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Can Democrats and Republicans Agree on Anything? Yes! (At least in principle)
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could look back one year from now and say that 2014 was the year in which Democrats and Republicans discovered substantial areas of ideological common ground? We’d laud them...
View ArticleCrony Capitalism and the Revolving Door
A colleague just handed me the latest issue of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy (it’s hot off the presses, so an electronic link still isn’t available; here is a link to the previous...
View ArticleThe farm bill: a lesson in government failure
As a consumer and as a taxpayer, the farm bill is a monstrosity. But as someone who teaches public finance and public choice economics, it is a great teaching tool. Want to explain the concept of...
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9 Farm Bill Figures
In my last post, I made the case that the farm bill (which has now emerged from conference committee and just passed the House) makes an excellent teaching tool. Many students, of course, are visual...
View ArticleFarm bill replaces conspicuous subsidies with inconspicuous subsidies
From consumers and taxpayers, the farm bill taketh. But to economics teachers, it continues to giveth. The latest lesson comes courtesy of Ailsa Chang of NPR: Also getting criticism is the...
View ArticleWhat are the best arguments against film subsidies?
The Academy Awards are nearly upon us, and that means long-winded acceptance speeches from actors and directors, filled with thanks for all the people who have helped them along the way. Listen closely...
View ArticleProfiles in Privilege
When powerful politicians give no-bid construction contracts to their friends, you get Olympic bathrooms with two toilets to a stall. Thank god we don’t have those sorts of problems here in the West,...
View ArticleTesla’s Teachable Moment in New Jersey
Behind every privilege to a particular firm, there is a taxpayer, a customer, or a competitor who ends up paying for it. And those who are privileged today can easily find themselves on the other side...
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Embrace Change
Whenever someone suggested a new innovation or an improvement, Empress Maria Theresa had a favorite response: “Leave everything as it is.” As the sovereign of most of central Europe during the 18th...
View ArticleWith Government Shekels Come Government Shackles
Though privileged firms may not focus on it when they obtain their favors, privilege almost always come with strings attached. And these strings can sometimes be quite debilitating. Call it one of the...
View ArticleThe unseen costs of the Ex-Im bank
The great 19th Century French economist Frederic Bastiat had good advice when thinking about economics. Actions, habits, and laws, he said, [produce] not only one effect, but a series of effects. Of...
View ArticleWhat is the greatest threat to freedom and prosperity?
FLORENCE— Bernardo Caprotti was a 45-year-old entrepreneur when he agreed to buy a suburban plot of land for a new supermarket. Building permits recently came through. He’s now 88. So begins an...
View ArticleConservatives, Liberals, and Privilege
Utah Senator Mike Lee (R) delivered an important, and timely address at the Heritage Foundation this week. It was focused squarely on what he called “America’s crisis of crony capitalism, corporate...
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The barriers to brewing
Recently, Evan Feinberg of Generation Opportunity described some of the barriers craft brewers face. In one instance, a brewer — who does not prepare any food — was told he had to install a hood for a...
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What to do when technology outpaces the law?
The recent cease-and-desist letters from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to taxi alternatives Uber Technologies and Lyft remind me of my first trip to D.C. in 1997. An awkward high school...
View ArticleDelaware Senate votes to bail out three casinos
Delaware’s state senate has voted to redirect $10 billion in economic development funding to bail out three gambling casinos. The measure now goes to the House. Two reasons the casinos are failing:...
View ArticleCorporate Bailouts: the REAL Trickle-down Economics
Advocates of corporate welfare often claim that when governments privilege a handful of firms, the rest of the economy somehow benefits. This is how the Bush Administration sold the bank bailouts. It’s...
View ArticleWhen new ideas meet old regulatory solutions
With the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission recently issuing cease-and-desist letters to ride-share services Lyft and Uber, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto invoked the Age of Reptiles to describe the...
View ArticleAre Uber and Lyft the next jitney?
This July marks the 100-year anniversary of the American Jitney. An early incarnation of Uber and Lyft, it was an enormously popular service that was at one point found in 175 U.S. cities. Haven’t...
View ArticleWould cutting Ex-Im’s ties to the U.S. Treasury amount to “unilateral...
Before winning this year’s World Cup championship, Germany faced a dilemma during its qualifying match against the United States. Both teams could ensure their advancement in the tournament by...
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