And You Thought Economics Had No Where Else to Go
Gene Callahan, Sanford Ikeda, and I wish to announce the launching of a new academic sub-discipline: Gastrointestinal Economics. If you think you can stomach it, read about it here.
Down with Primitivism: A Thorough Critique of Polanyi
Left-wing intellectuals such as Polanyi are always weeping about the “Coca-Colaization” of the rest of the world, writes Rothbard, bemoaning the supposedly lost glories of “folk culture” in the undeveloped countries.
IMF: World’s Financial System in Great Shape
According to the UK Guardian, Global financial system is shock-proof, says IMF. Phew. I am so relieved. What with $100 trillion dollars of derivatives, a $500 billion dollar US trade deficit, the largest financial bubble in history just a few years behind us, not to mention fractional reserve banking, I was a bit worried there for....well....a while now. But as of this moment I can relax.
Democratic Despotism
The road to serfdom — in both Norway and America — is no coincidental detour, writes Ilana Mercer, but rather a well-charted destiny and often flows through mass political participation.
Impending Bankruptcy of the Welfare State
Laurence Kotlikoff, author of the recent book The Coming Generational Storm, is featured in an article Speeches ignore impending U.S. debt disaster: No mention of fiscal gap estimated as high as $72 trillion. Kotlikoff’s primary message is that the on-budget debt is only a small part of the total liabilities of the US government.
US Current account deficit at new record
The US Current account deficit reached a new record high of $166,2 billion or 5,7% of GDP in the second quarter this year. Except for maybe Australia this is the by far highest in the industrialized world. In fact many other rich countries like Japan, Germany and Sweden are recording record surpluses. This record deficit reflects a combination of near record low houshold savings, a rising budget deficit and a recovery in investments.
We are all Right-Wing Social Democrats Now
Here is Kerry’s most elaborate attempt to explain why his central plan is better than Bush’s central plan. Not that words matter to these people in the slightest (Bush famously called for big and smaller government in the same speech at the GOP convention), but it is still interesting to see a Democrat, the party of the public sector (as verses the contracted-out sector that the GOP serves) affect a pro-business style:
The Swinging Door
In response to the Time magazine story on illegal aliens, Who Left the Door Open, Brian Doherty says, Go Ahead, Leave the Door Open. Good for the author of This Is Burning Man for discussing the arguments of Hans-Hermann Hoppe.
The Economics of Happy Feet
It is conventional to credit medicines and hospitals for long lives, writes Jeffrey Tucker, but we should also give due regard to such conventional consumer products such as shoes that make life past the age of 40 worth living at all.
