Milton Friedman was a tiny little Jewish fellow who grew up in New Jersey, the son of Eastern European immigrants. Famously logical, he was able to distill complex ideas into snippets palatable to even those with short attention spans. Saying things like “There is no such thing as a free lunch” and “Hell hath no…
Throughout much of the 20th century and into the 21st, many American movements have been driven by the notion of ‘equality.’ There is, to be sure, some merit in this. For example, the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection is not considered to be controversial. Equality before the law is indeed one of the bulwarks…
Photo by 401(K) 2013 1) Yourself (pay yourself first) The single most important investment that you can make is in yourself. If you are not already doing so, it is time to start paying yourself 10% of every dollar that you make, whether through your job, your investments, or anything else. That money is to…
Photo by ali eminov 1. America is exceptional in its stance on civil liberties America is exceptional because prior to and after Americans achieved independence, they showed that they really did take their freedoms seriously. The first English colonies in North America had been established by the people who wanted to get away from the…
“One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” ― Milton Friedman Our nation is driven by people who want to do good. Too often government policies and programs are enacted with the very best intentions and that’s all that seems to matter. The actual effectiveness…
Outsourcing — sending manufacturing or services work abroad where it can be done more cheaply — can be a tough sell in the best of times. It’s even more of a challenge when jobs in the U.S. are already hard to find, making it painful to think of precious jobs being shipped overseas. If only…
American public schools continue to deteriorate while the education system mass produces mediocre students, unprepared for the challenges of real life. In the information age we live in today, we need smart students who can become globally competitive citizens, like never before. The public school system is detrimental to the success of our kids in…
Given the actions of the Federal Reserve, particularly over the last twenty years or so, we have become accustomed to the fixing of interest rates as normal. Indeed, there appear to be benefits for many from such policies, at least in the near term. After all, given mortgage rates as low as 2% to 3%,…
Photo by donnamarijne 1. The Agricultural Revolution Agriculture involving domestication of plants and animals was developed around 12,000 years ago. The Fertile Crescent of Western Asia, Egypt, and India were sites of the earliest planned sowing and harvesting of plants that had previously been gathered in the wild. Agricultural techniques such as irrigation, crop rotation,…
Photo by roger4336 10. St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis is a major US port in eastern Missouri. The city, whose population is estimated to be around 320,000, is the second largest in the state. Almost 15% of St. Louis’ population is living below the poverty line. Missouri was one of only two states in the…
Photo by US Mission to the United Nations Agencies in Rome 1. The free market reduces poverty A 2013 study published by the World Bank which examined 18 countries over four decades, found that 75% of the income gains accruing to the bottom 40% of income earners were a result of economic growth. Thus, policies…
I was recently disheartened by the news that Mexican Cocoa-Cola would soon be switching over from sugar as a sweetener to High Fructose Corn Syrup, like the American counterpart. The story of how Mexican Coke became popular on American shelves in a great lesson in adverse side effects and the power of market choice. Of…