Economic Growth
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Wishful (Protectionist) Thinking
“Specialization and productivity increase when the market’s size extends across national borders. But tariffs reduce the extent of the market and thereby reduce specialization.” ~Paul Mueller
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Eyes, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes: Rebutting Robert Gordon’s ‘The Rise and Fall of American Growth’
“We are wealthier now, not because we earn more but because we trade less of our time for goods. The real ‘superabundance’ comes not from ample money or wealth but ample leisure time.” ~David Gillette and Lauren Frazier
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The Multiyear Decline in US Economic Freedom
“In 2007 only three countries were economically freer than the US, but by 2015 eleven nations were. Today, 24 are freer.” ~Richard Salsman
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Taxation as Social Justice
“The goal is not to raise revenue so we can support the poor; instead, the US is pursuing the simpler goal of eliminating private concentrations of wealth.” ~Michael Munger
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Beware of Mistaking Artifacts for Economic Realities
“Recognition that the size, or possibly even the very existence, of any measured US trade deficit depends heavily on the accounting conventions used to record international commercial transactions should be sufficient to calm the fears that arise whenever this accounting artifact shows a deficit.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux
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David Malpass on Inflation and Slow Growth
“If we try to push supply-side economics as an inflation-reduction strategy, we’re setting ourselves up for failure by banking on a problem that’s largely solved.” ~ Alexander W. Salter
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Economic Parasites: Their Gain, Your Pain
“Just as biological parasites try to hide in the recesses of host bodies, economic parasites try to hide in the recesses of the body politic. Some, like leeches, cling tenaciously when exposed to the light. Others, like hookworms, feed deep in the belly of the economic beast.” ~ Robert E. Wright
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Maui Needs Speculators
“Some affected individuals would undoubtedly prefer to take a payout and move on rather than incur the expense of renting/purchasing a temporary domicile until the reconstruction is complete.” ~ Peter C. Earle
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Fitch Drops US Creditworthiness: Spending is the Reason
“The government should focus on fiscal responsibility and better budget management to avoid a deepening spending crisis, exacerbating Americans’ existing economic burden.” ~ Vance Ginn
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The Great Enrichment Was Enriching From the Start
“Countless critics of the industrial revolution deny that Britain’s stupendous economic growth beginning in the mid-18th century produced benefits for ordinary people who lived through those early years of growth.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux
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State Development Incentives: The Only Solution is Not to Play
“The incentives of politicians and the goals of citizens can diverge, and nowhere is that divergence more obvious than in the case of targeted, private benefits to specific corporations paid for at public expense.” ~ Michael Munger
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How Will America’s Borrow and Spend Politicians Pay for an Imperial Foreign Policy?
“Serious efforts to control deficits and debt will require a series of politically painful decisions. The only way to make such unpalatable fiscal sacrifices possible is to kill all the sacred cows, including the Pentagon.” ~ Doug Bandow
