Economics

A CEO’s-Eye View of ObamaCare

"The ACA could actually cause the number of our covered employees to decrease, particularly in the first year. The penalty for declining coverage will be low compared with the cost of coverage; and employees will know that if they happen to get sick, they can get insurance after that. So the economically rational decision for young people, like our crew employees, is to pay the penalty and forego the insurance. Despite what the government may believe, our employees are smart enough to figure this out. For insurers, it's simple math: Premiums collected must exceed claims paid. If too few young healthy people enroll, insurers will raise premiums on those who do." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA CEO’s-Eye View of ObamaCare

Chris Becker on South Africa, Gold and the Ludwig von Mises Institute

"We've seen huge growth in private education, private security and private medical industries in recent years, without which we would have seen rapidly declining living standards of South Africans. In a micro sense this inefficient and disorganized state leaves the space for quite a lot of personal liberty and allows people to get on with things outside of government control. With this strong central planning and regulatory ethos, if the government could actually follow through with its grand plans, South Africa would be a very unfree place. I call it 'dangerous efficiency.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChris Becker on South Africa, Gold and the Ludwig von Mises Institute

It’s a Sound-Money Alternative to the Dollar

"It should be no surprise to any student of economics that when government has a monopoly on money, it will be mismanaged. A better approach would be a free market in money: currency competition among entrepreneurs. Bitcoin is one of the opening salvos in this battle. In some respects it is very promising as an alternative currency and as a possible wholesale replacement for a national currency. In other respects it falls short. Bitcoin is a fiat currency that has achieved popularity and value without the mandate of a government legal tender law. On the contrary, the government strongly discourages bitcoin use and has used regulations to frustrate its adoption." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt’s a Sound-Money Alternative to the Dollar

SF Bay Area House Sales Plunge in June (Month-over-Month AND Year-over-Year)

"What’s most alarming about this is that 'June' existing sales are actually from 'contracts and price decisions' made in April and May when rates were at HISTORIC LOWS. This tells me the market — underpinned for 18 months by investors and 'distressed supply' — was already exhausted before the historic rate 'surge'. Historic, artificially low rates for so long filled so much pent-up demand, pulled so much demand forward, and caused institutional investors to buy so much blindly that years of housing market activity was shoved through the eye of a needle." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSF Bay Area House Sales Plunge in June (Month-over-Month AND Year-over-Year)

Jeffrey Tucker: Bitcoin Thwarts America’s Roman Decline

"As the dollar continues to shed its value, and to lose credibility as the world's reserve currency, countless people -- including governments, investors, and common citizens -- are looking to alternatives. These include gold and silver, which are time-honored as stores of value -- but there are other candidates as well. What are some of the alternatives to the fiat dollar? Is the dollar doomed? If it is, what will replace it? And why does government have to be involved in money at all? We'll discuss these questions with economist and historian Jeffrey Tucker, the executive editor of Laissez Faire Books and a Distinguished Fellow for the Foundation for Economic Education." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJeffrey Tucker: Bitcoin Thwarts America’s Roman Decline

Detroit’s Future in the Face of Bankruptcy

"Over the coming weeks and months much of the media attention will be on the bankruptcy proceedings, themselves, as the courts and responsible parties determine how to reorganize the city’s debt liabilities among the claimants. What will be far more important in terms of Detroit’s long-run future will be the public policies that become the basis for the city’s revitalization and reconstruction. In a new national and global commercial environment, Detroit must make itself attractive and competitive to draw industry and trade — and the accompanying job opportunities — back into what can no longer be considered the exclusively 'motor city.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDetroit’s Future in the Face of Bankruptcy

The Original Value of Bitcoins

"Two centuries ago, oil was less than worthless. It was a blight that people would pay to have removed from their land. However, suppose one day a mysterious stranger appeared claiming to be a time-traveler. He told everyone that one day oil would be the world’s most valuable fuel. It would called 'black gold'. Wars would be fought over it and enormous machines would be built to collect every last drop. Though no one knew if the purported time traveler was telling the truth or how to develop the technologies that would one day make oil valuable, some entrepreneurs believed him and began to collect oil to prepare for the day that it became black gold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Original Value of Bitcoins

The Original Value of Bitcoins

"Two centuries ago, oil was less than worthless. It was a blight that people would pay to have removed from their land. However, suppose one day a mysterious stranger appeared claiming to be a time-traveler. He told everyone that one day oil would be the world’s most valuable fuel. It would called 'black gold'. Wars would be fought over it and enormous machines would be built to collect every last drop. Though no one knew if the purported time traveler was telling the truth or how to develop the technologies that would one day make oil valuable, some entrepreneurs believed him and began to collect oil to prepare for the day that it became black gold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Original Value of Bitcoins

Bitcoin Downloads Surge in Argentina

"Since early June, Argentina’s share of global bitcoin software downloads has more than doubled, as the country edges towards what Barclays called 'a balance-of-payments crisis, in slow motion.' With bitcoin, Argentines can transfer their wealth to anywhere in the world instantly, outside of the domain of local authorities. Also, although bitcoin transactions are stored on a public ledger, it’s extremely difficult to determine the identities of the parties involved in the transactions. That anonymity could help Argentines avoid the scrutiny of the national tax agency, which has aggressively used enforcement actions to contain the public’s dollar purchases." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Downloads Surge in Argentina

Bitcoin: A Bet Against the Stupid Horse

"George Mason economics professor Peter Boettke made his first FreedomFest appearance and presented some harrowing statistics pointing to the demise of the United States. However he made the analogy that the economy is like three horses. The Adam Smith horse drives prosperity through gains from trade. The Joseph Schumpeter horse provides constant innovation from technology. The third horse, what Boettke calls the stupid horse, is government. Both the Smith and Schumpeter horses created bitcoin and as much as the government tries to rein it in, those horses will stay ahead. The government horse is too slow and stupid." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin: A Bet Against the Stupid Horse