The Federal Trade Commission is proposing banning non-compete clauses in labor contracts. What are these clauses’ pros and cons, and will a ban benefit workers? Non-compete clauses prevent employees from working for a competitor or starting their own business. The prohibition is limited over time and geography and usually only for closely related jobs. An […]

Elon Musk’s release of internal Twitter communications, the “Twitter Files,” confirmed the shadow banning of conservative politicians and pundits, previously dismissed as a conspiracy theory. Studying economics generates wariness of conspiracy theories in two ways, by highlighting the organizational difficulties, and demonstrating the potential for unplanned order in society. Let’s first consider what constitutes a […]

A fiasco involving tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has renewed calls to break up Ticketmaster through anti-trust.  While many commentators have weighed in on the website crash, I will discuss Ticketmaster’s alleged monopoly. Is Ticketmaster responsible for high priced concert tickets? The demand to break up Ticketmaster relates to its 2010 merger with concert promoter Live […]

Every December Santa delivers toys, games, and electronics to children across our nation.  Yet residents of the North Pole buy almost nothing from us, producing a massive trade deficit.  Santa’s gift-giving offers perspective on international trade in addition to spreading Christmas joy. What do we learn from our Santa trade deficit?  For one, our trade deficit (or surplus) with any […]

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX imploded in November.  The company and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) attained incredible notoriety in a short time and a $32 billion valuation before the bankruptcy. Does the collapse demonstrate problems with markets or government regulation of markets? Details continue to emerge.  I will assume that FTX was basically a scam, based on a statement […]

Brown University economist Emily Oster recently suggested a “pandemic amnesty” for “the many important choices we had to make under conditions of tremendous uncertainty.” Her essay has riled many libertarians still angry over the unprecedented restriction of freedom. If public health officials fully accepted the professor’s observations about uncertainty, I could accept letting bygones be […]

Canada’s Fraser Institute just released the 2022 Economic Freedom of North America (EFNA) index. The good news: Alabama’s economic freedom increased slightly. The bad news: we still trail three neighboring states. Economic freedom refers to freedoms to buy, sell, work, and start businesses. A free economy relies on “personal choice and markets to answer basic […]

Back in 2020 I wrote about legal efforts then to sue China over the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent report from the U.S. Senate Committee on Health Education, Labor and Pensions and an expose from Pro Publica and Vanity Fair provide more evidence for a lab leak origin of COVID. How does a lab lead potentially […]

The U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve are both investigating the potential for issuing a digital currency in the future in place of the dollar. A digital currency would create the new policy tools for stabilizing the economy but also poses great threats to privacy and personal freedom. One natural question arising here may be […]

Reformers have pressured police departments for years to reduce unnecessarily dangerous conduct. Yet departments and unions protect officers such as Derek Chauvin, who racked up 18 excessive force complaints before murdering George Floyd. Some departments have initiated meaningful changes thanks to pressure from insurance companies. An excellent Washington Post story provides details. The St. Ann, […]

Happy is an elephant at the Bronx Zoo. The group NonHuman Rights recently brought a habeas corpus petition in state court challenging Happy’s confinement, which was dismissed because animals do not have human rights. The case reminds us of the ever-changing legal status of animals, which may eventually restructure society. Another recent animal welfare legal […]

The 2022 Economic Freedom of the World report confirms what many economists suspected: COVID-19 took a toll on economic freedom in addition to its other impacts. We have lost a decade of progress on freedom. Economic freedom refers to individuals’ ability “to decide how to use their time and their talents to shape their lives.” […]

Labor Day was established in 1894 to honor America’s workers. “Quiet quitting” refers to working no more than necessary to keep your job and then bragging about it on Tik Tok. Does quiet quitting disrespect Labor Day? Each Labor Day we should celebrate the labor market. The labor market is part of the market economy, […]

Wall Street is known for characters like the real Jordan Belmont and fictional Gordon Gekko personifying greed. Yet today’s great Wall Street controversy involves putting societal values above profit. Environmental, Social and Governance investing, or ESG, raises significant issues regarding misuse of investors’ money. Some have long invested “responsibly.” A United Nations sponsored group of […]

Economists and political philosophers frequently contrast political and economic power. This distinction also informs views on policy questions. The nature of economic power offers perspective on the potential for social media “censorship.” Politics involves efforts to control government, which ultimately deals in force. Political power is ability to force others to follow your commands. Whether […]

Unemployment fell to 3.5% in July, the same historically low level as February 2020. The labor market remains strong despite high inflation and a seeming impending recession. The labor market’s performance refutes a central element of Modern Monetary Theory’s (MMT) license for government spending. The unemployment rate excludes persons not seeking jobs, so economists also […]

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) does little to address inflation, primarily because it is a spending measure and government spending fueled our current inflation. One place where the IRA addresses prices is prescription drugs. Unfortunately, the IRA relies on price controls instead of the Trump administration’s successful deregulatory approach. We do not have a competitive […]

Inflation-adjusted (real) GDP dipped 0.9% in the second quarter (Q2) after declining 1.6% in the first quarter, igniting debate over whether we are in a recession. We may not be in a recession but rather degrowth. A recession is a broad economic decline, the contraction phase of the business cycle. This differs from a slump […]

Governments are promising to end fossil fuel use by 2050 or sooner. Fossil Future by Alex Epstein, founder of the Center for Industrial Progress, argues that this would be tragic. Contrary to conventional wisdom, he believes that expanding the use of fossil fuels is humanity’s only moral course. I will detail the steps of Mr. […]

Operation Warp Speed demonstrated that vaccine development need not occur on a decadal time scale. Americans got vaccines in less than 12 months because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was pushed out of the way. The FDA has returned to business as usual, privileging bureaucratic rules over the well-being of Americans. Consider some recent […]

Major League Baseball’s moving the 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta over Georgia’s new voting law symbolizes businesses’ new willingness to take sides on political issues, typically the progressive side. Businesses previously avoided offending potential customers or employees. Selling to both Republicans and Democrats maximizes profit! Vivek Ramaswamy explores the causes and consequences of “woke” business […]

In one of the final decisions of a momentous term, the Supreme Court halted the replacement of coal-fired power plants in West Virginia v. EPA. The decision constitutes a major victory for representative government. Several states and power companies challenged the EPA’s 2015 Clean Power Plan (CPP), which was forcing the early retirement of coal-fired […]

We celebrate America on the Fourth of July. But do Americans today still respect each other enough to constitute a functioning country? Responses to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade illustrate this animosity and the challenge we face maintaining liberal democracy. The Supreme Court did not outlaw abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson, […]

The reborn United States Football League has completed its first regular season. USFL players made $4,500 per game, or $45,000 for the season. By contrast, top NFL players make one thousand times more than this. How can such salary differentials exist across the same profession? Pro athletes earn what economists call rent, a concept first […]