The toll of the coronavirus has been severe. But a new study has found that the collective response to the virus may ultimately claim more lives than the virus itself. In a new National Bureau for Economic Research paper, researchers from Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and Duke University concluded that a staggering 890,000 additional … Continue reading Unemployment During the Pandemic Expected to Cause 900,000 US Deaths, New Economic Study Finds
Category: Economy
President Joe Biden wasted no time after Wednesday’s inaugural ceremonies before getting to work. He signed 17 executive orders and memorandums—by far the most in history on a president’s first day—one of which halted construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would have carried crude oil from Canada through the US. “Construction on the … Continue reading 3 Harmful Consequences of Biden Killing the Keystone XL Pipeline
Inaugural addresses have historically been used by incoming or returning Presidents to outline the broad principles by which they intend to govern. With the exception of the federal budget and taxes, the limited reach of early U.S. federal governments meant that, up until the progressive era of the late 19th century, these speeches contained little mention … Continue reading Libertarian Economics in Inaugural Addresses
The 2020 election reprised one of the most common Presidential campaign techniques—promising massive new government investments, backed by “rosy scenario” projections of the good they will do. About the only real difference from the past was increasing the number of things called investments and the number of zeros at the end of the amounts promised. … Continue reading The Unseen Costs of Government ‘Investments’
Is it that time of the year yet? You know … time to bash Milton Friedman and his “Shareholder Doctrine.” Yes it is! In fact, 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of the famous Friedman Doctrine, which was published in the New York Times in 1970. Of all of Friedman’s great ideas, the Shareholder Doctrine is … Continue reading How Cars Got Safer: Free Market Lessons from Automotive Crash Test Ratings
Absorbing lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey plans for Arizona to once again lead the way in health care reform, this time by seeking legislation to make permanent his emergency executive order that allows Arizona residents to obtain telehealth services from practitioners licensed in any of the 50 states and the … Continue reading Arizona, First in Occupational Licensing Reform, Now Poised to Become First in Telehealth Reform
2020 was one of the worst years in modern American history for small businesses. And now, thanks to a wave of minimum wage legislation that kicked in on January 1, things are about to get even worse. Make no mistake: small business owners are already seriously hurting. When state and local governments responded to the … Continue reading Minimum Wage Hikes Kick in Across the Country—at the Worst Possible Time for Small Businesses
California small businesses are crumbling under the weight of a new stay-at-home order and a lack of meaningful financial assistance. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, issued a new region-based lockdown order for California on Dec. 3, forcing more California businesses to close their doors or severely limit operations. “We are at a tipping point in our … Continue reading 4 California Small Business Owners Share Their Struggles to Survive Under Lockdowns
Anyone who advocates for “Market Urbanism”—aka free-market city policy—must grapple with a common response: “but then we’ll get a bunch of Houstons.” The implication is that Houston is a sprawling mess of traffic, pollution, and bad architecture, and has become this way due to no regulation. The city doesn’t have zoning, after all, and skeptics … Continue reading What’s the Cause of Houston’s Growth?
As my Cato colleague Chris Edwards and I have been documenting here recently, COVID-19 has accelerated the longer‐term migration of many Americans from expensive cities like New York and San Francisco to places with lower taxes and a lower overall cost of living. Examining changes to LinkedIn members’ zipcodes and various cost‐of‐living metrics, Bloomberg’s Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou today provides more evidence of the “Expensive … Continue reading Instead of New Taxes, Maybe High‐Cost Places Should Try… Lower Costs
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