The Coming Ice Age

Global warming, global cooling – both give politicians a chance to take your money and give it to pliant voters, campaign donors, and future employers or clients. The facts don’t matter: any cause will do. Since most of us will believe just about anything we’re told, it’s an almost foolproof game plan.

Results Matter

California’s attempt to create “universal health care”, along the lines of the horrible Massachusetts plan, went down in flames. It’s useful to understand why. Once the unions and Democrats understood the true impact, they wanted no part of it. I wonder how long Clinton and Obama can continue to beat this drum. I suspect that a lot of people, deep down inside, hope that the laws of economics will somehow be repealed and universal health care can be achieved painlessly. Good luck with that. It would sure be nice to see an honest discussion of the issue detailing not only the good that results, but the bad as well. We might accept greater poverty, a lower standard of living for the middle class, higher unemployment, and a slowdown in medical progress in exchange for universal coverage. Or we might not. But discussing only the benefits and not the costs will certainly lead to bad decisions. But what can you expect from politicians?

Economic Thinking

I do believe economists think differently – they use logic. This article explains (very clearly) the impact of  “genetic privacy” laws. The bottom line: genetic privacy  laws will result to more expensive and less helpful health care. Why is it that the people who complain most about the high cost of health care seem determined to make it more expensive? I suspect that they rely more on emotion than logic.

Happiness Is…

A friend sent me a birthday card with this quote:

All we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.

I couldn’t agree more. This quote comes from one Charles Kingsley, who said a number of interesting things.

Another of my favorites:

We have used the Bible as if it were a mere special constable’s handbook, an opium dose for keeping beasts of burden patient while they are overloaded.

Vouchers

Why do Democrats favor vouchers for college students but not high school students? Can you spell special interests?

Good News

I get tired of the unrelenting reporting of bad news. Good news isn’t news, I guess, so I’ve collected some “good news” in My Notebook.

More Stimulus

In My Notebook, I’ve collected a lot of Web pages which explain why the stimulus package is such a poor idea. Now Greg Mankiw has collected much more: The Coalition Against Fiscal Stimulus.

Supply Side

Many of the subjects I discuss here concern supply-side economics. To put things in context, I’ve put some notes and references in My Notebook.

Tax Thoughts

Well, I guess I’ve complained enough about the stimulus package. Now I’m starting to gather my thoughts on taxes in My Notebook.

Will Wonders Never Cease?

A wonderful thing has happened. The Wall Street Journal is now online and free. With all their great content, no one will have time to read me!

One article I read says that Washington is going to stimulate us. I guess it’s easy to be bipartisan about giving away money in an election year. My Notebook has some information about why the stimulus package is a dumb idea.