Archive for May, 2011
Can Killing Government Prevent Special Interest Capture?
In my last post on meat markets and securities markets, I argued that competitive markets require government oversight to prevent fraud and monopoly. The post drew a response from Libertarian friends: didn’t I know that government regulators would immediately be captured by the regulated industry, resulting in worse fraud and monopoly? Industry capture? Yes, I ...Read more.
Europe Slumming, foreclosure rulings, etc.
(Click on the image above–it is from a very interesting exhibit from 2005.) (1) Europe Slumming It: Last month the LA Times and other outlets reported about IKEA’s factory in Virginia where the company is treating workers in ways that would be unacceptable, and illegal, in Sweden. Workers are pushing back, garnering not much attention ...Read more.
Seniors, Students, and Who “Creates Jobs”
(1) Seniors: Hat-tip to regular blog reader TM for alerting us to an op-ed by WashPo economics blah-blah-er Robert Samuelson (no relation to Nobel prize winning economist Paul Samuelson), who seems to have it in for Social Security. Samuelson tells us that The Elderly Are Better Off Than Advertised. See, I knew that someone besides ...Read more.
Blog is back up; Right targets NLRB
A quick post, now that the blog is back up. (Thanks to D&S subscriber and WordPress expert Shaun S. for helping us figure out what went haywire and getting us back up and running.) (1) Boeing NLRB decision: Readers may know about the recent NLRB ruling against Boeing (here’s a recent interview from the Real ...Read more.
New Issue; Bill Black on Le Show
(1) May/June issue in the mail: E-subscribers have received their May/June issue, and print subscribers should be receiving it shortly. I posted John Miller’s column, No Fooling–Corporations Evade Taxes, last week. Today I posted Randy Albelda’s comment, Teachers, Secretaries, and Social Workers: the New Welfare Moms?, and also Barry Deutsch’s latest ‘toon. Many thanks to ...Read more.
