Does the War Have Economic Costs?

The Washington Post reports Economists Debate Link Between War, Credit Crisis. The article is notable both for being poorly reasoned, and for its extensive quotation of faulty or irrelevant arguments made by actual economists.

The article starts by addressing the perception that the war is a cause of the current recession. Senators Voinovich and Obama are quoted to the effect that is it. The public apparently believes this as well:

Payday Lending, RIP

Ohio has effectively shut the door on payday lending. The state legislature — a bunch of nanny do-gooders — recognized the seen: the closing of 1,600 payday stores and the loss of some 6,000 jobs. But these same folks missed the unseen: the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars invested in these businesses; with investment losses to be suffered by many unknown Ohioans.

From the Heartland to the Border

In a scene from a cheap war movie, a man with a sidearm asked me where we were from and where we were going. Milling about were five other holstered agents with a guard dog, deciding whether my story met with their approval.The officer at my window, with his challenging mannerisms, listened to my story and made his decision, all the while holding my life and liberty in the balance. It was then that I realized that it wasn’t just my family that was on vacation — we have allowed liberty to go on vacation as well.