The Daily Economy
A Simple Way to Open Global Trade
Although China and the European Union compete at close quarters with the United States for international-trade leadership, the latter has an ace up her sleeve: the world’s second highest de minimis thresholds (DMT), a little-known variable that greatly facilitates electronic commerce and retail sales.
Earthquake Economics
Let us not forget the contribution of free economies to making life safer. It wasn’t the regulations that made the difference. It was the innovations in the context of free enterprise.
Why Lottery Winners Are Sometimes the Unluckiest People
Lottery winners are thrust into a unique situation few others can understand. The struggles of many of these winners show the complexity of real wealth, which includes human and social capital, even though they can’t be measured on a balance sheet.
Hate the Patent Game, Not Valeant
The creators of Dirty Money have failed to interpret the significance of profits in an economic system. What in fact seems to be a case against capitalism, is actually a case against patent monopolies.
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Fractional-Reserve Banking and the Sharing Economy
The future has a lot of potential awe-inspiring inventions coming down the pipeline. But while daydreaming about these, we shouldn’t forget to be in awe of the invention of fractional-reserve banking. Long before fancy apps, and indeed long before the internet even, it was solving our problems and making our lives better.
Crypto vs. Fiat: The Battle Is On
You might be living in a time in which you will experience the end of central banking and perhaps even fiat currency, and their replacement by a completely new system.
FATCA Makes Tax Cattle of Americans, Tax Collectors of Foreigners
Americans deserve to be treated like productive citizens, as opposed to tax cattle when they take their talents abroad.
Why a War on Guns Wouldn’t Work
The reason I think significantly tighter gun laws would be a fool’s errand can be summed up in four words: the War on Drugs.
Amtrak’s Lethal Start to 2018 Compels New Route
Ending the railroad’s long-distance routes would take trains off segments of rural railroad, saving lives. An Amtrak that behaves like a truly private railroad could focus on getting service in major corridors right, investing in improvements to do its job better, and improving overall maintenance to prevent close calls like the Maryland separation. Getting its…
Harwood’s Letter to Keynes, 1934
Dear Mr. Keynes: Much of your open letter to President Roosevelt, seems so appropriate to be above criticism…. Unfortunately, portions of your advice seem somewhat perplexing.
Why Drug Dealers, Rappers, and Pimps Wear Their Wealth
There is a reason to the rhyme of why dealers, rappers, and pimps wear their wealth. It all comes down to the legal gulf that separates their professions and art from civic practices. If you want to keep what you have earned, and take every precaution against having it pillaged by the police, it’s best…
Does the Developed World Need Cryptocurrencies?
Liberty Street Economics, the New York Fed’s blog, recently did a question-and-answer session with Fed economists Michael Lee and Antoine Martin about cryptocurrencies. It’s a largely neutral and factual interview, but the economists do make one provocative comment: “Cryptocurrencies arguably solve the problem of making payments in a trustless environment, but it is not obvious…
