Daily Archives: September 12, 2011

This Durham Herald-Sun article shows how Raleigh’s loss is Durham’s gain. City Council members Thomas Crowder and John Odom valiantly tried to guard the city gates, then hurled sour grapes as the pro-truck crowd rolled right over them. “I don’t think the city of Raleigh is going to fall apart if we don’t have foodContinue Reading

Education Week notes that nonunion teacher advocacy organizations are on the rise. In general, the groups’ origins, goals, and purposes remain diverse, and their work continues to evolve. Where the groups seem to converge, though, is that their members are gradually becoming involved in conversations about policy, ranging from teacher evaluation to seniority to professionalContinue Reading

John Hood’s ancestral studies have led him to the interesting 18th-century Virginia court case Pleasants v. Pleasants, in which a man sought to force his siblings to follow the dictates of their father’s will and allow slaves to be freed. Hood discussed the case, “emancipation litigation” in his words, during a presentation today to theContinue Reading

Competitive Enterprise Institute has just released a useful comparison of the states — how they stack up in comparing union power and the interests of taxpayers. North Carolina leans toward taxpayers, but could lean more that way. Not as good as TN and SC.

It’s just more political blather meant to appeal to people who don’t understand fundamental economics. Schiff, famous for having predicted the collapse of the housing market long before anyone else, tears into Obama’s new “jobs plan” here.

Think Texas Gov. Rick Perry is breaking new rhetorical ground by comparing Social Security to a Ponzi scheme? Stanley Kurtz shares an alternative view with National Review Online readers. [I]t’s certain that Perry’s Ponzi-scheme claim is in no way original. Not only have a raft of conservatives called Social Security a Ponzi scheme over theContinue Reading

Saturday’s Wall Street Journal had a letter from an economics professor that clearly and simply stated a crucial truth: the more we rely on political decision-making, the worse off we’ll be. Here’s the letter: As the ratio of decisions governed by politics to decisions governed by economics rises, efficiency and therefore output per person risesContinue Reading

Historian Robert Higgs writes here that the history of federal efforts at stimulating the economy after a boom turns into a bust has been one of dismal failure, starting with Hoover and continuing on to the present. The Keynesian policy of trying to manipulate “aggregate demand” just leads to wasted resources and a prolonged recession.Continue Reading