Category: Politics
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The Effect of Unions on Employment and Wages
We are seeing a lot of heated rhetoric here in Wisconsin about the governor and unions. The clearest treatment I have read of the effect of unions is Chapter 20 in Henry Hazlitt\’s book Economics In One Lesson. Jeffrey Miron, a Senior Lecturer at Harvard University and Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, provides a…
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Fun with Numbers or “Lies, Damned Lies, and Statisticsâ€
In my work we use statistics to support or disprove a point. We mine data to look for patterns, answer questions, and search for evidence of impacts. We try very hard to be objective and accurate in our use of statistics. I spend a lot of time reviewing work of others and must be on…
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Do Teacher Unions Advance Education?
Wisconsin is undergoing quite a bit of strife as the Governor tries to curb the power of unions, including the teachers\’ union. Opponents predict disaster and falling education quality if the union\’s power is reduced. Blogger IowaHawk looks at the data and comes to the conclusion that students in non-unionized Texas scores better than students…
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I Am Right, If You Disagree with Me You Are Evil
I am a moral, conscientious person. I believe that in supporting X I am making the world a better place. You believe in Y. X and Y appear to be on the opposite side of the argument. Since you do not support X you must be evil. This approach has framed too many debates, it…
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Job creation by the government – slight of hand
When the government moves money around to ‘create jobs’ they achieve the opposite effect.
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Trade With Your Children
If it makes life easier if our children help out with the chores, then trade with China enhances everyone\’s welfare! The two seem miles apart but are supported by the same logic.
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Liberal – Progressive – Conservative
The word Liberal doesn\’t mean what it used to, liberals are trying to escape a tainted word by adopting \’progressive\’, and \’conservatives\’ lack philosophical consistency.
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The Great Depression – Plenty of Blame to Share
[This is part of a series, which is introduced in the posting titled \”Unintended Consequences\” here.] [Edited September 13, 2011] There are plenty of options for pointing to government policies and behavior that brought about the Great Depression, deepened it, and helped it to last much longer. The Gold Standard and France against the World.…
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The Housing Crisis in the United States
[This is part of a series, which is introduced in the posting titled \”Unintended Consequences\” here.] There is a lot of blame to spread around for the housing crisis we are still experiencing and the accompanying financial crisis. The main stream stories mostly point at rapacious rich bankers. I don’t doubt that greed played a…