Jan 24, 2019 | Economics, Price Controls
Let us consider one example of interventionism, very popular in many countries and tried again and again by many governments, especially in times of inflation. I refer to price control. Governments usually resort to price control when they have inflated the money...
Oct 16, 2018 | Price Controls
Amazon recently announced that it will raise the hourly wage it pays to a minimum of $15, to the cheering of its workers. CEO Jeff Bezos has also advocated increasing the mandatory minimum wage to the U.S. government—because that “would have a profound impact on the...
Apr 9, 2016 | Price Controls, Regulation
San Diego won a major victory in its bid to deregulate taxicabs. A California superior court judge ruled against a group of taxi companies seeking to prevent the city from issuing any new taxi permits. IJ intervened in the case to represent two taxi drivers who simply...
Mar 19, 2016 | Economics, Price Controls
Claude Frederic Bastiat (1801-50) — a French classical liberal theorist, political economist and member of the French National Assembly — wrote an influential essay titled “That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Not Seen.” Bastiat argued that...
Jan 14, 2016 | Price Controls
Michael Hiltzik, a columnist and Los Angeles Times reporter, wrote an article titled “Does a minimum wage raise hurt workers? Economists say: We don’t know.” Uncertain was his conclusion from a poll conducted by the Initiative on Global Markets, at...
Aug 5, 2015 | Economics, MARKETS, Money & Banking, Price Controls
I wrote a story about poor Clarence who retired in 1979, and even poorer Larry who retired last year. I created these characters to challenge the notion of calculating a real interest rate by subtracting inflation. The idea is that the decline of a currency can be...
May 27, 2015 | Business, MARKETS, Price Controls
“The top 25 hedge fund managers made more than all the kindergarten teachers in the country,” declared President Obama in a discussion of poverty at Georgetown University. Calling them “society’s lottery winners,” he proposed to hike their taxes....
Apr 28, 2015 | Price Controls
Californians are experiencing their third year of drought. Headlines read: “Current California Drought Is Driest In State’s History; Scientists Fear ‘Megadroughts’ On Their Way.” “Global Warming Upped Heat Driving California’s...
Dec 20, 2014 | Economics, Price Controls, Trade
Have you ever been in an argument about whether we should raise taxes and then someone tosses out a real whopper? “The top tax rate for decades after World War II was over 90% and look how the economy boomed!” Or perhaps you read a Paul Krugman column where he said...
Dec 3, 2014 | Business, Economics, LAW, Price Controls
The battle over minimum wage is raging. Emotions are running hot. Some cities are setting the bar very high. For example, Seattle is mandating a $15/hour wage. Economically, the issue is very simple. Minimum wage laws do not raise anyone’s wage. This is because it’s...
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