Called laissez-faire, Adam Smith’s prescription for less government in the economy relates to an island with no traffic lights.
When We Don’t Need Traffic Lights
Having recently driven in Manhattan (NYC) and now on Nantucket (an island located 30 miles from the coast of Massachusetts), I’ve been pondering the difference a traffic light can make. In NYC, the traffic lights are constant signals from government.…
When a Parking Ticket Is Unconstitutional
When the police use their chalk lines on tires as the basis for parking tickets, they could be violating the U.S. Constitution.
Why Did the Pedestrian Cross the Road?
In NYC and in Nantucket, Massachusetts, drivers respond to different incentives because Manhattan has traffic lights while Nantucket does not.
How Traffic Lights Relate to Adam Smith
When no traffic lights on the island of Nantucket has created good will among strangers, it also might show the limits of Adam Smith’s laissez-faire.
How to Plant Marijuana Markets
The issues are surprisingly similar for a tiny island like Nantucket and a huge state like California. Both are figuring out how to create the marijuana markets that they legalized. Legalizing Recreational Marijuana Last November, Massachusetts and California voted to…
A Reality Check For Pension Recipients
Shown through grades that are mostly Cs and Ds, state pension problems display unrealistic fiscal policy decisions for an aging population.
Where a Cranberry Meets NAFTA
For another NAFTA example, we can start with the impact of Canadian cranberry production on Nantucket but then continue onward to Wisconsin and beyond.
When Cities Ban Chain Stores
Relating to prices, a local multiplier and vacancies, there are tradeoffs if municipalities change the competitive market structure by banning chain stores.
Adam Smith and Traffic Lights
Located 30 miles from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the island of Nantucket has no traffic lights. Instead, drivers respond to stop signs, rotaries, and courtesy. More often than not, if a pedestrian, a walker, or a biker needs to cross the…