He writes : “The main reason for deficits, however, is that revenues have plunged. Federal tax receipts as a share of national income are now at their lowest level since 1950.” But have a look at this chart. Had spending stayed on the Clinton-era trendline, the budget would still be balanced even with the revenue decline
From Mike Ewens at AWC blog comes this: Iraq’s Dinar Gives Geenback a Run for its Money , and its paragraph with unintended irony: “The big jump has caused financial difficulties for Iraqi businessmen who have their capital in dollars, as well as for Iraqis receiving their salaries in dollars from foreign employers. They have seen their spending
Sudha Shenoy recommends this piece from the Australian ; it argues that outsourcing is the best thing to happen to the American economy in a very long time. Also in the category of international affairs, linked from Antiwar.com Blog , is this unforgettable interview with Wesley Clark. In a very rare case in which a military commander is held
FEE this morning links to an AP story on how the US has scrapped plans to privatize Iraq’s oil industry . Much more interesting, however, is the article linked on the same item: a wonderful short piece by Murray Rothbard called “ Government in Business “ that ran in The Freeman in 1956. Is there traffic congestion? Ban all cars! Water shortage?
James Glassman interviews Milton Friedman with the transcript printed on Tech Central Station (thanks Norm Singleton). The upshot is that Friedman believes the US ought to prevent drug reimportation so that domestic drug manufacturers can continue to charge very prices to capture the costs associated with gaining FDA-drug approval. In the dynamics
Adam Young’s article on the organ shortage has attracted wide attention. Lifesharers has contacted Mises.org to say that this organization offers a viable way around the restrictions on organ
Now this is getting very petty: US Ponders Plastic Bag Trade War : “The US Commerce Department has said it may impose tariffs of up to 123% on Chinese, Malaysian, and Thai plastic shopping bag producers... The Commerce Department issued its preliminary ruling after complaints from US packaging firms, including Sonoco Products and Interplast Group.
Terry Arthur offers “ one non-economist’s view of another “ in the March 2004 issue of Economic Affairs .
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.
