Economics

ObamaCare Was Sold To American Voters On Deceptive Terms

"In 2008, Barack Obama made it sound as though his health reform was only designed to help people who couldn’t afford health insurance afford it. Everyone else was going to be left alone. ('If you like the health plan you have you can keep it.') Then, on the eve of passage of the legislation, the focus changed to those few people (very few, it turns out) who are denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. But it very recently, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and others have been in print explaining that ObamaCare won’t work unless the government controls the premiums paid by everybody in the entire country! As far as the general public is concerned, this is a brand new idea." Continue reading →

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USA Is #5 in World Economic Competition

"The World Economic Council in Davos, Switzerland has released its list of nations’ ranking in terms of competitiveness. As always, Switzerland is on top. That’s what peace can do for a nation. Also limited central government, respect for property rights, and low crime. Here are the top nations. At the bottom, also as always, are mostly African tribal units that are euphemistically called nations." Continue reading →

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Competing currencies saved Zimbabwe from hyperinflationary collapse

"'At first covertly, then in openness, and finally with the consent of the government,' Mr. Noko writes, 'foreign currencies – the rand, the euro, the pound, the U.S. dollar, the [Zambian]kwacha – replaced Zimbabwe’s dollar.' Precisely as Mr. Hayek had imagined, Zimbabwe’s inflationary spiral ended. Within weeks, the country’s economy showed dramatic improvement. Businesses began to open. Banks began to function. Unemployment began to fall. GDP began to rise. Private credit began to increase. Foreign investment began to return. The human exodus ended. Thiers’ Law, the opposite principle of Gresham’s Law, does work: Good money, freely circulated, drives out bad." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCompeting currencies saved Zimbabwe from hyperinflationary collapse

Competing currencies saved Zimbabwe from hyperinflationary collapse

"'At first covertly, then in openness, and finally with the consent of the government,' Mr. Noko writes, 'foreign currencies – the rand, the euro, the pound, the U.S. dollar, the [Zambian]kwacha – replaced Zimbabwe’s dollar.' Precisely as Mr. Hayek had imagined, Zimbabwe’s inflationary spiral ended. Within weeks, the country’s economy showed dramatic improvement. Businesses began to open. Banks began to function. Unemployment began to fall. GDP began to rise. Private credit began to increase. Foreign investment began to return. The human exodus ended. Thiers’ Law, the opposite principle of Gresham’s Law, does work: Good money, freely circulated, drives out bad." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCompeting currencies saved Zimbabwe from hyperinflationary collapse

Competing currencies saved Zimbabwe from hyperinflationary collapse

"'At first covertly, then in openness, and finally with the consent of the government,' Mr. Noko writes, 'foreign currencies – the rand, the euro, the pound, the U.S. dollar, the [Zambian]kwacha – replaced Zimbabwe’s dollar.' Precisely as Mr. Hayek had imagined, Zimbabwe’s inflationary spiral ended. Within weeks, the country’s economy showed dramatic improvement. Businesses began to open. Banks began to function. Unemployment began to fall. GDP began to rise. Private credit began to increase. Foreign investment began to return. The human exodus ended. Thiers’ Law, the opposite principle of Gresham’s Law, does work: Good money, freely circulated, drives out bad." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCompeting currencies saved Zimbabwe from hyperinflationary collapse

Competing currencies saved Zimbabwe from hyperinflationary collapse

"'At first covertly, then in openness, and finally with the consent of the government,' Mr. Noko writes, 'foreign currencies – the rand, the euro, the pound, the U.S. dollar, the [Zambian]kwacha – replaced Zimbabwe’s dollar.' Precisely as Mr. Hayek had imagined, Zimbabwe’s inflationary spiral ended. Within weeks, the country’s economy showed dramatic improvement. Businesses began to open. Banks began to function. Unemployment began to fall. GDP began to rise. Private credit began to increase. Foreign investment began to return. The human exodus ended. Thiers’ Law, the opposite principle of Gresham’s Law, does work: Good money, freely circulated, drives out bad." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCompeting currencies saved Zimbabwe from hyperinflationary collapse

Zambian Economist Blasts Bill Gates After He Calls Her Book ‘Evil’

"I wrote Dead Aid to contribute to a useful debate on why, over many decades, multi billions of dollars of aid has consistently failed to deliver sustainable economic growth and meaningfully reduce poverty. I also sought to explicitly explain how decades of government to government aid actually undermined economic growth and contributed to worsening living conditions across Africa. More than this, I clearly detailed better ways for African leaders, and governments across the world, to finance economic development. I have been under the impression that Mr. Gates and I want the same thing – for the livelihood of Africans to be meaningfully improved in a sustainable way." Continue reading →

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Fleeing Oppression

"The mayor of Los Angeles has declared a 'state of emergency'. Hollywood’s movie industry is being ceded to other states and countries whose favorable tax 'credits' are increasingly luring away movie and television production. As competition both in the US and abroad continues to grow, the state’s market share and longtime stronghold on production jobs and spending are fast evaporating. The main problem is taxes. California’s government has so destroyed the state that its only option to keep afloat is a continued rise in taxes. In response, people with money have been fleeing the state for other states. New York and California have lost the most in the last decade." Continue reading →

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18 different minimum wages in American Samoa, 30% jobless rate

"The US Department of Labor mandates and enforces about 18 different minimum wages in American Samoa by industry. Oh, and the jobless rate there is almost 30%. And now a serious question for proponents of the US minimum wage: If you support a single hourly minimum wage in the US, wouldn’t you show even more support for multiple, government-mandated minimum wages by industry? That is, if you trust the supposed wisdom of politicians to know what the 'correct' single minimum wage is for the entire US economy (currently $7.25 per hour), shouldn’t you also trust those same politicians to know what the 'correct' minimum wage is for America’s many different industries?" Continue reading →

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The Gender Wage Gap Lie

"How many times have you heard that 'women are paid 77 cents on the dollar for doing the same work as men'? Barack Obama said it during his last campaign. Women’s groups say it every April 9, which is Equal Pay Day. In preparation for Labor Day, a group protesting outside Macy’s this week repeated it, too, holding up signs and sending out press releases saying 'women make $.77 to every dollar men make on the job.' I’ve heard the line enough times that I feel the need to set the record straight: It’s not true. The point here is not that there is no wage inequality. But by focusing our outrage into a tidy, misleading statistic we’ve missed the actual challenges." Continue reading →

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