It is encouraging that the “Marketplace Fairness Act” is progressing well through the U.S. Senate. The House may prove to be a different story, although the odds are that some version of it will pass eventually. Because it facilitates states…
After tragedy, a rational response is needed
The tragic explosion last week at the retail fertilizer plant in West, Texas, illustrates some of the pitfalls of hazard reduction policies. Public and media discussion of the case also shows how the standard economic model of human decision-making —…
Politics can obscure history’s reasons
If you like irony, the kerfluffle about the Obama administration’s proposal to privatize the Tennessee Valley Authority provides plenty. Obama, viewed as a socialist by many on the right, is trying, a la conservative icon Margaret Thatcher, to get the…
Taxing bad habits may not meet their costs
The DFL caucus in the Minnesota House has issued tax proposals intended to close a pending budget deficit and repay $854 million “borrowed” from the state’s school districts, among other things. The proposal includes substantial increases in taxes on alcoholic…