Economic Freedom
Cranky Yellow Quaffs Bitter Bureaucracy
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] Ever seen the movie Brazil? When the main character wants his A/C fixed, the opaque and monolithic government forces him to jump through one bureaucratic hoop after another, and he’s not sure that his simple problem will ever get fixed. Then a vigilante HVAC … Continue reading
A Minor Point About Minimum Wage
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] The first job I ever got paid for was probably mowing lawns in the ’90s when I was a teen. Earning $10 per lawn sometimes didn’t seem worth it while pushing the mower in the sweltering heat — but I had a friend named … Continue reading
Jailhouse Barack
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] According to an article over at the Springfield News-Leader, the Missouri prison population has inexplicably reached an all-time high. On a related note, I’d like to take this opportunity to commend President Barack Obama for scaling back the police state milieu slightly with his … Continue reading
Intellectual Property Vs. Clever Parody
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] The Post-Dispatch has a story about a college freshman from Ladue and the very small clothing line he came up with two years ago as a parody of “The North Face.” Apparently, the legal department at The North Face is taking issue with his … Continue reading
Taxinomics: How Not to Run an Industry
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] There’s an article in the Chicago Sun-Times about the state of the taxi industry in the Windy City, and how cab drivers are presently working to change it. Rates are capped there by the city, and any rate hike requires prior approval by the … Continue reading
MOSERS Bonuses Revisited
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] Jim Winkelmann — who was mentioned recently on this blog for his pithy letter to the Post-Dispatch arguing against the Clayton smoking ban — has had another letter to the editor printed in that paper. This one addresses the contentious topic of bonuses for … Continue reading
Local Tax: Ups and Downs
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] There’s an article in the Columbia Daily Tribune today that discusses the latest flap in Jefferson City about a sales tax issue (link via Combest). The article deals with some general perverse incentives, and is an interesting study in public choice theory, but the … Continue reading
Professional Licensing: A First-Person Perspective
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] In addition to my involvement with the Show-Me Institute, I have also worked part-time as a licensed taxicab driver for Chesterfield Car Service, for a little more than three years. Apart from licensing drivers, the cabs themselves also require a license, which must similarly … Continue reading
Beware the Licenses
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] In the very readable Capitalism and Freedom, Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman wrote about the economic consequences of labor unions, minimum wage laws, and occupational licensing. Anyone with even minor economics training (or perhaps even just a moment’s reflection) can tell you some of … Continue reading
Not Gaining More, Losing Less
[This post was originally written for my employer’s blog, Show-Me Daily.] According to the Post-Dispatch, some are leveling criticism at MOSERS, a Missouri state employee pension fund, because of bonuses paid to investment staff for their performance while the fund was losing money. The nature of the criticism is obvious, until considered in context. As … Continue reading