British-American expat, author, political economist of the free market variety. Former classicist. Economic Freedom at
@ceidotorg
. Commanders and SAFC fan.
It appears to have been confirmed that an audience member died.
An ordinary citizen, participating in the political process by attending a rally of his favored candidate (presumably) has been murdered for it.
That’s what an attack on democracy looks like.
This will be a paradoxical election in the UK. The people will vote out a government they despise, in order to put in place a government that will double down on the most despised policies.
A Labour govt won't have much money to spend and every social and cultural conservative should brace themselves for a leftist-appeasing barrage of changes on liberty, free speech, 'white privilege', trans, Hospice care/ euthanasia etc
Two policies studied intensely and the almost unanimous conclusion of the research is that they are extremely damaging:
1. High tariffs - policy of the GOP candidate
2. Rent control - policy of the Dem candidate
The age of unreason is truly upon us.
Scoop: Biden WILL announce plan to cap rents at 5% nationwide, sources say
Would strip tax benefit from corporate landlords who dont comply
Plan, which likely requires D control of Congress, comes as Biden emphasizes populist econ ideas after debate
W/
@rachsieg
At George Dawson Middle School an autobiography co-authored by George Dawson at 103 has been banned. Mr. Dawson was the grandson of a slave. He learned to read at 98. His book is an inspiration to all readers except it can’t be read at the school that bears his name.
Hear hear. The UK needs a functional equivalent of the First Amendment. Nice to see Dido smile when
@afneil
starts his demolition of the premise of her question.
Solid thread on the UK Parliament's oversight hearing on the egregious CMA. I hope MPs like
@BimAfolami
are considering measures to bring the CMA back under direct Ministerial control or to allow appeals on the merits to Ministers or the Courts.
The public part of the UK parliamentary oversight hearing on CMA's work has finally started.
Chair says "we're gonna ask about some topical cases ... most widely covered news is Microsoft-ActivisionBlizzard, please give us a quick summary"
🧵1/X
Hawley's not ambitious enough. How about?
*TVs that switch off after 2 hours
*Bans on newspaper and magazine subscriptions that deliver you stuff to read every day
*No book longer than 200 pages - including the Bible
It seems like most of the major accomplishments of American transportation infrastructure occurred before the 1967 creation of the Department of Transportation.
The Netherlands has effectively banned market-rate rentals, so now landlords are selling to owner-occupiers, and people who can't afford a mortgage now can't find a home at all. Good job.
In just 3 days, Gov. DeSantis says Florida built a temporary bridge to Pine Island after its lone bridge to the mainland was destroyed by Hurricane Ian. The move allows emergency vehicles and even Publix trucks to get to the island. STORY:
Folks, right now, 25 of the largest pharmaceutical companies in America control 70% of the market. This lack of competition drives up prices – making it harder for hardworking American families to access the health care they need.
Today, my Administration is doing something
Discovered my late tutor Peter Derow’s handwritten genealogy of the Spartan Kings.
May be of interest to
@AntigoneJournal
and
@ArmandDAngour
among others.
Steve Horwitz: “Market capitalism has done more to lift more people out of poverty and oppression than socialism, democratic or otherwise, has or will ever do. And it's not even close.”
The ‘Chinese miracle’ is over. Massive debt problems are beginning to plague local governments, youth unemployment 20%+ (and rising),female fertility rates down to a disastrous 1.2, and inexorable population decline accelerating. Pay attention to local Govt debt:
@RChoongWilkins
Bridge design for vessel collision. A🧵
The main span of the Francois Scott Key Bridge is 1300 ft. It also has 185 ft of clearance, making this a massive bridge.
This type of bridge is considered complex.
Baltimore is in for a long haul before replacement. Here is why.
1/x
If you are looking for a case study of how well-intentioned government procedures cause outcomes that can only fairly be described as bonkers, here's one for you.
“The far left and the far right both oppose free markets for the same reason. They have a vision as to which groups should benefits from wealth creation, and they fear that the free market won’t deliver the outcome that they favor.”
Or, in their view, that they deserve.
"History suggests that free markets are the least bad option. They aren’t perfect, but the truly disastrous economic policy mistakes always come from misguided government intervention."
I’m giving
@MickMulvaneyOMB
one last chance to answer my questions about his actions at the
@CFPB
. If he won’t, he should be called immediately to testify under oath before my colleagues and me on the Senate Banking Committee.
This is quite an extraordinary intervention. The EU is essentially erecting a tariff on thought, if speech firms want access to the EU's market. Time to say non, I suspect.
“In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city—except for bombing.” - Assar Lindbeck on Sweden's use of the policy.
The world's major economies are being overhauled to make them more green.
A band of lefty Europeans met in Brussels this week with a more radical plan: to deliberately shrink the economy instead. Meet the de-growers.
My take for this week's Charlemagne.
🚨🚨"Our thesis is that a primary cause of the rise in mental disorders is a decline over decades in opportunities for children and teens to play, roam, and engage in other activities independent of direct oversight and control by adults." 🚨🚨(1/2)
"Protectionists talk a big game about the national interest, but when trade policy is actually made, it is often for special interests. In this case, the government is granting mattress-makers and two labor unions their wish to face less competition from abroad."
Our long national nightmare of cheap mattresses is almost over. Thank goodness the government is finally waking up to this threat. Now Americans can rest easy knowing that they won’t be allowed to pay too little for a mattress.
New from me
@NRO
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sparked wild conspiracy theories that were completely untethered from reality. From cyberattacks to DEI pilots to election meddling, speculation ran wild before the facts were known.
The disturbing trend in American culture has been
Pete is spot on here. Net Zero is almost the Platonic Form of bad policy, hurting the poor, skewing investment decisions, and crucifying the national interest on a cross of green - and for what? A paltry reduction in global emissions.
Let me be blunt. If you are all worked up about hazardous materials traveling by rail and yet are in favor of the Jones Act, you are not serious about either subject. Great piece by
@scottlincicome
I’ve got more good news: 27.5 million bottles of safe infant formula manufactured by Bubs Australia are coming to the United States.
We’re doing everything in our power to get more formula on shelves as soon as possible.
This is appalling from the Belgian authorities. I may have my disagreements with national conservatives, but this sort of tactic is illiberalism in the extreme.
The Brussels police and politicians shutting down the NatCon conference while Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman are still inside is chilling.
Free speech within the EU is dead.
Communism is back.
Cancel culture is thriving.
This is why we must fight.
Disastrous news from the Philippines- the Court of Appeals has sided with Greenpeace and the antis in blocking vit-A enhanced Golden Rice, which is now in widespread cultivation in the country. All planting must now stop, harming the interests of millions.
Taking a look at Deneen's Regime Change, I find an extraordinary error. He alleges that Polybius felt that for the Romans, "The benefits of kingship were manifested in the unitary rule of the emperor."
Poppycock!
1/x
Here's Don Boudreaux on the attempts to introduce at what I can only call leftist indoctrination at George Mason University. This is part of the relentless drive
@pmarca
is talking about. It must be opposed.
"The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the storm may enter; the rain may enter; but the King of England cannot enter - all his force dares not cross the threshold..."
#WATCH
| This is the moment our officers broke up an illegal ‘lock in’ at a football club in
#Walsall
at the weekend.
We'd had reports that drinkers were illegally gathered in the bar behind the shutters, but our attempts to get in were initially met with silence.
At Apple, we believe that climate change is one of the world’s most urgent priorities and we are deeply committed to doing our part. Today we had a special guest—a real force of nature—stop by to check on our progress.
"The capitalist achievement does not typically consist in providing more silk stockings for queens but in bringing them within reach of factory girls."
-- Joseph Schumpeter, born February 8, 1883.
A common good can be identified in a set of institutions that, broadly defined, comprise the institutions of liberty. The shared conservative project should strengthen those institutions & set in place guardrails to ensure that they are not weakened again.
Born 6 August 1972, Spice Girl Geri Halliwell Horner is 18,530 days old today, matching Wilford Brimley's age on the day 'Cocoon' was released. Congrats
@GeriHalliwell
! You've reached the Brimley/Cocoon Line.
“The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail—its roof may shake—the wind may blow through it—the storm may enter—the rain may enter—but the King of England cannot enter!” - Pitt the Elder, 1763
"The Online Safety Bill is a deeply troubling legislative proposal. If passed in its present form, the UK could become the first liberal democracy to require the routine scanning of people’s private chat messages".
Your regular reminder, this time from
@jimgeraghty
, that the FDA is why you can't get rapid, affordable tests the way the rest of the developed world can.
On Constitution Day I am always reminded of something the great Fred Smith would say: "The Constitution isn't perfect, but it's better than what we have now."
A problem with Nobel Prizes is that they create an epistemic aristocracy, leading to people lending weight to Nobel winners' pronouncements. That weight is often undue, as
@DrSamuelGregg
explains in relation to the new Stiglitz book.
Given how much has gone into supporting the industry over the decades, this is quite a remarkable twin failure of industrial policy and protectionism.
I also have no doubt government will step in again, on national security grounds, natch.
Good for
@Jeremy_Hunt
for pointing this out. It is, however, incumbent upon politicians to realize that democratic accountability for regulators is part of their job, and that making a regulator “independent” sacrifices an essential element of democracy.
HUGE: One of the 2-3 most powerful members of the UK government issues a clear warning to
@CMAgovUK
concerning its attempt to block
#Microsoft
's purchase of
#ActivisionBlizzard
.
"One of the reasons that companies like Microsoft ... invest in the UK is because we have independent
Apple says that AirPods Pro 2, its latest wireless earbuds, can be used as clinical-grade hearing aids. This feature hasn’t been FDA-cleared, however — although the company says that it expects approval “soon.”
The feature, when enabled, boosts specific sounds in real-time, like
DOJ Antirust moves to preserve competition in the sugar industry.
Which is weird, given that the government protects the sugar industry from competition by a variety of trade restrictions.
"get the $$$ and put it in parents' hands" is the free market solution to this and will be more effective in the long run than trusting in the right side to have the power.
school boards have been captured by the woke left. they are destroying children's lives, wrecking families, crushing opportunity
some say "run for school board" and take back power
better/quicker:
get the $$$ and put it in parents' hands.
@DeAngelisCorey
is tracking progress!
Dozens of activists, including Greta Thunberg of neighboring Sweden, blocked the entrance to Norway's energy ministry in Oslo Monday to protest a wind farm they say hinders the rights of the Sami Indigenous people to raise reindeer in Arctic Norway.
3rd issue =The breaks. The derailed train was using air breaks that have basically been around since ~1870s.
Electronic breaks or “ECP” would have stopped the train faster. The Obama Admin tried to mandate these in 2015. The Trump Admin rolled it back
This also puts the number of jobs allegedly lost owing to the effects of free trade into context. Far more jobs are lost due to the general churn every month than are alleged to have been lost to trade over a decade.
#Russia
The Kremlin is considering holding a "parade of prisoners of war". During the Victory Parade in Moscow, up to 500 Ukrainian soldiers can be brought to demonstrate the “strength and superiority of the Russian army,” according to the sources of
"The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it;...but the King of England cannot enter - all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement!"
I’m sure my
@Telegraph
readers will be horrified by
@cj_dinenage
writing to TikTok and Rumble trying to get Russell Brand cancelled before he has had a chance to answer his accusers.
Since when does a Culture Media and Sports role involve being a witch finder?
It’s chilling
OPINION: We may need climate lockdowns to halt climate change, Mariana Mazzucato writes. That might mean governments limiting private vehicle use, banning consumption of red meat, etc. We must do capitalism differently to avoid that.
Competition in action.
No doubt the FTC is planning some stupid action to try to stop this. The good thing is that the market is moving so fast any action will be out of date by the time it is brought.
This is a very good summary of why the UK is facing energy catastrophe - fantastic planning assumptions imposed by environmental activists. The greens need to be driven out and never let near the levers of power again.
Today we celebrate the birthday of Julian L. Simon - a free-market economist and business professor known for his optimism about the future of mankind.
Learn more about his legacy ->
One in three Americans have less than $100 in their savings account.
But if someone is late, even a little bit, on their credit card payments, they could be charged $41.
That’s why
@POTUS
& the
@CFPB
are taking action to cap most credit card late fees at $8. That’s a big deal.
🧵THREAD🧵
“15 days to slow the spread” kicked off four years ago Saturday, sending the media into perhaps its most deranged cycle of my lifetime.
I dove back into some of the worst lockdown media coverage from those early days.
Buckle in, this one’s long. ⤵️
😊 New survey: Americans satisfied with their lives
- 83% of Americans are satisfied with their personal life, matching the historical average.
- Half of the participants are "very satisfied."
- Family life, housing, and education rank highest in satisfaction.
Consistent
Salient point from
@Reinsch84
on America being a founded nation and a constitutional people—as opposed to a hierarchy of collected historic tribes in Harzony’s general definition of a nation. America is indeed special in this way.
"The causal effect of regulation on income inequality across the U.S. states"
"a substantial increase in income inequality due to increased regulatory restrictions in a state"
The third largest railroad union rejected its deal with freight railroads Monday — renewing the possibility of a strike that could cripple the economy — but before that could happen both sides will return to the bargaining table.
Stuff and nonsense. Even the chair of the NTSB has said the rule would have had no effect on the derailed train.
There's far too much political point scoring going on - on both sides - about a very serious issue.
👀
@FoxNews
: "Regulations regarding train safety were changed during the Trump administration. This particular railroad and others lobbied President Trump to dismantle an Obama-era rule that would have required railroads to update their braking systems."
As a proud centrist pro-tech Democrat, I share
@mattyglesias
' concern about the collapse of center-left party institutions.
As he says, it leave centrist Dem candidates & staff a bit homeless, politically
Oren Cass: The free choices of the individual are a threat to the collective. Tariffs combat the free choices of individuals and sure, everyone will be poorer, but you’re just not taking into account the “value beyond what market prices reflect.”
Upper middle class people can celebrate - flying is going to become a luxury again, so airports will be less crowded and the genteel ways can return without the plebs interfering.
Lufthansa, Europe’s biggest airline group, will introduce a surcharge of up to €72 per flight next year to cover the rising costs of alternative "green" fuels needed to lower aircraft emissions. The German company says it expects "billions in the future" in additional costs.
Excellent profile of the Belt and Road Initiative in transition by
@WSJ
's
@Lingling_Wei
. The project is too important to Xi to abandon, but too inefficient to move forward unchanged. Important to watch how Beijing plans to turn this around. via
@mercatus