Category Archives: Public Choice

Proposed DC Taxi Regulations Would Harm Drivers, Customers

Posted on July 7, 2011 | Comments Off on Proposed DC Taxi Regulations Would Harm Drivers, Customers

One of the best arguments for free markets is that bad things happen when businesses and government get together. As with church and state, it’s better to keep them separate. DC residents are finding that out for themselves, as this video about proposed taxi regulations shows.

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Posted in Competition, Economics, Public Choice, regulation

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On the Radio: Congressional Economics

Posted on May 10, 2011 | Comments Off on On the Radio: Congressional Economics

Tomorrow morning at 8:30 am, I’ll be on the Talk of Connecticut to talk about Congress’ economic illiteracy and why good intentions don’t necessarily bring good results.

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Posted in Economics, Media Appearances, Public Choice

A Market Failure in Air Traffic Control?

Posted on April 19, 2011 | Comments Off on A Market Failure in Air Traffic Control?

There has been a disturbing rash of stories lately about air traffic controllers sleeping on the job. Fortunately, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is on the case. The FAA will implement new regulations this week requiring more time off between shifts and tighter restrictions on late-night shifts for traffic controllers.

This illustrates why air traffic control is simply too important an issue to leave to the free market. Lives are literally at stake every day. These sleeping-on-the-job stories are a classic example of market failure. It is time to put the government in charge of air traffic control and take it out of the hands of greedy capitalists.

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Posted in Economics, Public Choice

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Mission Creep

Posted on March 10, 2011 | Comments Off on Mission Creep

Documents Reveal TSA Research Proposal To Body-Scan Pedestrians, Train Passengers

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Posted in Public Choice, Security Theater

CEI Podcast for February 24, 2011: On, Wisconsin

Posted on February 24, 2011 | Comments Off on CEI Podcast for February 24, 2011: On, Wisconsin

Have a listen here.

Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray discusses the labor reforms that have led to a thousands-strong sustained protest in Madison, Wisconsin. While the reforms themselves are relatively minor, both sides know that the stakes are high. This may prove to be at a watershed moment in the relationship between public sector unions and taxpayers.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, Public Choice, Spending

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Are the Wisconsin Protests Backfiring?

Posted on February 18, 2011 | Comments Off on Are the Wisconsin Protests Backfiring?

Protests in Wisconsin over public sector compensation cuts have been the big story this week. Over at the Daily Caller, I explain why some of the tactics that union members and supporters are using are actually backfiring.

The teacher sickout is classic bad PR. The parents who have to find and pay for last-minute daycare are now less likely to side with teachers’ unions, not more.

The nationwide saturation coverage is actually doing far more damage. Millions of people are learning about the sweetheart salary and benefit deals that many public sector union members get. Even if Gov. Walker’s cuts pass, the protesting workers will still be much better paid than their non-union counterparts. Both are better compensated in turn than most private sector workers.

Read the whole thing here.

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Posted in Economics, Public Choice, Publications, Spending

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More Corporate Welfare on the Way?

Posted on February 17, 2011 | Comments Off on More Corporate Welfare on the Way?

Politico headline from today: “Qualcomm exec calls for small-business research funding.”

Alternative headline: “Businessman asks government to give money to businesses.”

Government should not give money to private businesses, period. Businesses should compete in the marketplace, not Washington. There is a lot of money to be made by selling people things they want. Companies that do a good job of that deserve every cent they earn.

Subsidies are not earned. Nor are they given to companies make things people want. Companies already doing that don’t need handouts. In short, corporate welfare is allocated by politics instead of economics.

What Mr. Jacobs is asking for would be a boon for lobbyists and politically favored businesses. But it would be a drag on everyone else. And not only because they would be paying for the handouts. Lost innovations are part of the price. The money spent on corporate welfare is money not spent on more worthy projects.

See also Wayne Crews and I on corporate welfare in the new edition of CEI’s Agenda for Congress.

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Posted in Economics, Public Choice, Spending

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CEI Podcast for January 12, 2011: Public-Private Partnerships

Posted on January 12, 2011 | Comments Off on CEI Podcast for January 12, 2011: Public-Private Partnerships

Have a listen here.

Land-use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner talks about his new CEI Issue Analysis, “The Limitations of Public-Private Partnerships.” Marc argues that PPPs are an improvement over the status quo in surface transportation because they introduce at least an element of competition into a sector where there is usually none. But PPPs are harmful in real estate developments because they tend to favor politicians’ preferences over those of consumers.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, Economics, Public Choice, regulation

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Money for Nothing

Posted on August 27, 2010 | Comments Off on Money for Nothing

A man collected 12 years of salary and benefits from his government job in Norfolk, Virginia. Nothing unusual about that… except that he “had not reported to work in years.”

Yes, this is an outrage. But maybe the world would be a better place if more government employees took that approach to their jobs.

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Posted in Political Animals, Public Choice

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Government as Reverse Robin Hood

Posted on August 12, 2010 | Comments Off on Government as Reverse Robin Hood

People who want government to redistribute income want to take it from the rich and give it to the poor. And there are programs that do that. But in practice most programs actually work in the opposite direction. More often than not, government is Robin Hood in reverse.

Via Patri Friedman, here’s a video of Milton Friedman explaining why that’s so.

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Posted in Economics, Public Choice, Taxation

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