Commentators and politicians of more conservative persuasions often criticize certain behaviors that they label as “market distortions.” Regulations, government spending, and progressive taxation are all said to distort the market because they change the economic incentives of certain behaviors. For instance, imposing fines on firms that dump poison into rivers distorts the market because if… Continue reading The market is a distortion
Author: Matt Bruenig
Education reformers are making teaching less attractive
Dana Goldstein has a worthwhile article on Slate today about the widespread breakout of cheating in schools that have adopted high-stakes testing models. These evaluation models — which are championed by the newest crop of education reformers — are plagued by a long list of conceptual and empirical problems, some of which I have detailed… Continue reading Education reformers are making teaching less attractive
The anti-libertarian nature of right-to-work laws
Right-wing libertarians tend to have a hostile relationship with organized labor. Labor unions have a long history of endorsing socialism, communism, and anarchism, all philosophies that libertarian capitalists vehemently oppose. Unions are also, by their very nature, collectivist organizations that primarily act to move the equilibrium price for labor higher than it would otherwise be.… Continue reading The anti-libertarian nature of right-to-work laws
Study misses what poverty is about
The Heritage Foundation released a report today about poverty that managed to get some traction in the media. There is nothing terribly new in the report; it is basically a statistically-rich rehashing of the idea that poor people are not really poor. The Heritage Foundation provides a long list of what are mainly cheap, consumer… Continue reading Study misses what poverty is about
The ideological significance of the financial crisis
The financial crisis is nearing its three year anniversary, and the ideologically-tinged battles over identifying its causes are still roaring on. For champions of the free market, much is at stake in explaining what led to the 2008 financial meltdown. On its face, it appears that banks and investors foolishly jumped on the bandwagon of… Continue reading The ideological significance of the financial crisis