Common Sense Economics Archives — Page 5 of 11 — News From London, Ontario, And Beyond

Yes, There Are Tradeoffs between Disease Prevention and Economic Destruction

April 9, 2020 – Claus Wiemann Frølund …… Noneconomists struggle to realize that scarcity results in the necessity of tradeoffs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this difference in thinking causes them to wrongly accuse economists of “prioritizing money over lives.” Continue reading →

Why We Need Free Markets To Fight Pandemics

April 2, 2020 – Matthew Tanous …… What needs to be done in such a crisis is not to attempt to steer the market to ensure it provides what is needed, but to let it free to do what it always does: match the goals of entrepreneurial producers with the needs of the populace. Continue reading →

This Is Not a Recession—This Is a Government-Imposed Shutdown of the Private Sector

March 31, 2020 – Hunter Hastings …… We are about to enter a production slowdown—a collapse, really—not because some businesses miscalculated their investments, but because government intervened drastically and without warning to shut down many businesses. Continue reading →

Flexibility Is Needed for Economies to Cope With COVID-19, Not $2,000 Checks

March 22, 2020 – Zilvinas Silenas …… True economic resilience comes from the ability to adapt to changes, not ignoring or masking them. Continue reading →

A Government Monopoly Led to Botched COVID-19 Test Kits, but Private Labs Are Now Saving the Day

March 16, 2020 – Ben Johnson …… The basic economic truth is that competition improves results. Continue reading →

6 Things We Learned from Prohibition

March 9, 2020 – John Phelan …… In a book on prohibitions, John Meadowcroft of King’s College in London offers several “generic lessons and implications” of the practice. Hint – prohibition does more harm than good. Continue reading →

Citizens Applaud Quick Demolition of Barn After Politicians Give It Heritage Protection

March 5, 2020 – Lee Friday …… Private property should NOT be subject to government heritage protection. It is morally wrong, and economically counterproductive. Continue reading →

Why the Pilgrims Abandoned Common Ownership for Private Property

March 4, 2020 – Lawrence W. Reed …… The first few years of Plymouth colony were fraught with hardship and hunger. Economics had a lot to do with it. Continue reading →

Abolish Government Schools

March 3, 2020 – Gor Mkrtchian …… Even if it’s true that some wouldn’t be able to afford schooling without government financial assistance, the idea that this necessitates the government creating and running its own schools is a glaring non sequitur. Continue reading →

When It Comes to Raw Power, Few Have More of It Than Central Bankers

March 2, 2020 – Per Bylund …… Anticapitalists often complain that people with more money exercise power over people with less money. Yet these same people seem oddly untroubled by the fact that central bankers can manipulate the money supply at any time to enrich themselves at everyone else’s expense. Continue reading →