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Save the Bluefin Tuna through Property Rights - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily: "In principle, the problem of overfishing could be easily solved if 'chunks' of ocean were transferred into private property. Rather than having a meeting of 48 governments to determine 'the' quota, the owner(s) of each chunk of ocean could set an individual policy for that chunk.
To be sure, there would be logistical difficulties in privatizing the oceans. For example, if it turned out to be too costly to sink large nets deep enough into the water at the property lines, then the fish could easily swim from one owner's property into another's. The situation would be analogous to one on land before ranchers developed barbed-wire fencing."
"Alternatively, it might make more sense to establish property rights in the sea creatures themselves, analogous to branding of cattle. To track their swimming property, the owners might use radio collars (for whales and large fish) or coat the schools of smaller fish with a harmless radioactive substance."
"in the case of white rhinos in southern Africa, when property rights were introduced — so that the animals were no longer contraband but prized possessions — the turnaround in population figures was astounding."
Thursday, December 30, 2010
There Is Nothing in QE2 Worth Conserving | Mark A. Calabria | Cato Institute: Commentary
There Is Nothing in QE2 Worth Conserving | Mark A. Calabria | Cato Institute: Commentary: "First, the good professor argues that spending is far below trend. That is true enough as it goes, but this trend includes a massive housing bubble, where imaginary wealth fueled spending, aided by massive borrowing from abroad. The objective of our economic policies should not be to get back to the top of the previous bubble. It was this desire to replace the lost wealth of the dot-com crash that contributed to the Fed's juicing of the housing market. All that said, consumption today is higher than at any time during the recent bubble. The primary problem facing our economy is not a lack of demand.
Like Ben Bernanke, Beckworth believes we have had no inflation. Again like the Fed, he arrives at this conclusion by subtracting out of the inflation numbers all the things that real people spend their money on, such as food and energy."
"the good professor fails to consider that households may not be 'hoarding' cash by choice."
"Most market participants, me included, would be happy to put their money into valuable investments. Yet with interest rates near zero, there's little incentive not to hold cash balances, as the opportunity costs are nonexistent."
Like Ben Bernanke, Beckworth believes we have had no inflation. Again like the Fed, he arrives at this conclusion by subtracting out of the inflation numbers all the things that real people spend their money on, such as food and energy."
"the good professor fails to consider that households may not be 'hoarding' cash by choice."
"Most market participants, me included, would be happy to put their money into valuable investments. Yet with interest rates near zero, there's little incentive not to hold cash balances, as the opportunity costs are nonexistent."
The Ultimate Insiders | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary
The Ultimate Insiders | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "[members of Congress] have prior knowledge about which companies or industries will or will not be 'bailed out,' have their taxes raised or lowered, be subject to costly new regulations or exempted from such regulations, receive government contracts, etc. However, because the members of Congress and their staffs do not obtain their information from employees of the companies affected, they are not considered insiders.
There have been a number of recent news stories about how the average member of Congress showed an increase in net wealth over the past couple of years, while the average American was losing net wealth. The obvious conclusion is that members of Congress knew things the rest of us did not and acted on this knowledge to their own advantage — no surprise."
"The authors of the study, Jiekun Huang and Meng Gao, found that hedge funds connected with lobbyists, relative to non-connected ones, outperform by 1.6 percent to 2.5 percent per month in politically sensitive stocks compared to nonpolitical stocks. These results suggest that hedge-fund managers exploit private information, which can be an important source of their superior performance."
"Time and time again, the U.S. government has shown that it cannot protect sensitive information, from atomic secrets to sensitive financial data held by the Internal Revenue Service. Those who tell us that any information is safe when held by the U.S. government are both supremely arrogant and ignorant of history, including the news of recent weeks."
"The SEC is in the process of trying to find ways to criminalize those who (outside a firm) find better ways of doing research or modeling what they think is going on in a firm, even though they have received no direct, nonpublic information from real insiders. This approach eventually could kill the whole field of securities analysis. Only government employees at the SEC could dream up a scheme to try to keep everyone ignorant and call it 'progress.'"
"the decades of failure at the SEC show that enforcement of insider-trader laws is not feasible and often is counterproductive. Also, there has never been a clear definition of insider trading either from Congress or the SEC."
There have been a number of recent news stories about how the average member of Congress showed an increase in net wealth over the past couple of years, while the average American was losing net wealth. The obvious conclusion is that members of Congress knew things the rest of us did not and acted on this knowledge to their own advantage — no surprise."
"The authors of the study, Jiekun Huang and Meng Gao, found that hedge funds connected with lobbyists, relative to non-connected ones, outperform by 1.6 percent to 2.5 percent per month in politically sensitive stocks compared to nonpolitical stocks. These results suggest that hedge-fund managers exploit private information, which can be an important source of their superior performance."
"Time and time again, the U.S. government has shown that it cannot protect sensitive information, from atomic secrets to sensitive financial data held by the Internal Revenue Service. Those who tell us that any information is safe when held by the U.S. government are both supremely arrogant and ignorant of history, including the news of recent weeks."
"The SEC is in the process of trying to find ways to criminalize those who (outside a firm) find better ways of doing research or modeling what they think is going on in a firm, even though they have received no direct, nonpublic information from real insiders. This approach eventually could kill the whole field of securities analysis. Only government employees at the SEC could dream up a scheme to try to keep everyone ignorant and call it 'progress.'"
"the decades of failure at the SEC show that enforcement of insider-trader laws is not feasible and often is counterproductive. Also, there has never been a clear definition of insider trading either from Congress or the SEC."
What you pay for Medicare won't cover your costs - FoxNews.com
What you pay for Medicare won't cover your costs - FoxNews.com: "Consider an average-wage, two-earner couple together earning $89,000 a year. Upon retiring in 2011, they would have paid $114,000 in Medicare payroll taxes during their careers.
But they can expect to receive medical services — from prescriptions to hospital care — worth $355,000, or about three times what they put in."
"The same hypothetical couple retiring in 2011 will have paid $614,000 in Social Security taxes, and can expect to collect $555,000 in benefits. They will have paid about 10 percent more into the system than they're likely to get back."
But they can expect to receive medical services — from prescriptions to hospital care — worth $355,000, or about three times what they put in."
"The same hypothetical couple retiring in 2011 will have paid $614,000 in Social Security taxes, and can expect to collect $555,000 in benefits. They will have paid about 10 percent more into the system than they're likely to get back."
Not a Government Policy | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary
Not a Government Policy | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Income inequality is the wrong focus for government policy. After all, if we doubled the income of every American tomorrow, inequality would actually increase — but we would also lift a lot of Americans out of poverty.
In the context of deficit reduction, that means we should keep this goal in mind: not punishing the rich, but reducing poverty. And we know that in the long run, the best way to reduce poverty is to create more jobs and opportunity. Too many think of the economy as a fixed pie, and the role of government is to divide up the slices of that pie. If one person gets a bigger portion of pie, others of necessity get smaller pieces.
But in reality the size of the pie is not fixed. We can pursue policies that grow a bigger pie, allowing a bigger slice for everyone. Conversely, we can shrink the pie, meaning everyone gets less. And unfortunately, if the pie shrinks, those without skills and connections in society — the poor — are likely to end up with little more than crumbs."
In the context of deficit reduction, that means we should keep this goal in mind: not punishing the rich, but reducing poverty. And we know that in the long run, the best way to reduce poverty is to create more jobs and opportunity. Too many think of the economy as a fixed pie, and the role of government is to divide up the slices of that pie. If one person gets a bigger portion of pie, others of necessity get smaller pieces.
But in reality the size of the pie is not fixed. We can pursue policies that grow a bigger pie, allowing a bigger slice for everyone. Conversely, we can shrink the pie, meaning everyone gets less. And unfortunately, if the pie shrinks, those without skills and connections in society — the poor — are likely to end up with little more than crumbs."
What Threat, China? - Kel Kelly - Mises Daily
What Threat, China? - Kel Kelly - Mises Daily: "A powerful military can come only from a powerful economy. Countries that have little capital and little ability to produce factories, tools, machines, and consumer goods likewise have little ability to produce tanks, missiles, fighter jets, and satellite systems. The lesson for the United States in this case is that we need to do everything possible to promote capital accumulation and increased labor productivity.
But even that consideration misses the real issue at hand. Military threats come only from political leaders, not from individual citizens. Thus, centrally controlled nation-state structures are the problem."
But even that consideration misses the real issue at hand. Military threats come only from political leaders, not from individual citizens. Thus, centrally controlled nation-state structures are the problem."
Real Death Panels Are Coming Our Way | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary
Real Death Panels Are Coming Our Way | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: "during a discussion on balancing the federal budget against alarming deficits, [Paul Krugman] proclaimed the way to solve this problem is through deeply cost-effective health care rationing.
'Some years down the pike,' he said, 'we're going to get the real solution, which is going to be a combination of death panels and sales taxes.' That would mean the U.S. Debt Reduction Commission 'should have endorsed the panel that was part of the [Obama] health care reform.'"
"[Sarah Palin] was mocked, scorned from sea to shining sea, including by the eminent Paul Krugman for being, he said, among those spreading 'the death penalty lie' as part of 'the lunatic fringe.'"
'Some years down the pike,' he said, 'we're going to get the real solution, which is going to be a combination of death panels and sales taxes.' That would mean the U.S. Debt Reduction Commission 'should have endorsed the panel that was part of the [Obama] health care reform.'"
"[Sarah Palin] was mocked, scorned from sea to shining sea, including by the eminent Paul Krugman for being, he said, among those spreading 'the death penalty lie' as part of 'the lunatic fringe.'"
For Big-Spending Hawks, the U.S. Military's Work Is Never Done | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary
For Big-Spending Hawks, the U.S. Military's Work Is Never Done | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The Constitution authorizes the national government to act in the 'common defense' — of America, not the rest of the world. None of the founders imagined that the U.S. would become Globocop, busy protecting populous and prosperous allies (international social welfare) and attempting to rebuild failed societies (foreign social engineering)."
Massachusetts Cop Was Killed by Career Criminal Out on Parole Despite Three Life Sentences - FoxNews.com
Massachusetts Cop Was Killed by Career Criminal Out on Parole Despite Three Life Sentences - FoxNews.com: "Cinelli had a lengthy rap sheet filled with armed robberies, assaults and other offenses, had been serving three life sentences since 1976, and had chronic disciplinary problems while in prison including two escapes during which he committed crimes, the Globe reported.
Still, he won the board over by saying the deaths in the family, including his mother's, and drug counseling changed him, the paper reported."
Still, he won the board over by saying the deaths in the family, including his mother's, and drug counseling changed him, the paper reported."
Korean schools welcome more robot teachers | Crave - CNET
Korean schools welcome more robot teachers | Crave - CNET: "state education budgets have been strained by importing thousands of foreign teachers, who are increasingly unwilling to live in remote areas and on islands. I don't think a telepresence robot can really replace a human teacher, but then again I nearly nodded off a few times in class during my teaching stint in Korea. A robot would never do that."
Man Arrested at Miami Airport After Bullet Parts Found in Bag - FoxNews.com
Man Arrested at Miami Airport After Bullet Parts Found in Bag - FoxNews.com: "A 37-year-old man is facing a federal charge after bullet primers [of several hundred] ignited in his bag as it was being unloaded at Miami International Airport from a flight that had just arrived."
They didn't find them on the way in?
They didn't find them on the way in?
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