Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of Christ, is indeed a joyous time. Ironically, it began as an exercise in political extortion. The Roman rulers of the time are best understood as sedentary bandits. They provided order and some security from roving bandits in exchange for taxes levied and collected. A census was required to […]

From The New York Times For the past few years, there has been a strange motif running through my social life. I’d go out with some writers, and they’d start gushing about someone named Erica Brown. “She has an inner light,” one of them once said. I’d be out with my wife and some of […]

Here is Goodman’s Law for Efficient Purchasing: There is no such thing as a smart formula. A recent news articlereported Medicare paying $800 to rent a wheelchair that could have been purchased outright for $350. I sometimes wonder if health economists actually understand how other markets work. Let’s try a thought experiment. Suppose you ran […]

I find a persistent myth among many of those who consider themselves well informed about economics. Specifically, many believe that governmental agencies are by their nature inefficient, unresponsive, officious, and insensitive to citizens’ legitimate demands and expectations. The U.S. Postal Service and state driver’s license bureaus are standard examples. This criticism is silly and often […]

I used to enjoy Sunday morning TV interview shows. Important government and political leaders would take partisan stands, but sometimes struggle to avoid the implications of intelligent and pointed questions. But those days are gone. Now, everyone who appears on TV interview shows seems to have taken the standard course in media training. Novices are […]

The Thanksgiving holiday has traditionally been one of America’s biggest family travel days. This year the price of air travel has gone up. This suggests that people’s willingness to fly to be with loved ones and friends will be tested. The reason is simple; as prices for something rise, demand falls. This is the social […]

We went to North Carolina’s Research Triangle the day after the election to participate in the “Spirit of Inquiry” award program sponsored by the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy. The awards are offered to foster “a spirit of open-minded exploration within the guidelines of an academic discipline.” Students nominated 59 courses from […]

**NCPA Health Policy Blog from November 1, 2010.** Suppose the Republicans win back the House of Representatives in tomorrow’s election. What will they do about health care? One idea, in the House Republican “Pledge to America,” calls for opening up the health insurance marketplace by allowing people to purchase insurance across state lines. Families USA […]

We’re 10 years into the future and you have terminal cancer. Still, all is not lost. Doctors in other countries are reporting successful remission of your type of cancer, using a drug originally approved in the United States for some other purpose. There are several journal articles that appear to back up these claims and […]

E.O. Wilson of Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology is America’s best-known biologist and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. He makes an annual pilgrimage to Bozeman for the American Computer Museum’s award dinner held in cooperation with MSU and Yellowstone Park. He was here on October 7th and reminded us that MSU is the “University of […]