful for me to realize that youngsters growing up in the same places in Harlem where I grew up more than 60 years ago have far less chance of rising, economically, educationally or otherwise.

I want to stop politicians from trying to fix the economy.

 

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election day

Finally election day has arrived. Good occasion to quote American journalist and satirist Henry Louis Mencken:

Every election is a sort of advance auction of stolen goods.

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obama’s labor market results

With only a couple of days until the United States will face its next presidential election, Daniel J. Mitchell from the Cato Institute summarizes President Obama’s (lack of) success with respect to the labor market:

A Four-Picture Indictment: Final Pre-Election Jobs Report Is Not Good News for Obama

Obama should not be blamed for the depth of a recession that began before he took office. But he should be held at least somewhat accountable for an anemic recovery. Particularly since he promised “hope” and “change” and then continued the big-spending, pro-cronyism policies of the Bush years.

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racial double standards

President Obama’s campaign website has a special section called “African Americans for Obama“. I guess none of you has ever heard of this. But what if Romney had a similar page called “Whites for Mitt Romney”?

Walter E. Williams describes the double standards with respect to racial issues:

There is one standard that we hold whites up to, and another standard that we hold blacks up to.

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good morning

When Ronald Reagan ran for re-election in 1984, he asked his famous question “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” and he answered it at the same time in a campaign commercial titled “It is Morning Again in America”. Therein, he listed all the ways the country was better off than it had been four years earlier when he defeated Jimmy Carter.

As Thomas Sowell points out, we should not wait for any “Morning in America” ads from Obama. Indeed, “Mourning in America” might be more appropriate.

Since his presidency has no track record that would win any votes, we will see an election campaign focused on distracting innuendoes instead of hard facts. Much like I expected months ago when I wrote that style will be more important than substance.

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nation of recipients

A few days ago Greg Mankiw from Harvard discussed the most recent report from the Congressional Budget Office. One of his striking findings is that in 2008 for the first time ever the middle twenty percent of American households received more dollars in transfers than they paid in taxes. In other words, a majority of the American people is now a net recipient of government support. No doubt this will have some impact on the presidential election this year.

Here you find Mankiw’s blog post:

The Progressivity of Taxes and Transfers

The middle class, having long been a net contributor to the funding of government, is now a net recipient of government largess.

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two of the same

In less than four months the United States might have a new president or confirmed Obama in office. Either way you should not expect to see much of a difference, as Barton Hinkle argues for Reason:

Obama and Romney Are As Different as Two Peas in a Pod

Apparently I’m supposed to be more outraged by what Mitt Romney does with his money than what Barack Obama does with mine.

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romney’s dad

Here are some thoughts by George W. Romney. Hopefully his son, Republican candidate Mitt Romney, paid attention at home:

The most unusual thing about our country was that when its people faced problems they did not first turn to government. They turned first to their fellow citizen.

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