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The Undercover Economist
Read more: The Undercover EconomistThis is an enjoyable book that explains the basics of how economics works, which is to say, how the world works. Mr. Harford doesn’t go into any technical detail at all, so there are no charts and graphs to decipher (although a very few are used for illustration), and there are no mathematical formulas.
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AirTran subsidy is harmful
Read more: AirTran subsidy is harmfulFrom the beginning, we in the Wichita area have been told each year that the AirTran subsidy was intended as a temporary measure, that soon AirTran would be able to stand on its own, and there will be no need to continue the subsidy. Mayor Mayans said as much last year, and so did City…
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The “Free” Kansas Lottery Proceeds
Read more: The “Free” Kansas Lottery ProceedsWhat’s ironic is that gamblers are worse off playing against the State of Kansas than the mob-run numbers rackets. As a letter-writer in the New York Times wrote: “They [organized crime] paid out about 85 percent of the amounts that were bet, retaining 15 percent or less for profits and expenses like payoffs.”
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air subsidies
Read more: air subsidiesYup…subsidies for AirTran pick a winner, and the losers. But consider the alternative. 400 dollar flights to anywhere. Do any free marketeers really prefer driving to Tulsa to fly to Austin? Wichita would shrivel up and blow away without economic development incentives. This one is not perfect. And, Delta has a gripe. But check prices…
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Separation of Sport and State
Read more: Separation of Sport and StateI recently discovered that all over the country there are taxes being directed to Sports teams and Arenas. So, I created a site www.separationofsportandstate.com Please visit, and contribute by emailing the administrator.
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The Mystery of Capital
Read more: The Mystery of CapitalThe problem with most third world countries, Mr. De Soto tells us, is not that there is no capital, it’s that the capital is dead. Dead in the sense that it can’t be used to its full economic potential. It can’t be mortgaged, it can’t be divided into shares, and it simply can’t be used…
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Lack of Literacy is Threat to Liberty
Read more: Lack of Literacy is Threat to LibertyWriting in a recent commentary, Stephen M. Lilienthal of the Free Congress Foundation expresses concern over the literacy skills of recent college graduates. The findings of some recent studies are quite troubling.
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More good computer and Internet things
Read more: More good computer and Internet thingsGoogle Analytics If you have a website, you may be interested in knowing how many people visit your site. There are many web counters and other services to give counts of visitors and other statistics, but nothing I have seen comes close to Google Analytics. This free service, available at http://www.google.com/analytics, provides detailed analysis of…
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Tax increment financing in Iowa
Read more: Tax increment financing in IowaReaders of The Voice For Liberty in Wichita are well aware that I believe that when the government provides subsidies to businesses — either in the form of cash payments or preferential tax treatment — we create a corrosive business environment. Government picks winners and losers for political reasons, rather than letting the market decide…
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Kansas Families United for Public Education (KFUPE) on state aid to schools
Read more: Kansas Families United for Public Education (KFUPE) on state aid to schoolsAs of today (February 2, 2006), the website for Kansas Families United for Public Education (KFUPE) (located at http://fundourpublicschools.com) states, under the heading “The Crisis”: “State aid has failed to keep pace with inflation.” I was puzzled by this statement, as I thought we were spending more and more on education each year. So I…
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Political Decision Making Increases Conflict
Read more: Political Decision Making Increases ConflictA column by economist Walter E. Williams (Why we’re a divided nation) strongly makes the case for more decision making by free markets rather than by the government through the political process. When decisions are made through free markets, Dr. Williams says, both parties win, because in a free market, parties voluntarily enter into only…
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John Bogle on Investing: The First 50 Years
Read more: John Bogle on Investing: The First 50 Years“The one great secret of investing is that there is no secret.” “Investment success, it turns out, lies in simplicity as basic as the virtues of thrift, independence of thought, financial discipline, realistic expectations, and common sense.”