The assertion that “tax-financed public goods can make us all better off” is just that: an assertion. As Rothbard showed, there is no reason to just assume consumers would pay for these amenities were they not forced to through taxation.
The economic analysis of repudiation applies to the debt of all levels of government and to all countries. The central question is not how big the government is or how much it owes, but rather whether the debt is funded by taxes.
What would it mean for the economy if by one fell swoop not just the debt owed to the central bank, but all of it disappeared?
Social activists now regard the minimum wage as another welfare program that can reduce the costs of programs like Medicaid and food stamps, and can reduce inequality. But the minimum wage is very poorly targeted for these purposes.
Every depression generates a clamor among many groups for special privileges at the expense of the rest of society—and the American depression that struck in 1784–85 was no exception.
Social activists now regard the minimum wage as another welfare program that can reduce the costs of programs like Medicaid and food stamps, and can reduce inequality. But the minimum wage is very poorly targeted for these purposes.
Democrats want taxpayer funding for the families of those who died of covid. But, of course, there's no discussion of helping those who died as a result of covid lockdowns, such as those who were denied medical treatment for cancer.
In order to prevent the economy sinking into a lasting state of stagnation, what is required is to reduce both government spending and government regulation, and to rein in the Fed.
Our guest today is Terence Kealey, Professor Emeritus of clinical biochemistry at the University of Buckingham in the United Kingdom, and Research Fellow at the Cato Institute.
"Jobs programs" never create new wealth. They only redirect wealth and resources from other sectors of the economy. The cost to those other sectors is often very high.
