The Seen, the Unseen, and the Hidden Costs of Statism

Frédéric Bastiat famously observed that the state costs us in ways we can see and ways we cannot see. Economists tend to focus on the second type because they elude public perceptions. What inventions are we denied because of regulations? What might have been done with the resources that are diverted in taxes or higher prices due to protectionism? The answers demonstrate that, because of intervention, we are worse off than we know.

Dr. No in the Senate, Too

And now, there are three, and all happen (?) to be MDs. First, there was obstetrician Ron Paul from Texas. Then, as I noted in a recent posting, Dr. Paul Broun of Georgia, also in the House of Representatives with (Ron) Paul.

Now, I learn (politics buffs will have known of him for a long time) of Dr. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, vying explicitly (a sign saying “NO” is said to hang in his office) for the title, and very handsomely at that, as this NY Times article details.

You call this capitalism?

Here is a huge piece in City Journal by Guy Sorman, the ostensible purpose of which is to herald the triumph of markets over socialism. He tells us that economics teaches this. Fair enough. But once you get into the article, you will find support for pollution trading permits, US imperial patrol of seas, central banking, bailouts of failing banks, patents, limited welfare, restrictions on insider trading, forced transparency rules, and a host of other interventions slyly mentioned in passing as somehow essential to markets.

Liberation by Internet

As a decentralized communication system facilitating the sending and receiving of messages by billions of people, the Internet has greatly shifted the balance of power away from governments and toward sovereign individuals. Even in its early days, the Internet played a vital role in bringing about the downfall of the Soviet Union’s government. Since then, it has catalyzed tremendous economic, social, and political liberation in countries ranging from Cuba to the United States.

The Locavore’s Dilemma: Local Food, Continued

There are some good reasons to buy local (quality, information, etc.), but I’m not convinced that buying local meaningfully reduces one’s carbon footprint. It’s true that transporting foods pollutes the air and spills toxins in some places, but a focus on transportation-related pollution only does part of the accounting. If we’re going to grow oranges locally, this will require more tools, labor, and land than it would take to grow the oranges in California and ship them to Memphis. Thus, we’re saving the environmental damage from transportation but we’re making up for it in several ways. First, we’re using more land.

Government Projects do not “Create Jobs”

State projects may create jobs, but the proper question is, do they create wealth? The state could easily reduce Michigan’s unemployment to 0% by mandating that every unemployed citizen shovel dirt on some state project without pay. Employment alone is not a good indicator of economic success; overall wealth is. Even if state spending can “create jobs,” creating jobs alone does nothing for our state’s overall prosperity or standard of living.

Hayek’s Work on Business Cycles and Monetary Theory

Hayek was not only a leading champion of liberty in the 20th century. As this massive book reveals, he was also a great economist whose elaboration on monetary theory and the business cycle made him the leading foe of Keynesian theory and policy in the English-speaking world. Here are collected his most important works on these topics: re-typeset, indexed for the first time, and beautifully bound in a 536- page hardbound book for the ages.

 

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