I have been following an amusing back-and-forth between Bryan Caplan (I, II, III) and Matt Yglesias about Bastiat’s That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen. Initially, Caplan points out that individuals often support left-leaning economic policies for wrong reasons, and that he likes Bastiat because his tidy little stories (e.g. the parable… Continue reading The never-ending libertarian quest to appear clever
Author: Matt Bruenig
The obscene suffering of black youth
I write often about poverty, inequality, and other kinds of suffering in the United States. I usually write in general terms about the country as a whole, but it deserves mentioning that this sort of suffering is not at all evenly distributed throughout the population. Some racial groups face much higher levels of economic and… Continue reading The obscene suffering of black youth
A defect of Randian and Nietzschean conservatism
With Paul Ryan’s comical devotion to Ayn Rand in the news again, perhaps it would be worthwhile to discuss Randian and Nietzsche conservatism. I bring Nietzsche in because Ayn Rand was not an original thinker: she just clumsily channeled Nietzschean ideas and put them into long, boring novels. The jumping off point for this brand… Continue reading A defect of Randian and Nietzschean conservatism
The reality of Medicare
Unlike Social Security, projected Medicare spending will dramatically outpace projected revenues in the next few decades. If nothing is done, Medicare will run huge deficits. Importantly, these projected deficits are not primarily driven by the shifting demographics of an aging population; rather, they are almost entirely driven by rapid growth in healthcare costs. In 2007,… Continue reading The reality of Medicare
The Economist brilliantly refutes itself in the same article
The Economist floated out a monstrosity today titled Paul Ryan: The man with the plan. Any article that suggests Paul Ryan has a plan is immediately discredited. Most such articles just claim he does, provides some vague praise, and then moves on. It takes a publication as sophisticated as The Economist to claim Ryan has… Continue reading The Economist brilliantly refutes itself in the same article