Category Archives: economics

a new kind of fiat currency inflation

The Nigerian jackpot has suddenly grown much bigger. No more chump change like 18 or 21 million dollars; today’s offers are for $55M and $75M.

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dismal liberty

“Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question“, source of the phrase ‘dismal science’. . . . with regard to the West Indies, it may be laid down as a principle, which no eloquence . . . can invalidate or hide, except for a short time … Continue reading

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troops overly supported

Government and the godawful greatest generation: Bob Smith traces a cluster of social ills to veterans’ benefits post 1945. (Link updated 2006.)

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the fatal flaw

Vanessa Layne observes (in mail): One of the significant problems in the marketplace for office automation software is that the person who uses it is almost never the person who decides to buy it. The feedback loop is never closed, … Continue reading

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those wacky economists

A couple of weeks ago I happened to meet Jeff Hummel on Market Street. My eye was caught not by his face but by his t-shirt, which bore several crossed-out misspellings of Laissez Faire.

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stoners everywhere

Jacob Sullum: Reefer gladness / Drug users in the next office and atop the corporate ladder Lewis, the man who accomplished all this, remains Progressive’s chairman and owns more than a tenth of the company’s shares, making him a billionaire. … Continue reading

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the promised what?

Why Jews Don’t Farm. Link from Matthew Yglesias, whose commentors don’t think much of the essay.

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