Later on, I’ll have more to say about the Fed’s new approach to policy, but this portion of Jay Powell’s speech caught my eye: [O]ur revised statement says that our policy decision will be informed by our “assessments of the shortfalls of employment from its maximum level” rather than by “deviations from its maximum level” as in our previous…
This month I’ve done two Cato Book Forums: one on Laurence Siegel’s Fewer, Richer, Greener; the other on Ilya Somin’s Free to Move. Here’s full video of the events. Enjoy! (0 COMMENTS)…
Start with the state’s economy, which had a relatively low jobless rate of 7.6% in July. Construction was never shut down, and schools in much of the state are opening for classroom instruction. The state expected a budget shortfall of $1 billion for the year but the actual deficit was $210 million. Mr. Kemp says sales tax revenue is rebounding…
It has long been the belief of policymakers that it is the role of government to ensure the general health of the public in order to head off moral hazard. As great as that may sound on the surface, preventive policies, especially prohibition laws which criminalize victimless actions, often have the opposite effect. By this, I mean that they are,…
Consider this general syllogism: Issue X is complicated. Perspective Y’s position on X is not complicated. Therefore, Perspective Y is wrong about X. It’s a solid argument, and one we can apply to endless pressing issues. For instance: Gender relations are complicated. MeToo’s position on gender relations is not complicated. Therefore, MeToo is wrong about gender…
In a lengthy article in today’s Wall Street Journal titled “New Thinking on Covid Lockdowns: They’re Overly Blunt and Costly,” Wall Street Journal reporter Greg Ip does a good job of backing up the title of his article. He shows that the title is justified. Well, almost justified. The thinking isn’t exactly new. It’s been around for a…
A great deal of confusing and contradictory information has been written about the events surrounding the outbreak of Covid-19 in Wuhan, China. Philippe Lemoine has now provided a long and carefully documented account of the early days of the epidemic. This will be followed up with three more installments, discussing conspiracy theories regarding acknowledgement of human-to-human transmission, the origin…
Recently, Raffaele Rossi offered his recommendations for the best macroeconomics textbooks at Five Books. Here, Arnold Kling offers his recommendations: Macroeconomic Patterns and Stories, by Edward Leamer. This provides an excellent introduction to the data that are central to macroeconomics—how they are collected and what they mean. Although it is framed as an introductory textbook for business…
I’m now ready to wrap up my side of the Escaping Paternalism Book Club; Rizzo and Whitman will have the last word, coming soon. Hope you enjoyed the ride! Response to final questions: Knut Heen: When the unit of measurement is cash, discounting is standard practice and non-controversial. When the unit of measurement is utils, discounting is somehow highly…
Part 3 of a #ReadWithMe Series Read the earlier posts here and here. By 2016, Holmes and Balwani had broken up, and he was leaving the company. Carreyrou’s series of articles about Theranos’s unreliable technology had been published in the Wall Street Journal. And yet, many of Elizabeth’s early investors, like Tim Draper, still defended her unreservedly…