News From London, Ontario, And Beyond

The COVID-19 “Lockdowns” Are What Twenty-First-Century Mob Rule Looks Like

April 10, 2020 – Ryan McMaken …… There is a misconception among critics of the COVID-19 lockdowns that they’re being imposed over the howls of the local population, which wants freedom. If only that were true. Continue reading →

Life and Health Are at Stake as the Economy Grinds to a Halt

April 10, 2020 – Cory D. Carpenter …… The quality of the models being used by politicians to set COVID-19 policy is only as good as the data collected. Unfortunately, the data is not very good. Meanwhile, real costs arise from the ruined economy. Continue reading →

Égalité, Fraternité, Captivité

April 9, 2020 – Shane J. Coules …… What we can learn from the Patriot Act is that during a time of crisis governments can pass legislation that impacts citizens’ lives long after the crisis of the day has passed. Continue reading →

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 →

How the Left Is Trying to Blame Capitalism for COVID-19 Deaths

April 8, 2020 – Bradley Thomas …… The Left conveniently ignores dozens of state-dominated and state-controlled medical systems and decides that the lack of preparedness for COVID-19 was all the fault of those small slivers of healthcare systems that are actually private. Continue reading →

All Crises Are Local

April 7, 2020 – Jeff Deist …… The coronavirus demonstrates how crises become local. Continue reading →

In March, US Deaths from COVID-19 Totaled Less Than 2 Percent of All Deaths

April 7, 2020 – Ryan McMaken …… How much must total mortality increase to justify a global suspension of commerce and the rule of law? One percent? Ten percent? And what if overall mortality doesn’t even go up? Continue reading →

Harvard Study Finds Consumers Don’t Care if Businesses Are Licensed, but Do Consider Customer Reviews and Pricing

April 6, 2020 – Ross Marchand …… A recent study by MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and Boston University found that consumers care far more about reviews and prices than government-mandated credentials. Continue reading →

Homeschooling Is Changing My Child—In a Good Way

April 5, 2020 – Shawnna Morris …… We have never been better-equipped to cope with a nationwide quarantine of schoolchildren. 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 →