Could You Like a Carbon Tax?

Our Wednesday environment focus Here is my “To Do” list for reducing carbon emissions: Buy a Prius. Install solar panels. Take the train to NYC. Lower my thermostat to 60 degrees during the winter. Raise my AC thermostat to 78 during…

One Reason That the Common App and Standard Oil Are Similar

Who would have expected the Sherman Antitrust Act to relate to college applications? In 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed because large firms were acting “in restraint of trade.” Supporting Adam Smith, the goal was to control business size so that the market…

The Monetary Policy Mistakes of a Babysitting Co-op

There once was a French economist whose name was Say. Proclaiming that “Supply Creates Its Own Demand,” Jean-Baptiste Say (1767-1832) entered economic history with Say’s Law. All he meant was that workers are also consumers. The money you receive for producing a good or a service…

How to Defend or Oppose Thomas Piketty

Summarizing Thomas Piketty’s voluminous research in his new book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” the NY Times said that looking back, we have overstated the beneficence of capitalism and looking forward, gross income inequality is our destiny unless policies radically change.…