Apparently Now It's the "Unbroken Window Fallacy"
Posted on March 3rd, 2009 by Kip
The Vice President visits a window factory.
Filed under: Capitalism, Kip's Law, Rent-Seeking, Taxation & Fiscal Policy | Comments Off
Are All Asymmetrical Contracts "Unjust"?
Posted on February 7th, 2009 by Kip
The Times' "Ethicist" channels George Costanza.
Filed under: Capitalism, Freedom of Contract, Kip's Law, Law | 3 Comments »
But They'll Make Great Cars…
Posted on December 27th, 2008 by Kip
Thomas Friedman: Landing at Kennedy Airport from Hong Kong was, as I've argued before, like going from the Jetsons to the Flintstones. The ugly, low-ceilinged arrival hall was cramped, and using a luggage cart cost $3. (Couldn't we at least supply foreign visitors with a free luggage cart, like other major airports in the world?) [...]
Filed under: Capitalism, Kip's Law, Taxation & Fiscal Policy | 2 Comments »
Kip's Law Sighting: Retired Flight Attendant
Posted on December 26th, 2008 by Kip
Holiday air travel + weather delays = yearning for the "good ol' days" — I know the days are gone when attendants could be written up if we did not put the linen napkins with the T.W.A. logo embossed on them in the lower righthand corner of the first-class diners' trays. As are the days [...]
Filed under: Economics & Finance, Kip's Law, Updates | 2 Comments »
Kip's Law Sighting: Adam Cohen on Layoffs
Posted on December 8th, 2008 by Kip
New York Times columnist Adam Cohen: Mass layoffs produce big winners and losers. Most workers who remain are financially unscathed, even though their employer is struggling. Wages are actually expected to increase 3.5 percent in 2009. Those laid off are left with no salary and, because the job market is so brutal, risk losing their [...]
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Linkfest: Go Nudge Yourself
Posted on November 19th, 2008 by Kip
To review: There was a flash in the blogospheric pan a few months ago over a controversial book called Nudge, the authors of which (a law professor and an economics professor, both of some renown) insisted that "libertarian paternalism" is not an axiomatic oxymoron. I, along with almost every other libertarian commentator, was skeptical. Through [...]
Filed under: Freedom of Contract, Kip's Law, Libertarianism, Updates | Comments Off
Kip's Law Sighting: Are We at "Socialism" Yet?
Posted on October 22nd, 2008 by Kip
Barney Frank calls for making Wall Street bonuses illegal: "There should be a moratorium on bonuses," Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, told reporters yesterday in Washington. "They have a negative incentive effect because they are the ones that say if you take a risk and it pays off you get a big bonus," and if it [...]
Filed under: Capitalism, Freedom of Contract, Kip's Law, Politics | Comments Off
Kip's Law Sighting: Anti-Market Airport Bureaucrat
Posted on September 8th, 2008 by Kip
Despite the rain and wind from the remnants of Tropical Storm Hannah, my flight from Puerto Rico arrived a good 10-15 minutes early Saturday evening. Apparently I'm one of the lucky ones: A third of U.S. flights travel through New York airspace, and flight cancellations and delays at area airports account for three-quarters of significant [...]
Filed under: Economics & Finance, Kip's Law | 1 Comment »
Kip's Law Sighting: Now Even "Self-Respect" is a Public Good?
Posted on September 4th, 2008 by Kip
I was only semi-seriously skimming a blogpost about the purported "costs" of privatization when I stumbled upon this tidbit: The privatization process also laid waste to jobs that, while low paid, provided good benefits, civil service protection, union representation, and self-respect. Those lost jobs represent costs, personal and public, tangible and intangible. This gobbledygook mirrors [...]
Filed under: Activist Legislators & Nanny Statists, Capitalism, Kip's Law, Taxation & Fiscal Policy | Comments Off
Kip's Law Sighting: The Pizzaioli of Naples
Posted on August 28th, 2008 by Kip
When you hear the term "price gouging," you normally think of things like milk, batteries, flashlights, shovels, gasoline… …and pizza? "Pizzaioli" or pizza chefs in Naples, birthplace of the Margherita, handed out free pizzas on Wednesday in protest at high prices charged by rivals who, they say, use the spike in commodity prices to rip [...]
Filed under: Capitalism, Kip's Law | 2 Comments »