Stop Consumer Gouging! by Sheldon Richman October 28, 2005 A phone call I’d like to hear: Voice: Price-gouging tip line. How may I help you?Mr. Jones: I’d like to report price gouging. Voice: Yes sir. Where is this price gouging occurring? Jones: At the Exxon station on Route 286, right in my neighborhood. Voice: What is the price being charged? Jones: The price for a gallon of ...
Profiting from Misfortune by Sheldon Richman October 5, 2005 Amid the shrieks of price gouging as hurricanes ravaged the Gulf coast were a few voices of good economic sense. They correctly pointed out that when supplies of vital goods are disrupted, nothing matches the price system for restoring normalcy as quickly as possible. It does so by encouraging ...
Economics for the Citizen, Part 8 by Walter E. Williams October 1, 2005 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 Economic theory is broadly applicable. However, a society’s property-rights structure influences how the theory will manifest itself. It’s the same with the ...
Freedom’s Fair-Weather Friends by Sheldon Richman September 30, 2005 In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, some members of Congress are talking about passing a national law against price gouging. One problem should stand in their way: there is no objective definition of “gouging.” Whatever the law says will therefore be arbitrary and unfair. The 20 states that forbid gouging ...
Economics for the Citizen, Part 7 by Walter E. Williams September 1, 2005 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 There’s a reggae song that advises, “If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty ...
Machiavelli and U.S. Politics Part 6: Public Choice and Spending by Lawrence M. Ludlow August 31, 2005 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 Public choice theory Machiavelli would take great comfort in the public choice theory as outlined by economists James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock. Public-choice theory tells us that politicians cannot legislate or spend taxpayer dollars wisely. Why? Because ...
Why Payola Doesn’t Matter by Bart Frazier August 5, 2005 New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has recently leveled a $10 million fine against Sony BMG for payola, a practice in which radio producers are paid for promoting certain songs. Why the fine? The argument against payola is that music lovers are ...
Economics for the Citizen, Part 6 by Walter E. Williams August 1, 2005 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 My last article introduced the law of demand, which states that, holding everything else constant, the lower the price of something, the ...
Unchaining Africa by Doug Bandow August 1, 2005 Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future by George Ayittey, (Palgrave/Macmillan 2005); 483 pages; $35. So much promise, so little progress. Populated with creative people and filled with natural resources, Africa, one might think, should be a global powerhouse. Instead, the continent ...
Africa Needs Freedom, Not “Aid” by Sheldon Richman July 18, 2005 Politicians are never more dangerous than when they are thinking, “We’ve got to do something!” Take the just-adjourned G8 meeting in Scotland. The rulers of the most advanced economic powers (and Russia, go figure) met with the intention of looking as though they were doing something to end poverty in Africa. ...
Economics for the Citizen, Part 5 by Walter E. Williams July 1, 2005 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 Someone might have made you a gift of this publication. Does that mean reading this article is free? The answer is a ...
Economics for the Citizen, Part 4 by Walter E. Williams June 1, 2005 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 In the last lecture, we discussed three of four kinds of behavior that can be called economic behavior: production, consumption, and exchange. ...