The Trouble with Economic Statistics - Robert Higgs - Mises Daily

The Trouble with Economic Statistics - Robert Higgs - Mises Daily: "Because they are ill-defined conceptually, many official economic statistics fail to capture what they purport to measure. Figures on 'poverty,' for instance, are notorious in this regard. Is poverty an absolute or a relative condition? If the latter, what is the proper standard of comparison?

Obviously, the living conditions of many Americans below the 'poverty line' must seem affluent to billions of submerged denizens of the Third World. Apart from international comparisons, many Americans now classified as poor would have seemed well-to-do in the eyes of, say, their grandparents. Above a certain absolute income, 'poverty' becomes less a definite condition than a staging area from which armies of redistributionists launch their attacks on higher-income people."

Internet 'kill switch'--help or hindrance? (poll) | Privacy Inc. - CNET News

Internet 'kill switch'--help or hindrance? (poll) | Privacy Inc. - CNET News: "'It's difficult for the US to criticize an autocrat like Hosni Mubarak for shutting down the Internet if we give our own president similarly sweeping powers,' says Berin Szoka of the TechFreedom think tank in Washington, D.C. 'Even if that never, ever happens here, our having such laws on the books certainly makes it more likely other governments will gain, and abuse, such powers.'"

What Explains Crystal Meth? - Mark Thornton - Mises Daily

What Explains Crystal Meth? - Mark Thornton - Mises Daily: "During cocaine's heyday, meth was nearly extinct on the illegal market.

This changed with Reagan's 'War on Drugs,' which was effective in raising prices for illegal drugs by imposing greater risks and thus higher costs on production, distribution, and consumption. The initial shock of the war on drugs sent black-market entrepreneurs back to the drawing board; they needed to reduce their risk and their costs. What they came back with included highly potent marijuana, crack cocaine, and crystal meth."

"When government enacts a prohibition, increases enforcement, or increases penalties on a good such as alcohol or drugs, it inevitably results in substitution to more adulterated, more potent, and more dangerous drugs."

Corporate Taxes Are Self-defeating | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Corporate Taxes Are Self-defeating | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "From a purely economic standpoint, it makes no sense to tax corporations at all, because only people pay taxes, not legal entities. The corporate tax is paid by customers in terms of higher prices, by suppliers in terms of lower volumes of business, by employees in terms of lower wages and by stockholders in terms of lower returns."

Health-'Reform' Facts: Lame Defenses | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Health-'Reform' Facts: Lame Defenses | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin warns that if we account for all the bill's costs, the health-care law adds at least $500 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years and increases the deficit by as much as $1.5 trillion over the decade beyond that.

Repeal, therefore, would yield a tremendous savings."

No Surrender on Debt Ceiling | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

No Surrender on Debt Ceiling | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "If the debt ceiling is not increased, the Treasury can prioritize interest and debt payment to avoid a default and essentially put the government on a stringent pay-as-you-go basis. Would that involve extreme cuts in government spending? Certainly. But it could be done, if it had to.

If Republicans hold tough on the debt limit, they will have the public strongly on their side. According to the most recent Ipsos/Reuters poll, fully 71 percent of Americans oppose raising the debt ceiling. In fact, that number didn't change even after people were told that 'not raising the debt limit would damage the U.S. sovereign debt rating, which is like our credit rating: it would seriously damage our credibility abroad, would make it much more difficult for us to borrow in the future, and would likely push up interest rates.'"

The Politics of Deflation - Vijay Boyapati - Mises Daily

The Politics of Deflation - Vijay Boyapati - Mises Daily: "[Inflation] is a secret rip-off and thus the perfect vehicle for the exploitation of a population through its (false) elites, whereas deflation means open redistribution through bankruptcy according to the law."

The Constitution Needs More Than Lip Service from the House GOP | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Constitution Needs More Than Lip Service from the House GOP | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Boehner's new rule changes little, because since 1997, the House rules have already required a constitutional citation for every bill that leaves committee. Obamacare leaped that speed bump with a perfunctory reference to — surprise! — the Commerce clause."

"If Boehner can't imagine any unnecessary, unconstitutional federal programs, why on earth does he think it's important to insist that his colleagues review the Constitution before they legislate?"

Limiting Free Speech Isn't the Answer | Jeffrey A. Miron | Cato Institute: Commentary

Limiting Free Speech Isn't the Answer | Jeffrey A. Miron | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The argument for free speech holds simply that the harms from government restrictions on speech are worse than the harms from free speech itself. If government can determine what constitutes acceptable speech, it will use that power to restrict speech in inappropriate ways.

Opponents of the civil rights movement, for example, could readily have argued that inflammatory speech by some civil rights leaders posed a violent threat, especially since a few civil rights advocates, like the Black Panthers, presented themselves as well-armed, and indeed committed (a few) acts of violence. Civil rights opponents could then have used real or alleged connections between violent and nonviolent groups to restrict speech by all civil rights advocates."

"Free speech does mean, of course, that politicians have the right to call for misguided restrictions on speech. Let's just hope the rest of us have the good sense to ignore them."

Put Off Badly Needed Budget Cuts? Austerity Doesn't Mean No Growth | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary

Put Off Badly Needed Budget Cuts? Austerity Doesn't Mean No Growth | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary: "If spending borrowed money is really as effective a 'stimulus' as they assume, why are countries with the biggest budget deficits doing so much worse than those with the smallest?"