Category:Poverty & Inequality
Better market-oriented proposals that reduce income inequality
February 15, 2017 | Post
I was initially excited to see that progressive Dean Baker has written a piece on “Eight Market-Oriented Proposals That Reduce Income Inequality” for AEI. It begins promisingly by criticizing overly strict occupational licensing for high-skilled workers. But it then studiously avoids the really big wins. Namely: 1. Immigration. High-skilled immigration reduces conventionally measured inequality by […]
The Racist Origin of the Minimum Wage — Deirdre McCloskey
February 13, 2017 | Video
Minimum wage laws were invented to protect the “Anglo-Saxon” race from competition. Prof. Deirdre McCloskey explains the authoritarian roots of Progressivism.
Explaining the Protectionist Instinct
February 10, 2017 | Post
One of the gravest economic mistakes that humans can make is to forget that ours is unavoidably a world of scarcity.
America changed, and the Rust Belt failed to adapt
January 27, 2017 | Post
On Friday, January 20, 2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. His victory in the 2016 election was a surprise to many, and his success in the so called Rust Belt made it happen. Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania all went to Trump, something that hadn’t happened for a Republican […]
How school vouchers can help children with disabilities
January 26, 2017 | Post
Last week, Douglas County went in front of the U.S. Supreme Court because the family of Endrew F., a fifth grade student with autism, sued it for refusing to give Endrew a voucher to attend a school to meet his unique educational needs.
Commerce is pointing the way to a more peaceful and prosperous Cuba.
January 23, 2017 | Post
Commerce brings out the best in human beings by providing incentives to care about others. Those who can’t rise above focusing on their short-term narrow needs have little ability to meet the needs of others.
Over-Criminalization Nation — 5 Blood-Boiling Cases of Government Overreach
December 28, 2016 | Post
Every year the number of regulations, dictates, rules, decrees, guidelines, statutes, laws, and bylaws in the United States grows by leaps and bounds.
Is culture the key to poverty?
December 20, 2016 | Post
A personal story about Vance’s climb from poor, white Appalachia to a Yale law degree and a white-collar career, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis will make you laugh, cry, and think carefully about the importance of culture for economic wellbeing.
Privilege, Risk, and Harm
December 18, 2016 | Post
Trump’s victory has triggered a spate of post-hoc analysis about what went wrong. One of the major narratives to take root is that Trump’s win was fueled by a rejection of PC culture and identity politics broadly.
How Castro Is Like The Minimum Wage
November 30, 2016 | Post
In my mind, then, Castro is a lot like the minimum wage: something we must stubbornly decry even though there are far greater ills in the world.
Minimum Wage Is A Cruel Policy For Poor People
November 7, 2016 | Video
The minimum wage is often cast as a humanitarian cause… but it’s not: it harms the very people its supporters are fighting for. Professor Don Boudreaux explains the original reason the minimum wage was established, and its impact then and now.
The economics within Star Wars: The Force Awakens
October 30, 2016 | Post
Thanks to people like Rey, secondhand power converters make their way into the hands of idealistic young future pilots shopping at Tosche Station.
The welfare state is a (bad) polygamist
October 20, 2016 | Post
The road to tyranny is paved with good intentions.
Reasons to be optimistic
October 17, 2016 | Post
Beneath the surface there’s a lot of progress occurring that should make us all feel a little more optimistic about the future.
The answer is a new government program. What’s the question?
October 13, 2016 | Post
Politicians have never met a new taxpayer-funded government program they didn’t like.