By Kerry McDonald Halloween is the perfect holiday for children to discover the humanity of trade. Trick-or-treating may be the main attraction, but the spontaneous candy swap negotiations that occur afterwards are often just as enjoyable and help children learn important economic principles. Fortunately, my community was not one of those to ban trick-or-treating this … [Read more...] about 5 Economic Principles My Kids Learned on Halloween
Free Market
Why There is No Such Thing as an Exploitative Monopoly in a Free Market
By Per Bylund What's a telltale sign of economic illiteracy? I'm starting to believe the worst is the claim that markets lead to monopoly and the accumulation of wealth in a few hands. Why? Because it makes no sense at all on the face of it and has no logical explanation, so it is indicative of fundamental confusion and misunderstanding. Granted, many great thinkers … [Read more...] about Why There is No Such Thing as an Exploitative Monopoly in a Free Market
The New Feudalism
By Jeffrey A. Tucker On February 28, the idea of locking down and smashing economies and human rights the world over was unthinkable to most of us but lustily imagined by intellectuals hoping to conduct a new social/political experiment. On that day, New York Times reporter Donald McNeil released a shocking article: To Take On the Coronavirus, Go Medieval on It. He was … [Read more...] about The New Feudalism
Major Social Media Companies Aren’t the Good Guys — They’re Also Not Monopolists
Op-Ed by Ryan McMaken There are plenty of good reasons to hate social media. It negatively affects mental health. It provides a skewed and inaccurate view of the real world. It is a tool of manipulation employed by deeply partisan billionaires. But there is one thing that every social media company is not: a monopoly. Yet, some critics of these companies casually throw … [Read more...] about Major Social Media Companies Aren’t the Good Guys — They’re Also Not Monopolists
Socialist Critique of Libertarian Children’s Books Drives Massive Surge in Sales
By Kerry McDonald As Connor Boyack recently discovered, there is no such thing as bad publicity. The creator of the popular Tuttle Twins children’s book series, which reinforces libertarian values and free-market principles, saw his book sales surge after an established progressive magazine wrote a lengthy feature article attacking the books. Current Affairs published the … [Read more...] about Socialist Critique of Libertarian Children’s Books Drives Massive Surge in Sales
Airlines Blackmail Government – Socialism, NOT CAPITALISM, In Action
By Krishna Chandrasekaran In the October 2nd, 2020 post on David Stockman’s Contra Corner, which is a recommended financial newsletter on this blog, David Stockman talked about an advertisement put out by the airlines industry that 50,000 employees would be laid off if the United States. Government did not give them yet another taxpayer-funded bailout. Stockman is a former … [Read more...] about Airlines Blackmail Government – Socialism, NOT CAPITALISM, In Action
An Inalienable Human Right to Commerce
By Peter C. Earle News over the last several days of a rise in Covid-19 infections raised concerns regarding a “second wave” of coronavirus infections; and in turn about new rounds of lockdowns and other restrictive measures. One could be forgiven for wondering why if stay-in-place orders, interstate movement restrictions, and other such tyranny didn’t scare off or confuse … [Read more...] about An Inalienable Human Right to Commerce
Private Enterprise Fuels the Community
By Max Gulker Residents of Berkshire County, the mostly rural far-western slice of Massachusetts where AIER makes its home, joke that Bostonians don’t know the final fifty miles of their state exists. Kudos to the Boston Globe, therefore, for gazing past Springfield and Amherst to tiny Housatonic–population just over one thousand–at the edge of that frontier. The … [Read more...] about Private Enterprise Fuels the Community
Don’t Scapegoat Business for Mask Mandates
Op-Ed by Barry Brownstein Many days my Facebook feed includes another indignant post from someone who when asked to wear a mask responded by righteously refusing to patronize the business. If it’s about a restaurant, the poster typically includes a tedious recital of a conversation with the manager. The offended customer claims to expose the illogic of being able to sit … [Read more...] about Don’t Scapegoat Business for Mask Mandates
Trust The Power Of Markets
Organizations that use ad hoc groups or committees to make decisions might do better to crowdsource their decisions, says UC Riverside-led research. The study found that people trust groups even though they are susceptible to manipulation and can make poor decisions. Information markets, in which people bet on potential outcomes, tend to make more accurate decisions, but … [Read more...] about Trust The Power Of Markets
Anarchist vs. USPS — Guess Who Wins?
By Patrick Reilley The United States Postal Service is in danger of going bust. And Democrats, Hollyweird actors, the corporate press, and plenty of Republicans are rallying around a single battle cry right now: “sAvE thE pOSt OfFiCe!!!!!” This is the same USPS that has LOST $69 billion of taxpayer money since 2007, and according to Postmaster General Megan Brennan, … [Read more...] about Anarchist vs. USPS — Guess Who Wins?
Three Ways that Workers Can Be Underpaid
By Donald J. Boudreaux There are three ways that a worker – call him Joe – can legitimately be said to be underpaid. One way – the way that is identified in modern economics textbooks – is for Joe’s pay (wage plus fringe benefits) to be below the value of his marginal product (“VMP”). If Joe is one of four janitors employed by Acme Inc. and is – like his co-workers – paid … [Read more...] about Three Ways that Workers Can Be Underpaid