Recently, I have written a couple of short op-eds (see here and here) arguing that commerce, to the Framers and ratifiers of the Constitution, did not mean economic activity, gainful activity, etc. It means trade–among the states or with foreign nations, or with Indians. The purpose of the interstate Commerce Clause, which should guide interpretation, is creation of...
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Ronald Coase, winner of the 1991 Nobel Prize in Economic Science, turns 100 today, still publishing. As The Economist magazine pointed out in its recent tribute to his work on firms: He has long chided his fellow economists for scrawling hieroglyphics on blackboards rather than looking at what it actually takes to run a...
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According to the Wall Street Journal’s Michael Rapoport (“Bailed-Out Banks Slip toward Failure”, 12/27/2010, p. C1), 98 U.S. financial institutions, which collectively were granted $4.2 billion in handouts under Washington’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), are in danger of going belly-up. The commercial banks imminently in peril, such as the Legacy Bank of Milwaukee...
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The New York Times now reports that exactly contrary to its earlier claims, the Obama administration is now quietly seeking to sneak back in by regulation the provision of “end-of-life planning” (“death panels”) that were dropped from the Obamacare bill that was signed into law. The Times article reports that the regulations have been...
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Panelists David Friedman and Judge Alex Kozinski had a lively exchange in response to a question about the doctrine of jury nullification during the Q&A portion of our recent Independent Policy Forum, “Is U.S. Justice Broken? Overcoming Government Legal Failure“, based on our book, The Pursuit of Justice: Law and Economics of Legal Institutions,...
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Seven states have no personal income taxes. As a result of the 2010 census, four of them are among the eight states that will gain Representatives in the US House. Florida, Nevada, Texas, and Washington will all gain at least one Representative. The remaining three no income tax states are low-population states that only...
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You be the judge. You may base your judgment in part on the information contained in the following e-mail message that I received this evening. I post it here in full. Press Release 12/20/2010 The Federal Grants and Loans Catalog is now available. This publication contains more than 5000 financial programs, subsidies, scholarships, grants...
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In a new article in the London Guardian, “$2 Trillion Debt Crisis Threatens to Bring Down 100 U.S. Cities,” Elena Moya reports that “Overdrawn American cities could face financial collapse in 2011, defaulting on hundreds of billions of dollars of borrowings and derailing the U.S. economic recovery. Nor are European cities safe—Florence, Barcelona, Madrid,...
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The much anticipated call to arms for a left/right antiwar coalition, ComeHomeAmerica.US, is now available. The book is edited by Paul Buhle, Bill Kauffman, George O’Neill Jr. and Kevin Zeese. It includes selections from both conservatives and liberals, including the editors as well as yours truly (on the American Anti-Imperialist League), Jesse Walker, Doug...
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On November 13, 2010, unsuspecting shoppers got a big surprise while enjoying their lunch at the Welland Seaway Mall in Welland, Ontario, Canada. More than 100 members of the Christmas Flash Mob broke out to sing the “Hallelujah Chorus,” from George Frideric Handel’s oratorio “Messiah.” This YouTube video of the event has now also...
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