Economists discover bubbles (NYTimes, free subscription or bugmenot.com), and ponder what causes them. While the struggling economists make plausible (if obvious) theories as to why bubbles persist, no where in the article are the root causes of bubbles explored (such as expansionist monetary policies).
Without government courts, how would consumers find redress against businesses that rip them off? That’s the question I answer, in part, in my article, “Free-Market Justice is in the Cards,” published in the April 2005 issue of The Freeman. Free-market justice is merely business as usual for the credit card companies who settle disputes every day between buyers and sellers.
Joe Kissell writes today on the Antikythera Mechanism, which seems to be an analog computer constructed by a Greek in 82 BC. Much of the technology embodied in the device was lost, only to be reinvented hundreds of years later. What does this teach us?It reminds us that the “historian’s bias” is conservative, but can lead us into error. Just because something is not documented, does not mean it did not happen. My experience as a design engineer has taught me that loss of technical know-how occurs almost continuously.
As part of a nationwide effort against the Australian government ending its enforcement of compulsory union fees, thousands of students across the country have taken to the streets in protest. They are obviously not students of simple logic, as their argument, in the words of the President of the National Union of Students, goes like this:
The Federal Reserve seems determined to deny the role they and President Bush has played in creating the hugh U.S. current account deficit. First it was Ben Bernanke who tried to blame it on a “global savings glut”, something which I have commented here and here.
Apparently, Japanese car-makers are concerned about being too profitable, when American car companies are experiencing difficulty. I wonder when strategy courses in business schools will start teaching management of political perception of “fairness to competitors”.
Declan McCullah (Cnet) has found that the Soc-Sec Admin opened its files to the FBI and other police agencies after 9-11, so that the FBI could investigate people. It seems to be the first time this was permitted, if the official history is correct. Here is a PDF of all the documents obtained through FOIA.
