There is one group of workers who have signed a consent decree with the federal government, agreeing to never form a union. Do you know who they are? Answer below the fold. The economics of unions is quite simple. Like medieval guilds, the goal of a modern union is to monopolize the supply of labor […]
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Every loan bears some risk that it will not be repaid. In making a loan, a prudent lender will accurately price the risk of the loan. Regulations that interfere with the ability to price risk accurately leads lenders to reduce their risk exposure by curtailing lending. Since President Obama’s comprehensive financial overhaul bill would fundamentally […]
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The free market is a wonderful device for coordinating our productive activity to maximize the satisfaction of our needs. It encourages people to cooperate both with those they know and with strangers. Since markets foster both prosperity and personal liberty, communism has been consigned to the dustbin of history except in places like North Korea. […]
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The Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Missouri is the world’s largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship. In late May, Kaufmann announced its annual Index of Entrepreneurial Activity for 2009. Montana and Oklahoma were the entrepreneurial leaders and I was surprised—why Oklahoma? I actually have a warm spot for that state, I’ve had only good experiences there—but […]
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Ramona and I just returned from my successful reconstructive surgery in Baltimore. We came back through Minneapolis, me in a leg cast rolling through the airport in a wheelchair. I’ve known this procedure was coming for six years. With Obama’s election, I’ve anticipated increased difficulty in acquiring excellent medical care. Hence, I’ve been more sensitive […]
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Governor Schweitzer is proposing Montanans be allowed to re-import U.S. prescription drugs from Canada. He believes this could save consumers up to 40 percent on their medical prescriptions, totaling some $280 million in annual savings. On average, prices for U.S. manufactured drugs are much lower abroad than for the same drugs sold at home. This […]
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National Public Radio (NPR), a nonprofit 501 c-3 corporation, has 860 independent stations throughout America. I wouldn’t care to live in a place that didn’t have radio access. (Streaming it on the web is a poor substitute.) When traveling, I find the local station so not to miss “Morning Edition” and the evening program “All […]
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I recommend an insightful column in last Sunday’s Washington Post, “Why are liberals so condescending?” (February 7, 2010) This op-ed is by University of Virginia political scientist Gerard Alexander. It is based on a forthcoming Bradley Lecture at The American Enterprise Institute. The essay is likely to interest individuals who’ve observed that nearly every Prius […]
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This week’s FREE Insights is by Harry Teasley of Tampa, Florida. Harry is a Georgia Tech graduate and former president of Coca Cola Foods, among other top positions at the Coca Cola Company. More importantly here, Harry is a businessman with an excellent understanding of political economy, especially public choice economics. Teasley’s “Thinking About Public […]
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Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving celebrations will reflect a poignant quality, a loss of optimism. Many people are more apprehensive than hopeful. We have ridden waves of prosperity whose continuation seems uncertain. Yet, we have much to celebrate. Let’s do so thoughtfully. Several nations celebrate Thanksgiving, but we have a special appreciation given by our history. Every school […]
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