Economic Causes of War

War is a primitive human institution. From time immemorial, men were eager to fight, to kill, and to rob one another. However, the acknowledgment of this fact does not lead to the conclusion that war is an indispensable form of interpersonal relations and that the endeavors to abolish war are against nature and therefore doomed to failure.

The Flat Tax: Too Little Too Soon.

Mid April is always depressing time of year. The ski season is ending, spring colors have not yet arrived, the pollen count is rising, and above all we must all now “celebrate” Tax Day. Tax day is a miserable time for two reasons: we are made more aware of our tax burden and we come to face the compliance costs of the Income Tax. While it is the case that life has some necessary inconveniences, we should consider how much of our grief on tax day is unavoidable. Federal taxation will exist so long as there is a Federal government, obviously.

We’re in the double digits

The Producer Price Index is out and it shows a change in intermediate goods in March 2008 from 12 months ago (unadjusted) at a 10.5% increase. This follows a 8.8% rate of increase in February and January. Focusing on energy alone, the news is devastating: “The intermediate energy goods index advanced at a 46.4-percent SAAR (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate) from December 2007 to March 2008 after moving up at a 50.6-percent SAAR during the final quarter of 2007.”

Morality and Political Violence

Professor Coady is best known for a book on the epistemology of testimony, Testimony: A Philosophical Study (Oxford University Press, 1992); but he has also established a well-deserved reputation as an authority on the just-war tradition. In Morality and Political Violence, he has produced a major work, characterized by an abundance of good sense and acute argument. I have no hesitation in recommending Morality and Political Violence.

Are Recessions Deflationary?

Over the past few months, I have become increasingly irritated with the confident press claim that recessions lead to lower rates of price inflation. For reasons that I myself do not understand, a recent Wall Street Journal piece pushed me over the edge, and the article you are now reading is the fruit of my frustration. By the end, I hope to convince you that both theory and history show that economic downturns lead to higher price inflation, other things equal.

The Relentless Process of Socializing Health Care

The movement towards socialized medicine is strong but widely misunderstood. Many ordinary people see health care as a right and complain that it is too expensive. Some economists also see problems with the existing health care system and propose public-sector alternatives. One serious problem with those who want socialized medicine is that they fail to see the problems that already exist with governmental involvement in health care.

Economists and their Frameworks

Part of the problem with being an economist — besides having to don sunglasses and a fake beard to avoid throngs of adoring fans and marriage proposals when out in public — is that once you think about a particular economic issue in a certain way, it’s virtually impossible to shake that mindset. If some other economist is reaching a different conclusion with his preferred mental framework, you stubbornly cling to your own conclusion because “when I think about it this way” you seem to be right.
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