Last week’s chemical spill that contaminated water supplies in West Virginia hammers home the fact that in a modern nation of about 315 million people, the economic activities of nearly anyone — no matter how beneficial overall — usually impose…
Cutting public good hurts all
Americans have much less trust in government than they did only a few decades ago. Libertarians, who want minimal government, are a growing force. And there is a faction, largely in the right wing of the GOP, that thinks many…
The politics of exporting U.S. crude oil
The question of whether our country should continue a 40-year ban on exporting crude oil is much more political in nature than economic, but it does involve some interesting economic questions. Politics are such that it is doubtful the ban…
Cutback in jobless aid won’t be a panacea
About 1.3 million people have just had unemployment compensation benefits cut off in one fell swoop. Whether that is fair is debatable. It will save the federal budget several billion dollars. And it will lower the “headline” unemployment rate, although…