Month: April 2015
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American Exceptionalism Re-Revisited: OECD Taxes/GDP Since 1965
The OECD has posted this measure for most countries for 2013, so I thought I’d update this chart. It pretty much speaks for itself. Cross-posted at Angry Bear. Related posts: More American Exceptionalism: Drowning the Baby in the Bathwater Just What Exactly Do You Mean by “Money,” Buster? #23 There is Only One Trustworthy News…
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Darwin Wept: Pyramid Schemes, Collusion, and Price-Fixing, the Modern American Way
The story hardly bears repeating: Pricing is the ultimate miracle of Darwinian markets. Competitors who produce goods at lower prices thrive, expand their operations, and produce more. Those who charge higher prices (for equivalent goods) are driven to extinction when sensible purchasers abandon them for their more-efficient competitors. This inexorable mechanism drives innovation, investment, and productivity,…
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National Debt: Since When is the Fed “The Public”?
This issue has been driving me crazy for a while, and I never see it written about. When responsible people talk about the national debt, they point to Debt Held by the Public: what the federal government owes to non-government entities — households, firms, and foreign entities. (Irresponsible people talk about Gross Public Debt —…