Monthly Archives: January 2010

More Monopoly Power in Education

By Charlie Deist | Published: January 30, 2010
Josh’s letter to the editor of the Daily Cal is bolstered by this article from Joe Klein, writing in Time Magazine: Toward the end of his life, Shanker began to realize the union was headed down the wrong path. In a 1993 speech, he talked about the need for more accountability: “I wouldn’t be saying these [...]
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Ron Paul Clip

By Josh Weil | Published: January 29, 2010
Ron Paul speaks some truth on Larry King live. The force is strong with this one. Social Bookmarking
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I Should Have Been More Clear

By Josh Weil | Published: January 29, 2010
The State is a Monopoly in Higher Education Issues That was the headline the Daily Cal selected for my letter to the editor. Perhaps I should have been more clear, since that wasn’t what I was trying to argue. The State is the largest source of monopoly power because it has a monopoly on force. It uses that [...]
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My Attempt at a Hayeku

By Charlie Deist | Published: January 28, 2010
It turns out that in addition to being a great rapper, Russ Roberts also has a poetic streak! Here’s my attempt at a Hayeku: Strive not for order Legislation is not law Order emerges Social Bookmarking
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iPads, Blogs and Answers

By Charlie Deist | Published: January 27, 2010
By the numbers, US economic performance over the past decade has not been impressive. However, there are other indicators of progress that NBER and BLS statistics do not convey. I don’t know how the Consumer Price Index currently accounts for changes to the quality of consumer electronics, but even if they could account for the vast [...]
Posted in Innovation, Our Economic World | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Reich-Tracker (001)

By Charlie Deist | Published: January 27, 2010
Robert Reich is a smart man. He is also an impressive man, who fills Wheeler Hall with his presence and personality. I’ve heard two lectures in the former Labor Secretary’s public policy course, Wealth and Poverty. The course name is a misnomer, because Reich actually lectures on the subject of the growing disparity between the [...]
Posted in Regulation, politics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Earmarks are Good?

By Charlie Deist | Published: January 27, 2010
Earlier today, Tyler Cowen shared a radical tweet, from Mercatus fellow Garett Jones. Jones has worked on Capitol Hill, so he knows how Washington works: The key to controlling spending is permitting more earmarks (sic). Cowen asked readers to try to figure out what model Jones is using. Arnold Kling took a stab at it. Find out [...]
Posted in Self Interest | 2 Comments

Keynes vs. Hayek

By Charlie Deist | Published: January 26, 2010
Who offers a more compelling theory of the business cycle? The makers of this video seem to have had an answer to that question in mind. In addition to being catchy, the rap hits on the most important distinctions between the Keynesian and Austrian theories of the business cycle. I especially liked the references to the [...]
Posted in Banking & Finance, Econ 101, hayek | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Self Ownership

By Josh Weil | Published: January 26, 2010
A great YouTube video on the philosophy of liberty: Social Bookmarking
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Monopoly Power

By Josh Weil | Published: January 26, 2010
Here’s a letter that I sent today to the Daily Cal: Decrying privatization and “Monopoly money,” Ricardo Gomez requests your support in handing over more and more responsibility to the government (“The Ongoing Battle for Education Needs Student Support,” Jan 26th). Quick, what is the largest source of monopoly power in California? The correct answer is the [...]
Posted in Government Spending | Tagged , | 2 Comments