Read
Writing by John Tamny and Parkview contributors, from the latest commentary to the collected archive.
1299 essays · Newest first
Central planning is bad, which means government spending is bad. Contra the most prominent number in economics (GDP), government spending is by its very name an economic wrecking ball. These truths…
Economists and their obtuse theories have been the overwhelming driver of reduced progress since 1971. Market-friendly economists (think Milton Friedman) are paradoxically the biggest offenders since…
In an ideal world, every credentialed economist would spend a day, week or semester in Orlando as a way of facing up to the myriad fallacies that stalk their profession. What gives Orlando life is…
Now that Epiphany has begun and Christmas is over, perhaps it’s time to stop being so excessively nice to “groups” that do the most damage to an orderly and civilized…
They’re both wrong. Who is? Trump supporters who’ve long defended mindless tariffs, along with economists wisely against mindless tariffs, but who now claim they didn’t really mean what they said…
“Definitely wasn’t interested in going to insurance or anything like that.” That’s how former University of Texas and University of Utah quarterback Cam Rising explained his decision to get into…
As has been said here before, the most important line in Henry Hazlitt’s Economics In One Lesson has rarely, if ever, been referenced. Hazlitt wrote, “What is harmful or disastrous for an individual…
“And on the tax front, it’s time for rich people like me to pay more.” As some may know, but exponentially fewer than he surely hoped, that’s what 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney…
The Federal Reserve is a full employment act for economists, both inside the central bank and outside of it. Please keep this in mind amid all the debates about what the Fed will do, how independent…
It was 1994, and the Republicans had just taken control of the House of Representatives. After the change Cato Institute co-founder Ed Crane received a call from Fannie Mae, one in which he was told…
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities—brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.” – John W. Gardner Rich people are the most important buyers in the world. That’s why it’s…
Working recently in a manufacturing facility outside of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, Chandra Das entered a debate at the factory’s inspection table. Das, a Hindu, apparently made a negative…
The fraudulent number that is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a substantially shrunken number relative to the true size of the U.S. economy. See the “surge” in GDP reported yesterday for evidence.…
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Secretary of Health and Human Services U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20201 Dear Mr. Kennedy: I’d like…
The cannons roared. The soldiers charged. Hurrah! The soldiers died. We threw dirt clods at one another; pinecones were hand grenades. We pretended they were the Germans, and they pretended…
No one just chooses to borrow money. What an obnoxious conceit, one that imagines lenders are blithe about those loaned to. More realistically, those with title to money decide who can and cannot…
“Increased cash flow allowed TCI to borrow more money and pay higher total interest costs on it, which we used to buy still more cable systems.” That’s how cable television visionary John Malone…
Bill Dally dropped out of high school. Something about history class. He didn’t want to sit through it. Dally subsequently went to work as an auto mechanic, though high test scores eventually secured…
In 2022, Mexico’s politicians banned vaping products, hailing it as a public health victory. In practice, it did the opposite — pushing millions into an unregulated black market now controlled by…
At Luke Russert’s college graduation, Tim Russert (1950-2008) joked about the fake ID used by his son during college to get into bars. Apparently the ID was quite good. Laughter at Tim Russert’s…
“That’s really scary.” Those are the words of Neil Carey, a retired social worker who is 87. Carey is describing his occasional memory lapses that aren’t due to traditional Alzheimer’s. As Carey…
Conservatives need to relax. See their ranting about Netflix’s proposed purchase of Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD). Podcaster Benny Johnson described the possible deal as “the most dangerous media…
Why is Ray Dalio’s debt alarmism so wrongheaded? The view here is that successful investing (Dalio is brilliant at it) is incredibly difficult, while economics is blindingly simple. The investor in…
“Speed is the name of the game.” That’s how venture capitalist Ben Braverman recently explained investing to the New York Times. He was describing the extraordinary efforts he’s made to match capital…
