Americans have long seen college as a path to a better life and held higher education in high esteem. This is changing rapidly, with a strong political divide emerging. Republicans are now highly skeptical of both the above propositions. This month witnessed a potential watershed moment for higher ed with the announcement of a new […]

America is experiencing extended shortages of goods without recent precedent. The global transportation system is heavily congested, with dozens of ocean freighters waiting off California to dock. Is America’s economy beginning to emulate the former Soviet Union? Consumer spending quickly recovered from a sharp decline at the COVID-19 pandemic. More significantly, the pandemic and the […]

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) offers some unconventional policy recommendations based on the United States’ monetary sovereignty. MMT proponents also advocate government guaranteed jobs paying a living wage for all Americans. What would be the consequences of such a guarantee? The Public Service Employment program detailed in a 2018 paper from the Levy Economics Institute would […]

For centuries pharaohs, emperors, and kings ruled and made average folks do their bidding. The rise of political liberalism changed our conception of power, arguing that governments existed to serve the people. A new book argues we must bring liberal principles to our money. Government actions ultimately involve force, which liberalism argues is legitimate only […]

The national unemployment rate fell to 4.8% in September as recovery from the COVID-19 shutdown continues. Yet a lack of workers is slowing a return to economic normalcy. Everyone likely knows businesses either still closed or open reduced hours due to the worker shortage. Our economy was operating smoothly in February 2020. This July, however, […]

The Biden administration is proposing tougher tax enforcement to help pay for the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package. Collecting legally owed taxes is a laudable goal, but politicians have historically discounted the compliance costs of taxes. History may be repeating itself. The most controversial enforcement proposal involves banks and other financial institutions reporting all accounts […]

In 2019, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Green New Deal, with a price tag estimated at trillions to possibly tens of trillions of dollars. When asked whether Washington could afford the Green New Deal, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) showed that we could. In recent years MMT has received considerable attention. The theory […]

The 2021 Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) rankings from Canada’s Fraser Institute show freedom essentially unchanged in the United States. But some important changes in the rankings will be coming soon. Economic freedom is based on “the concept of self-ownership.” We should have “a right to choose – to decide how to use [our] […]

Local governments establish laws and codes to help structure our social interactions and penalize the rule breakers. The use of fines as a type of taxation should offend us all. The Institute for Justice (IJ) has long been concerned with abuse of government police power. IJ has led in research and litigation on civil asset […]

The United States has long been seen as the Land of Opportunity. While unfortunately some Americans were excluded from these opportunities, ambitious and hard-working people from across the world came here for freedom and helped build our prosperous economy. Has our opportunity society decayed? Much of this concern stems from allegations of greater income inequality. […]

Can we learn economics from a pencil? We can, as one of the great contributions of economic education illustrates. America would be better off if our experts understood the pencil’s lesson. Leonard Read, the founder and long-time president of the Foundation for Economic Education, offered the tale of a humble pencil in his 1958 classic, […]

Alabama currently ranks last in fully vaccinated population percentage, according to the Mayo Clinic. The reluctance of many to take the free, highly effective COVID vaccines has led to calls for mandatory vaccination. Economics can offer perspective on vaccine hesitancy. As an economist, I will not pretend to possess expert insight on vaccine hesitancy. That millions of […]

Inflation exceeded 5% in June. Double-digit inflation burdened Americans in the 1970s. Although we treat inflation as bad, economists find its costs hard to pin down. The three economic functions of money help us think about inflation’s costs. Money’s first role is a medium of exchange, meaning a good way to conduct transactions. With barter, […]

The 1992 Energy Policy Act authorized imposition of energy and water efficiency standards on household and commercial products. Consumers have not been thrilled with the new products. As Jeffrey Tucker puts it, “Anything in your home that involves water has been made pathetic, thanks to government controls.” President Trump repealed regulations on showers, but the […]

In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change set a new goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The costs and consequences of aggressive action against global warming basically exceed comprehension. Recent research in sustainability buttresses this point. Estimates put the level of energy use “compatible with avoiding 1.5ºC of global warming without […]

A highlight of my Fourth of July is the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. This year Joey Chestnut devoured 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes, breaking his world record. This competition illustrates how commercialization allows people to earn a living fishing, playing cornhole, or even eating. The hot dog competition is the premier event […]

State and local governments lure businesses with incentive packages. Yet these governments impose rules stifling entrepreneurs starting new businesses, forgetting that Amazon, offered multi-billion dollar deals for its HQ2, started out of Jeff Bezos’s garage. A new Cato Institute study, “Entrepreneurs and Regulations” by Chris Edwards, details the state and local government burdens on startups. […]

The unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in NCAA v. Alston portends change for college sports. This case involves education-related benefits and is separate from cases about athletes’ “name, image and likeness.” The NCAA’s 100-year effort to not pay student-athletes is close to ending. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the opinion, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion […]

After schools throughout the country closed in spring 2020 due to COVID-19, homeschooling increased significantly in the 2020-21 school year. The surge has been accompanied by some calls to ban homeschooling. According to the Census Bureau, 11% of households with school aged children homeschooled this year, double the level in April 2020. Alaska had the […]

The cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline by the hacker group DarkSide disrupted gasoline supplies across the Southeast. The company caused a stir by paying a 75 Bitcoin ransom to DarkSide. America historically has been opposed to paying evildoers, as reflected in the slogan, “Millions for defense, but not one cent in tribute,” and President Jefferson […]

The 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) exceeded 4% in April for the first time since 2008. Many economists have been predicting inflation following a 25% increase in the money supply in spring 2020. Has inflation finally arrived? Inflation was a major issue in the 1970s and early 1980s. We experienced double-digit inflation […]

In early April the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) changed its guidance on surface transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. After more than a year of cleaning and disinfecting, the CDC now believes surface transmission is relatively infrequent. This case illustrates the role of discovery in public policy. The CDC says, “surface transmission is not the […]

The federal government has issued three rounds of COVID “stimulus” checks and boosted unemployment benefits, first by $600 and now $300 per month. Is this the piecemeal start of a Universal Basic Income (UBI)? Under a UBI (also called a basic income guarantee), the government pays all Americans every month, say $1,000. Many would more […]

Washington borrowed $4 trillion in 2021 and national debt as a percentage of GDP is higher than at the end of World War II. And the Biden administration is proposing spending trillions on infrastructure and families bills. Are our politicians bankrupting America? Economists Jason Furman and Lawrence Summers argue no. These prominent economists – Summers […]