Repeal Child Labor Laws

I enjoyed writing this piece, and especially researching it. I had no idea how late it was when child labor laws became national. I didn’t know that the original agitation came from women’s textile unions. I had no idea that there were so many exceptions in the law (”wreath making”?). I also found that it was an oddly difficult case to make since most people just assume that without the laws, kids would be chained to rug looms or slaving for Wal-Mart.

Tax Rebates: Old Wine in Old Skins

Some 70 percent of economic growth over the past years was a result of consumption. Now that consumption is slowing down — with lower retail expenditure during the Christmas season and dropping charges to credit cards — a tax rebate will again fan consumption. It will not do a thing to increase savings, from which future investments can be made, writes Wolfgag Grassl. We all know by now that the way out of a recession is through the building of capital goods, not through the temporary fattening up of American retailers and Chinese manufacturers. Second, government can finance its largesse only by either raising taxes — if for political reasons not now, then in future years — or by borrowing even more. Already today, total public debt amounts to over $9 trillion, or two thirds of annual GDP. About 44 percent of it is owed to foreign entities. It will have to be paid back — whether through years of lower consumption, or domestic inflation, or a reduction in the external value of the dollar.

The Recycling Myth

Per Bylund deconstructs Sweden’s vast recycling machinery. This coercive recycling structure is set up in layers, where the consumer (”producer” of waste) gets to do most of the work of sorting, cleaning, and transporting the trash to collection centers. Government-appointed companies then empty the containers and transport the materials to regional centers where the trash is prepared for recycling. And then everything is transported to centralized recycling plants where the materials are prepared for reuse or burning. Finally what is left of the materials is sold to companies and individuals at subsidized prices so that they can make “environmentally friendly” choices. It is “energy saving” simply because government does not count the time and energy used by nine million people cleaning and sorting their trash.

Correcting Kinsley on Libertarianism

I have always liked Michael Kinsley, ever since he was the “liberal” on Crossfire. It’s true, sometimes I enjoyed reading or listening to him in the same way I like to play with a canker sore, but nonetheless, I like Kinsley. Far more than other commentators, Kinsley seems to really believe in what he’s writing, and to actually consider the views of his opponents.

“STIMULUS” -- the Urban Dictionary definition

“STIMULUS”, AKA ECONOMIC CRANK slang, noun. “Stimulus” is slang for a sordid economic nostrum administered on the advice of bankers and academics, many of them carrying the title of “Dr.”. But don’t mistake these “Doctors” for devotees of the Hippocratic Oath. “Stimulus” or economic crank, like any other economic panacea, is a fake cure that gives its victims a temporary but false sense of well-being, even as it sets about causing long term damage to users and the economic community at large.
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