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Monthly Archives: October 2009
British Drug Advisor Fired
Who among us would voluntarily eliminate their job? Especially if it was well paying. I don’t think many people could truthfully answer yes unless they had a better job lined up. That’s why stories like this don’t surprise me.
Regulators and those in the system who benefit from government spending have strong incentives to silence dissident [...]
David Brooks Channels Hayek
Find the text here. Government meddling in executive pay raises alarms for two reasons:
The government is breaking legally binding contracts.
Unintentional consequences are inevitable.
Brooks focuses on the second reason, giving a nice hat-tip to Friedrich Hayek, but he gives short shrift to the first reason. I don’t like the direction this administration is going.
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Naomi Klein: Even less coherent in person
It would take a lengthy screed to document all of the inconsistencies I heard in Naomi Klein’s Mario Savio Memorial Lecture tonight. She, like Michael Moore, seems to believe that free-markets are by and large bad for workers, bad for consumers, and bad for any civilized society. The formula is getting tiresome: seizing on a [...]
Posted in Berkeley Tagged Naomi Klein, privatization, the road to serfdom, UC Berkeley Leave a comment
NYT Proposes Another Stimulus
From the New York Times Editorial Board:
“Immense federal stimulus has jolted the economy. But what happens when those measures run their course? The economy is going to need more government support, or it is bound to be very weak for a very long time — and vulnerable to a relapse into recession.”
Hold up a second New [...]
60 Minutes proves it’s still worth watching
This segment from last night’s 60 Minutes couldn’t provide a better example of government waste and inefficiency. Steve Kroft investigates massive fraud in the form of false Medicare claims. Apparently, Miami cocaine kingpins have been replaced on the criminal hierarchy by fraudsters billing Medicare for non-existent power-scooters and prosthetic limbs. Attorney General Eric Holder claims to [...]
Posted in Government Spending, Health Care Tagged 60 minutes, eric holder, medicare, waste Leave a comment
The Socialist’s Problem
A major criticism of socialism is that it is inefficient. Milton Friedman taught us this when he described the four different ways in which money can spent. We assume that money can be spent by either us, individuals, or by the others (namely, the government). Money can be spent on ourselves, again the individuals, or [...]
Profit Motive
Senator Diane Feinstein on health care reform:
My greatest fear is that we pass health reform legislation and premiums continue to increase. I am concerned that without a public option, this will be difficult to accomplish. Private, for-profit insurance companies have no moral compass, and will look for ways to avoid any regulations included in the [...]
FDA Review
Alexander Tabarrok and David Klein, economic professors at George Mason University, study the FDA and conclude:
We believe that FDA regulation of the medical industry has suppressed and delayed new drugs and devices, and has increased costs, with a net result of more morbidity and mortality.
I see little reason for the FDA to restrict my freedom over [...]
New UC Berkeley Student Aid Plans
From the Daily Cal
Yudof said he will ask the UC Board of Regents to cover tuition for students whose families make up to $70,000 and that the university aims to raise $1 billion during the next four years for student aid.
My question is, what happens to those students whose families make $71,000? Whenever the government [...]
Three Difficult Words to Say