Today at 5:45 CT/6:45 ET, I’ll appear on the Lars Larson show to talk about today’s new unemployment numbers release, and what policies can strengthen the economy going forward.
For the short version, see this press statement from CEI, or a short article quoting me in Reason.
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Posted in Business Cycles, Economics, labor, Media Appearances
No March Madness tournament would be complete without at least one school being caught paying its players in violation of NCAA rules. This year, the Memphis Tigers allegedly did the honors. In a piece syndicated by Inside Sources, I argue that the NCAA should allow colleges to pay their players for three main reasons:
The first is fairness. College players are unpaid laborers who generate millions of dollars for others.
The second is that big-time college sports are, in fact, a business. There is nothing amateur about the NCAA’s $1.15 billion in revenue, its marketing deals, college coaches’ and athletic directors’ salaries, or the amount of time many athletes put in to compete at a high level.
The third reason is practical: Black markets exist. Some star college players will always be paid, no matter what the NCAA says. It should be above the table so schools and the NCAA can keep a better eye on it.
Read the whole thing here.
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Posted in Economics, labor, Media Appearances, Publications, Sports
Antitrust regulation is just as politicized as other forms of regulation. Arizona attorney general Mark Brnovich’s just-announced investigation into investors whose politics he doesn’t like is just the latest example, as I point out in a letter that ran in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal:
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has opened an antitrust investigation into investment funds centered around environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. He argues that they are financing a coordinated political agenda (“ESG May Be an Antitrust Violation,” op-ed, March 7). First Amendment concerns and the heavy legal lift of proving collusion aside, this investigation is wrongheaded for two reasons.
First, two wrongs don’t make a right. Mr. Brnovich is right that many ESG funds are politicized. But the remedy is not antitrust enforcement, which itself is politicized—not to mention slow, ineffective, and prone to regulatory capture.
Second, it is unwise to give new ideas to the Federal Trade Commission’s Lina Khan, Sens. Josh Hawley and Amy Klobuchar, and others looking to expand antitrust regulation. Antitrust mission creep has already crept too far.
Ryan Young
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Washington
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Posted in Antitrust, Correspondence, Economics, Media Appearances, Political Animals, Public Choice, Publications
On Monday morning I appeared on Mike Ferguson’s American Viewpoints show on NewsTalkSTL in St. Louis. We talked about inflation.
Later that morning I appeared on Paul Molloy’s FreedomWorks show in Tampa, FL, also to talk about inflation.
I’ll add links to audio if I find them.
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Posted in Economics, Media Appearances, Monetary Theory
I’m quoted in a Washington Times article about today’s Producer Price Index release:
Ryan Young, a senior fellow at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, said the Fed should consider acting even sooner than March.
“The Fed is waiting too long to act,” Mr. Young said. “It has said it will wind down its bond-buying program and raise the federal funds rate starting in March. These are the right things to do, but they should have started months ago.”
With the producer price index rising at an annualized 9.7%, well above inflation’s annualized 7.5% pace, he added that “things are likely to get worse before they get better.”
“The Producer Price Index is a leading indicator, which means it is a sign of things to come,” Mr. Young said. “While we are unlikely to reach Carter-era stagflation territory, we are getting uncomfortably close.”
Read the whole article here.
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Posted in Economics, Media Appearances, Monetary Theory
Tagged inflation
Earlier this week I appeared on the Vermont-based Common Sense Radio with Bill Sayre. We talked about the latest economic indicators, the economic recovery from COVID, and other issues. If I see a link to the audio, I’ll post it here.
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Posted in Business Cycles, Economics, Media Appearances
I’m quoted, though inaccurately, in a Voice of America article on the America COMPETES Act:
Ryan Young, a senior fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told VOA that efforts by Congress to mimic China by trying to manipulate the U.S. economy are “misguided” at best, and at worst destructive.
“This falls into what I think of as the ‘But they do it, too,’ argument,” Young said. While it is indisputable that the Chinese government creates all sorts of advantages for certain sectors within its economy, he said, it doesn’t follow that the answer is for the U.S. to do the same.
Despite government support, large Chinese tech firms are burdened with substantial debt, operational inefficiencies and political meddling, he said.
Further, Young noted that the semiconductor industry, which the legislative efforts target above all else, has already taken steps to bring some of its production into U.S. territory, with chip giant Intel expanding a $50 billion complex of chip manufacturing facilities in Arizona.
I should have been more clear in explaining to the reporter that subsidies are harmful, even in China. Subsidized companies grow soft and dependent, and tend to operate with politics in mind, rather than customers or investors. The result is waste, corruption, and white elephants, along with slower innovation. The more subsidies in an economy, the less competitive it becomes, especially in the long run. Congress should not copy China’s mistakes.
The whole article is here.
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Posted in Economics, Media Appearances, Public Choice, Spending
I was quoted today in a Washington Times story about Christmas trees:
It’s been a tough year on a lot of fronts, from the pandemic to inflation, but holiday traditions are made of strong stuff,” said Ryan Young, a senior fellow at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute. “It also helps that artificial trees last for many years, so most of the homes that go that route are unaffected by supply network problems at least in the tree department.”
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Posted in Economics, Media Appearances
I was quoted in a November 30 Washington Times article about how inflation and regulations are making Christmas trees more expensive.
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Posted in Media Appearances, regulation
Today at 5:30 ET, I will appear on the Lars Larson Show to talk about inflation.
I’ll post a link to audio afterwards if it’s available.
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Posted in Economics, Media Appearances, Monetary Theory
Inertia Wins! 