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A Stitch in Haste

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine … But Haste Makes Waste

A collection of real-world libertarian, individualist and laissez-faire rants on law, economics, politics, culture and other current events
by an average, everyday lawyer & investment banker and part-time pop scholar.


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Entries Tagged as 'Public Goods v. Private Goods'

On the California Prison-Crowding Conundrum

February 10th, 2009 · Comments Off

There are distinct pre- and post-Bayesian lessons from the overcrowding fiasco.

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Tags: Constitutional Issues · Law Enforcement Abuses · Public Goods v. Private Goods

A Quick "Infrastructure as Stimulus" Comment

January 25th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Simply chanting "Infrastructure!" as if it were a get-out-of-debate-free card is hardly Nobel or Ivy League thinking.

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Tags: Economics & Finance · Public Goods v. Private Goods

December 5th, 2008 · Comments Off

To review: Mass transit is not a pure public good, since it is perfectly excludable. It may be a natural monopoly, and it may be a club good, but that would only suggest rate regulation or at most public provision — not taxpayer subsidization. Those who use a subway line or commuter train — and [...]

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Tags: Economics & Finance · New York City & State · Public Goods v. Private Goods

Corky Scalia's Inadvertent Libertarianism

November 13th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Attributed to Scalia in yesterday's oral arguments for Pleasant Grove City v. Summum:
"You can't run a museum if you have to accept everything, right?"
Right — Which is exactly why the government should not be running museums in the first place.
As for the outcome of this bizarre case, I think Chief Corky Roberts summed it [...]

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Tags: First Amendment - Religion · First Amendment - Speech · Libertarianism · Public Goods v. Private Goods · Updates

High Fuel Prices Do Not Make Amtrak a Public Good

November 3rd, 2008 · 5 Comments

There's nothing particularly noteworthy about the (freshman economics) notion that as fuel costs (or other costs, such as airport delays and security theater) rise, people will increasingly switch to substitute modes of transportation:
The high cost of fuel, along with traffic and airport congestion, is drawing travelers back to trains for commuting and for travel between [...]

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Tags: Public Goods v. Private Goods · Taxation & Fiscal Policy

Splitting the Ninth Circuit, Revisited

November 14th, 2005 · 2 Comments

The question of splitting the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, Alaska, Hawaii, six other states, Guam and the Marianas, has re-arisen in Congress.
Being in New York, I neither know nor particularly care whether splitting the Ninth Circuit is either wise or urgent.
But I do know that this gobbledygook from California senator Dianne [...]

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Tags: Law · Public Goods v. Private Goods

Once Again: "Taxpayer-Subsidized" Does Not Equal "Free"

October 31st, 2005 · 2 Comments

If an employer wants to offer an employee a free flu shot, on the theory that absenteeism is bad for business, then good for them, and good for the employee. Private parties engaging in private transactions for mutual private benefit — neat-o!
But can someone please explain to me why the City of New York has [...]

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Tags: Public Goods v. Private Goods