Category Archives: politics

Philip Berg for San Fransisco’s 8th Congressional District

By Charlie Deist | Published: March 11, 2010
Last night, libertarian congressional candidate Philip Berg spoke to Students for Liberty. He is running against Nancy Pelosi and is campaigning on a platform of “libertarians against capitalism,” which was also the name of his talk. Bryan Caplan has posted on the subject in response to Freeman editor Sheldon Richman, and I thought that I agreed [...]
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A Question for the First Lady

By Charlie Deist | Published: February 16, 2010
The SF Chronicle recently reported on Michelle Obama’s ambitious plans to curb childhood obesity through federally funded programs aimed at helping parents and children make better eating decisions. The article stresses the urgency of government action given sky-rocketing health-costs and even goes as far to label rising obesity as a national security concern, since more [...]
Also posted in Freedom, Government Spending, Unintended Consequences | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Political Rhetoric

By Josh Weil | Published: February 14, 2010
How is the Sarah Palin “changey” thing workin’ for you? I’m not really sure what this question is asking. But I’ll share some thoughts on the matter. Sarah Palin reminds me a lot of George W. Bush, and that’s a bad thing. Both are social conservatives who preach small government but don’t really understand what they are [...]
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Greg Mankiw Still Signaling Something…

By Charlie Deist | Published: February 11, 2010
I will always have a deep respect for Professor N. Gregory Mankiw for introducing me to the basic principles of economics. In my opinion, he is one of the most sensible and even-handed mainstream economists. However, I have commented before on Mankiw’s seeming lack of self-awareness when it comes to patting himself and similarly accomplished academic [...]
Also posted in Psychology & Behavior, Self Interest | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 [...]
Also posted in Regulation | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Camelot Legacy Could End up Hurting Health Care

By Charlie Deist | Published: January 15, 2010
I usually don’t post about the horse-race element of American politics, but recent twists in the Senate race to fill the late Ted Kennedy’s seat have made the story too amusing to pass on an opportunity for commentary. If you don’t know the story, Republican candidate Scott Brown has posed an unexpected challenge to the Democrat [...]
Also posted in Health Care | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Libertarians and Conservatives: Strange Bedfellows (pt. 2)

By Charlie Deist | Published: December 24, 2009
“Libertarians worry primarily about constraints imposed by government, while liberals worry most about constraints imposed by birth and the play of economic forces.” –Brink Lindsay, Cato Institute In the comments of part one of this post, Paul doubted my conclusion that conservative tea-party type people have been a primary force in limited the size and scope [...]
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