Category Archives: Economics

Invisible Bank Runs

Posted on Sun, 20 May, 2012 by pmjones

We have entered the age of the invisible bank run and are waiting for the first virtual panic. An invisible bank run is a hard thing to watch; not only is it less telegenic than the old-fashioned kind, one relies … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Government | Leave a comment

This Is Not How A Free Society Treats People

Posted on Thu, 17 May, 2012 by pmjones

This is where Eduardo Saverin comes in. The Facebook co-founder, who finds himself a few billion dollars richer this week, recently renounced his US citizenship. And, to the intelligentsia, it’s not ‘fair’. ‘Saverin needs to pay his fair share! He … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Rights, Economics, Government, Liberty, Police State, Serfdom, Taxes | Leave a comment

FYI: The Gender Pay Gap is a Complete Myth

Posted on Tue, 17 Apr, 2012 by pmjones

When you control for hours worked, time away for family, occupation, and other critical factors, that “pay gap” goes away. This also reminds me that, although there may be a “glass ceiling” for women, there’s also a “glass floor” that … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Women | Leave a comment

“Household Income” Is A Poor Measure — Use “Per Capita Income” Instead

Posted on Sun, 25 Mar, 2012 by pmjones

One source of data that people often use is median household income. It’s a good idea to use the median rather than the mean -– the mean can be very misleading. For example, the mean income of Harvard graduates who … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

The Ryan Plan — Not Enough

Posted on Fri, 23 Mar, 2012 by pmjones

Considering the situation we are in today, the size of government, the level of our debt, the continuous violations of our economic and personal freedoms, free-market advocates should be breathing fire everyday and fight for truly smaller government. This plan … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics | Leave a comment

Complex Societies Need Simple Laws

Posted on Fri, 16 Mar, 2012 by pmjones

Big-government advocates will say that as society grows more complex, laws must multiply to keep up. The opposite is true. It is precisely because society is unfathomably complex that laws must be kept simple. No legislature can possibly prescribe rules … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Emergence, Government | Leave a comment

Return-on-Investment of Lobbying Greater Than Entrepreneurship

Posted on Thu, 16 Feb, 2012 by pmjones

Wall Street can do math, and the math looks like this: Wall Street + Washington = Wild Profitability. Free enterprise? Entrepreneurship? Starting a business making and selling stuff behind some grimy little storefront? You’d have to be a fool. Better … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Government | Leave a comment

Econ 101: “Nothing Has Any Value”

Posted on Wed, 25 Jan, 2012 by pmjones

The value is not in the object, it is in your mind. Short, sweet, and genius: Via ‘That’s the mistake that Karl Marx made’ | Samizdata.net.

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

535 People Control 23% Of The Nation’s Wealth

Posted on Fri, 13 Jan, 2012 by pmjones

In cities all over the country, protesters are drawing the battle line between the top 1% and the rest of us in the bottom 99%. Too much economic power is in too few hands. It’s unfortunate indeed that the Occupiers … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Government | Leave a comment

What’s Wrong With Gruber’s “Health Care Reform” ?

Posted on Thu, 05 Jan, 2012 by pmjones

Given my interest in health economics and graphic novels, I was initially hopeful about Jonathan Gruber’s graphic novel, entitled Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It’s Necessary, How It Works. But in all honesty, the book is awful. Gruber … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Health Care | Leave a comment