Disingenuous Critics Swing and Miss at Ron Paul’s Economics
A recent Huffington Post article really tore into Ron Paul’s economics. It accused Paul of being disingenuous and perhaps a bit ignorant. The article accuses Paul of being an incurable ideologue when it comes to practicing free trade. Claim #1: “So Rep. Paul is in favor of free trade in theory, he’s just not in […]
Subsidies for ‘Innovators’ Will Stifle Innovation
Last Thursday, an article in The Atlantic argued that despite claims to the contrary, the United States government should subsidize the manufacturing industry. The author argues that the manufacturing industry is the most innovative of all industries and therefore deserves exceptional support from the US taxpayer. The article, however, falsely claims that innovation is the […]
Welfare is Mean-Spirited and Bad Economics
In his latest New York Times blog post, MIT professor and former chief IMF economist Simon Johnson fallaciously argues that those who oppose welfare are mean-spirited and bad at economics. After reading this post, you’ll see it is actually Johnson who is the bad economist. The main problem with unemployment benefits, or government handouts, is […]
Reality TV Inventor Loses Big to ‘Buy American’ Fallacy
Bad economics and reality television just made Donny McCall an overnight hero. Unfortunately for him, it’s all for naught. On a recent episode of ABC’s Shark Tank, a show that features a panel of super-rich investors negotiating investment proposals from entrepreneurs, Invis-a-Rack owner Donny McCall was denied $100,000 to help expand his business because of […]
Does Immigration Cause Unemployment?
It’s not uncommon for the zero-sum fallacy to crop up in a discussion on the economics of immigration. Many individuals assume that immigrants will necessarily “steal” jobs from domestic workers. That’s exactly what this article about Canadian immigration concludes. But can immigrants realistically be blamed for increased unemployment rates? If they do cause joblessness, why […]
Did Obama save Chrysler?
That is very much the impression I got after reading this article from Think Progress the other day. And the facts are certainly there. Huge profits, debt repayment, a promising future, and plans to expand production and create jobs. Couldn’t have gone better, right? I agree with the author that Chrysler is doing well because of […]
The Shortcomings of GDP as a Measure of Economic Growth
A recent Washington Post article reports that GDP has seen a recent uptick. While such news is most likely indicative of economic progress, this is not always the case. National output is not synonymous with the social economy, and as such, should always be evaluated with a critical eye. Prior to WWII, there was very […]
What Is Interest?
There is a large consensus among microeconomists that “messing with” prices is not good. Among these prices, there is greatest consensus that rent control distorts the efficient allocation of resources. Despite the relative consensus among economists about price controls, there is seemingly no recognition that tinkering with interest rates will similarly distort the efficient allocation […]
Waste and Fascism: Obama’s State of the Union Address
Prosperity, stability, security – these are things people generally desire. Obama did a great job alluding to these ends in his State of the Union speech a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, a disastrous problem arises when you choose the wrong means to achieve desired ends. The mistake of choosing the wrong means occurs when […]
The Origin of Money
A few weeks ago a blogger at CNBC discussed the relative merits of Austrian monetary theory in comparison to modern monetary theory (MMT). The issue at stake is the origins of money: Austrians highlight the fact money comes into existence as the medium of exchange, while MMT points to governments requiring people to pay taxes with money. […]