The Florida sales tax holiday has ended. From 12:01 a.m. on July 23 to midnight on July 31, House Bill 101 provided for a sales tax holiday on:

During the French and Indian War (1754–1763), Americans continued the great tradition of trading with the enemy, and even more readily than before. As in King George’s War, Newport took the lead; other vital centers were New York and Philadelphia. The individualistic Rhode Islanders angrily turned Governor Stephen Hopkins out of office for embroiling Rhode Island in a “foreign” war between England and France.

I recently criticized The Economist for its very confused Keynesian analysis of monetary policy in Europe . Its analysis of China’s impact on the global economy in its latest issue is however a lot more impressive. Apart from a few minor details, its provides a interesting and correct analysis of the subject.

If the Mises Site is not enough, there is now another source on the web for economic education (this via Jeff Scott):

FINANCIAL EDUCATION FOR TEENS
The Federal Reserve and USA Today launched a new online project intended to teach middle school and high school students about economics and personal finances by constructing the front page of a USA Today-style newspaper called Fed Today.

The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection, by Diego Gambetta

Marc Emery, the head of a Canadian marijuana seed distributorship that is reputed to be the largest such enterprise in the world, was arrested earlier today in Halifax, apparently due to a “request” from the US DEA. Emery, also an avid anti-drug-war activist and the editor/publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine, is apparently slated for extradition to the US, according to this blog and other sources.

Krugman seems to think that the French are better off overall because they work less and spend more time with their families. He grants that this makes them poorer but “to the extent that the French have less income than we do, it’s mainly a matter of choice.” Not really.

I was just having a conversation with a visiting political philosopher from Northern Italy. He asked about a sense he has picked up from American political philosphy literature and culture. He said, and he was cautious in saying so, that he sensed that “Rothbard seems to be somehow ostracized by the profession.” He meant that mainstream books and articles do not typical deal with Rothbard’s contributons as a libertarian who hammered out a property-rights-based case for stateless society. He wondered how to account for this.