Photo by President of the European Council 1. TTIP Will Increase Trade Between the US and EU The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a highly anticipated free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union. The agreement is still in its initial stages of negotiation with only eight rounds completed to…
Photo by Chris and Jenni It has become commonplace to hear complaints about the United States Postal Service; specifically concerning their slow delivery, high prices, poor service, and lost or misdelivered mail. Economists frequently tell us about the inherent problems with any service controlled by a monopoly. How many of us are aware that the…
Photo by Ken Lund 1. We share the Longest Border in the World The Canada–United States border, officially known as the International Boundary, is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including small portions of maritime boundaries on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic coasts, as well as the Great Lakes) is 5,525…
Photo by Thomas Depenbusch 1. Russia Russia has been America’s and the West’s harshest critic recently, hypocritically condemning the NSA surveillance program called PRISM, and even initiating Edward Snowden’s defection to Russia, as if the country is some kind of a champion of free speech and freedom of information. A closer look at real Russia…
Photo by Riku Kettunen 1. Tallinn, Estonia The capital of Estonia is situated on the northern coast of the country, with Finland and Sweden to its North, Russia to its East, Latvia to its South, and the Baltic Sea to its West. Tallinn has great charm, fusing the modern and medieval to come up with…
Most often, legislatures enact laws intended to address perceived societal problems by setting rules or establishing agencies to correct the problem. While we may, to be generous, presume good intentions, the normal, real world outcome is that the perceived problem is either made real or if actually real, is exacerbated. Photo by drewleavy Federal Hiring…
Photo by eschipul 1. Austin, Texas Austin is a little off the beaten path for holiday tourism but the capital of Texas has a lot to offer to its visitors. Its major attractions include the Texas State Capitol, with free guided and self-guided tours daily, the campus of the largest urban university in the country,…
Photo by 2bmolar 1. USPS is a Monopoly The Postal Service uses the law to protect itself from competition. That is, if someone in the private sector seeks to compete against the Postal Service, the federal government will shut down that competitor immediately, owing to the special status that the Postal Service has as a…
To begin: In order to function optimally, markets require strong (easily defended), clearly defined, and transferable property rights; when those rights are weak or vague (as they often are) or when there is active political interference, we sometimes see unfortunate consequences which are then blamed on “market failure.” Photo by Nicholas_T Efficient protection of the…
Photo by agrilifetoday 1. Your taxes will go up drastically We often hear about Scandinavian countries as some kind of a model of health care distribution. Let’s look at the example of Norway. The average Norwegian household pays roughly $70,000 per year in tax. The vast majority of taxes go toward financing the country’s health…
Photo by Light Brigading Simply put, white privilege is the belief that by just being white you are given privilege not given to blacks or other minorities, and that blacks suffer from the legacy of slavery and lack of civil rights, even those that were born well after slavery was history and civil rights laws…
Photo by woodleywonderworks 1. Government Spending Ended the Great Depression A commonly held belief is that government spending stimulated the economy and eventually ended the Great Depression. Reality is excessive government spending took badly needed resources from the private sector and spent them on insolvable government programs and jobs that produced no real values. The…