Welcome! This blog will focus on the concept that when you consider all the options, freedom is the moral choice. Whether you want to discuss economics, political systems, or religious expression, the moral option is the one that involves freedom. Read more…
There are a lot of posts on my other blogs, primarily Outrun Change, that deal with freedom. I have copied those posts into this blog to have them together. Posts before January 2013 were copied from there to here. Enjoy Read more…
An article in the Times of Israel, “The road to Egypt: job creators in the Ancient World”, has the subtitle Joseph’s rise to power is no blueprint for good government but rather a profoundly cautionary tale.
I’ve not studied the issues mentioned in the article, but want to put up a post as a marker for future reference. I’ll try to come back to these ideas, but in case that doesn’t happen, or it is a long time until I do, the discussion will be here.
As a Christian, I don’t spend much time in the Torah. Okay, make that zero time.
Having spent a bit of study effort in the book of Genesis, I am familiar with the story of how Joseph used his God-provided experiences and abilities to care for his family.
Imagine my surprise to learn that during the famine years Joseph sold wheat in exchange for cattle and other livestock. When grain ran out a year later and people needed more food, they sold their land to Joseph, i.e. the government. When the famine ended, they had neither land to raise grain nor livestock to produce cash or food. They were slaves. They knowingly went into slavery.
John Allison describes a number of the myths floating around in his article at Forbes. I read it in the 12-10-12 paper edition of Forbes, but can’t find it online. Was able to find it here: The Financial Crisis and the Bank Deregulation Myth.
Here’s two old myths:
One is that the ‘robber barons’ took advantage of the common man to create their fortunes. In fact, great industrialists, like John D. Rockefeller, dramatically improved the quality of life for everyone. Another myth is that President Roosevelt’s New Deal ended the Great Depression, when in fact the Depression did not end until after WWII when his policies were abandoned.
“We are about to starve to death” is a recurringly popular idea. And it is recurringly wrong.
Rich Karlgaard surveys the Malthusians of several ages before giving two reasons such folks always miss the boat in his article Bad News Bear at Forbes.
Mr. Karlgaard mentions four people in the we’re-gonna’-starve-this-afternoon camp. I’ll add a fifth.
“Aid is just a stop-gap. Commerce, entrepreneurial capitalism takes more people out of poverty than aid.” Sounds like some money-grubbing crony capitalist? Well, you might think that. But this was Bono. Yea. Bono. Check it out: [vimeo http://vimeo.com/53945169] (hat tip Read more…
(cross-post from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)
Remember the rapping economists we saw here and here? They’re back!
Just in time for Christmas, EconStories imagines their fantasy Christmas album featuring the classic hits from Keynes, Hayek, and other renown singers you know and love.
Enjoy the greatest collection of economic hits ever aggregated.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=7uKnd6IEiO0#t=41s]
Here’s the arrangement the Pilgrims used when they first landed:
“Although they planted household gardens almost from the start, they collectivized initial field and livestock operations. The settlers had some agricultural successes, but they were unable to grow corn in their common field. Within six months of reaching Plymouth, almost one-half of the population had perished from disease.
That’s a quote from Professor Robert Ellickson in Prof. Don Boudreaux’s article The Pilgrims’ economic progress.
A collectivized farming system didn’t work too well. Starvation was the result.
So, they changed their plans:
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