URLs du Jour

2009-05-21

  • Brian Doherty of Reaason interviews Thomas Sowell on the ongoing crisis. I especially liked this:
    I think in the U.S. and in most of the world the public understanding of economics is abysmal. But it's one thing not to understand something. I don't understand brain surgery. It's another to want to form policies on things on which you are ignorant. I hear the wonderful phrase "I want to make a difference" when it comes to policy. I would be horrified if I wanted to make a difference in brain surgery. The only difference is more people would die on the operating table.

  • As if cued, Don Boudreaux of Cafe Hayek neatly skewers Obama's economic hubris.
    We Americans are lucky. President Obama, although having zero experience as an entrepreneur or in the automotive industry, has designed fuel-efficiency standards that (he assures us) will save the average car buyer $2,800 over the life of his or her vehicle. What a deal!
    I'm not sure but I think this may be sarcasm. Read the whole thing and see if you agree.

  • Bruce of No Looking Backwards performs a public service for Massachusetts folks: some formulas to calculate their "New Hampshire Retail Radius", which ballparks the break-even distance to come up here and buy stuff, given the recent MA sales tax boost. Hey, the more you buy, the more sense it makes. So when in doubt… (Via the Viking Pundit.)

    Now someone needs to come up with a calculator that shows when it's more economical to drive back to Massachusetts to save a few percent on the meals tax.