Newsflash: Governments Lie

Bureau of Labor Statistics head Dr. Erika McEntarfer is one of the latest persons President Trump has told “you’re fired.” President Trump said this month that he fired Dr. McEntarfer because the president believed she manipulated jobs data. Manipulations, he stated, include the updated May and June BLS numbers showing the U.S. economy created 258,000 fewer jobs than originally reported, as well as the weaker than expected July jobs report. All of this, the president suggested, was designed to make President Trump look bad.

You Created Jobs for Robots?

It’s all your fault. You created jobs for robots, as you demanded that companies increase their efficiency in providing superior products and services. Companies responded to your demands sufficiently, driven by a positive response to consumer demands for efficiency. Companies introducing robots and machines is a clear example that there is no such thing as market failure—companies are doing what they are supposed to do: listening to consumer demand.

The Meaning of Coercion in Hayekian Philosophy

The literal meaning of coercion is of little philosophical use, as it could mean anything that anyone feels under pressure to do against his will. The word “force” is often used conversationally in that broad sense—“they ran out of the style I wanted, so I was forced to buy a different style.” During the covid lockdowns there were heated debates over whether people had been “coerced” into complying with the vaccination mandates as, predictably, those who enforced the mandates later claimed that no one was “forced” to comply.