Christopher Westley Archives
The Economics of War, Georgia Edition
Americans should consider how the US government would react if (say) Texas declared its independence and received massive amounts of military aid and advice from the Russians, all while the Texas president feted his Russian counterpart at state dinners in Austin and promoted Texan membership in a post-Cold War Warsaw Pact that had already expanded greatly in the previous 15 years. To me, the economic lessons dominate. FULL ARTICLE
The Marketplace of Christianity
The Church of England has some monopoly power in this area, causing it to lose its focus and ignore the needs of its consumers. The Economist calls for its disestablishment. An excerpt:
Establishment brings fewer material advantages to the Church of England these days than the Lutherans, for example, enjoy in much of Scandinavia. And a creeping disestablishment is under way. Yet centuries of crowning kings, burying princesses, celebrating the nation's victories, running a lot of its state-funded schools and getting Parliament to cast an eye over the decisions of its ruling General Synod have made the Church of England what it is. It prides itself on keeping the door open to all comers, though few pop in. It stresses inclusiveness and stands up for a public space for all faiths. Admirable stuff--but its numbers are falling.
Compare that with churches in America, or Africa. No theocrats they, but fishers of men in competitive waters. Their messages must be more sharply defined to win souls. But by keeping the focus soft, as an established church must, the Church of England, which dominates this least authoritarian of associations, has blunted the contest of ideas and distorted debate within the Communion (and its own ranks). Time, surely, for all sides to fight their corner, free of the shackles of the state.
How Fannie and Freddie Made Me a Grumpy Economist
Fannie and Freddie should be shuttered. Their corporate ownership should be subjected to the Enron treatment, and their assets should be auctioned off to private mortgage guarantors. Also, the Fed's complicity in this affair needs to be made well known, especially the role of one former Fed chairman who encouraged the use of subprime mortgages in the early 2000s. In hindsight, his statements look like desperate attempts to minimize the adverse effects of his post-9/11 monetary policies and shield himself and the political establishment from the backlash that rightly follows periods of monetary inflation. FULL ARTICLE
The Fed's Moral Hazard
June 18, 2008 11:29 PM
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Revisiting Richard Grasso
June 17, 2008 6:54 AM
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Please, Not Another FDR
April 11, 2008 8:16 AM
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Privatizing Sewage Treatment
April 2, 2008 9:55 AM
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Is Bear Stearns Too Big to Fail?
March 15, 2008 12:10 AM
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Reputation
March 11, 2008 6:21 AM
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The Cost of War - 2008 Edition
March 8, 2008 11:21 PM
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A Marketplace to Loathe
March 4, 2008 9:46 PM
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What Do You Mean by 'Change'?
February 24, 2008 6:53 PM
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The Stimulus' Short-Term Purpose
February 11, 2008 4:06 PM
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Fiscal Follies
January 28, 2008 8:12 AM
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The UAW's Gamble
October 17, 2007 5:58 AM
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New Lenders of Last Resort?
October 15, 2007 1:07 PM
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The New Hubris in Monetary Policy Award
October 9, 2007 7:49 AM
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Bove: The Fed is Bailing Out Countrywide
September 4, 2007 1:49 PM
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The Dilemma of State Economic Development
August 28, 2007 8:24 AM
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Bloggers Union?
August 6, 2007 8:09 AM
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When Buying Sugar in Zimbabwe
August 1, 2007 12:45 AM
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The Mortgage Market Mess
May 17, 2007 7:30 AM
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Dave Barry on an Anachronism
May 5, 2007 12:21 AM
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A Kibbutz Grows Up
April 29, 2007 11:06 AM
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Whither the Risk Free Rate?
April 15, 2007 10:54 AM
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Latin Worship
March 8, 2007 1:22 PM
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The Cause of Budget Deficits
March 5, 2007 10:17 AM
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Government by Contract
February 4, 2007 8:41 AM
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Bubble Psychology in 1837
January 10, 2007 10:19 PM
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Toyota Up, Ford Down
December 21, 2006 7:21 AM
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Diversity, Yes; Force, No
December 18, 2006 7:53 AM
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Mises as Modern Art
December 13, 2006 7:56 AM
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A Hit Man Confesses
December 12, 2006 8:18 AM
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Inside a Bolivian Jail
September 2, 2006 10:54 AM
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The Reid Effect
August 11, 2006 1:15 PM
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Oil and the Apocalypse
August 9, 2006 5:24 AM
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Mexico's Advanced Auction on Stolen Goods
July 10, 2006 8:02 AM
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Government in Business
May 24, 2006 3:08 PM
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The New York Times Notices the Gold Boom
May 7, 2006 12:59 PM
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Bolivia Socializes Its Natural Gas Industry
May 2, 2006 12:19 AM
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Exxon Profit Perspective
April 28, 2006 3:16 PM
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Don't Create A Government in Iraq
April 13, 2006 8:59 AM
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Tenure's Tenure
February 21, 2006 5:19 PM
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Property Rights Consistency
February 15, 2006 11:29 AM
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Your Grandfather's Saving Rate
January 30, 2006 12:56 PM
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New Year, Old Argument
January 3, 2006 5:36 PM
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Who Needs Eminent Domain?
December 26, 2005 11:53 PM
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The Shibboleth of Safety
December 18, 2005 1:00 PM
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Blameless
December 7, 2005 4:18 PM
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The Right to Set Your Own Price, Cont'd
November 9, 2005 1:04 PM
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Davis-Bacon in New Orleans
October 26, 2005 9:48 PM
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The Right to Set Your Own Price
October 21, 2005 7:23 AM
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The Marketplace They Loathe
October 14, 2005 7:39 AM
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Must Catholics Adore the State?
October 7, 2005 8:00 AM
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Salamanca Returns?
September 28, 2005 10:52 AM
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FEMA Should Be Shut Down
September 12, 2005 7:15 AM
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Capitalism is a Scheme for Peaceful Nations
August 20, 2005 1:09 PM
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In Praise of Disorganized Labor
August 9, 2005 4:09 AM
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Other People's Money
August 4, 2005 11:25 AM
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James Curley Lives
June 19, 2005 4:51 PM
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The New Deal in One Lesson
May 26, 2005 7:26 AM
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Holding Hands
May 6, 2005 7:32 AM
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Wal-Mart: The Cause of Poverty
May 4, 2005 3:19 AM
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Futures Market Right on New Pope
April 19, 2005 2:20 PM
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Menger: A Third Man from Galicia
April 15, 2005 8:54 PM
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Two Men From Galicia
April 15, 2005 6:50 AM
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Suggested Readings for the New Pope
April 12, 2005 12:40 AM
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The Emerging Schiavo Industry
March 25, 2005 11:05 PM
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The Trouble with Prosperity
March 10, 2005 8:31 AM
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4 Reasons to Major in Business
March 3, 2005 3:21 PM
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Going Broke by Degree
February 15, 2005 7:53 AM
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Blue Moon?
February 7, 2005 9:01 AM
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Fiscal Rhetoric and Reality
February 2, 2005 10:44 PM
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Forced Savings vs. Forced Federalism
January 28, 2005 10:36 AM
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Robbing Peter to Pay Peter
January 26, 2005 6:34 AM
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Record Budget Deficits? It's the Terrorists Fault
January 26, 2005 6:28 AM
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Opportunity Cost
January 19, 2005 2:54 PM
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Why Do We Have Public TV?
January 10, 2005 11:30 AM
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Are Tsunamis Good for the Economy?
December 30, 2004 5:33 AM
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"Now You Only Get Pretzels"
December 27, 2004 11:02 AM
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A Dichotomy in Two Colors
November 19, 2004 9:52 AM
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Sachs Education in Africa
November 9, 2004 8:05 AM
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Vote Price Inflation
November 8, 2004 11:15 AM
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That Insufferable "Giving Tree"
October 21, 2004 7:44 AM
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When Tax Break Strategies Go Bust
October 20, 2004 10:55 AM
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Flu Follies: New Crisis, Old Story
October 15, 2004 2:03 PM
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Natural Elite
October 7, 2004 11:57 PM
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Digital TV is a Civil Right
September 22, 2004 12:23 PM
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Free Content Still Sells
September 21, 2004 1:04 PM
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New Book on the Economics of Prohibition
September 19, 2004 8:27 AM
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Who's the Crook?
September 9, 2004 1:48 PM
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The Crime Wave that Wasn't
August 26, 2004 6:18 AM
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ABCT Basics
August 24, 2004 10:33 PM
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Oil Price Spike = Economic Stimulus
August 22, 2004 1:16 AM
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ESPN Is a Public Utility
August 17, 2004 12:06 PM
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Lou Dobbs on Outsourcing
August 11, 2004 2:22 PM
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The Trouble with Talk Radio
August 9, 2004 4:25 AM
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The Greenspan Effect?
August 6, 2004 3:48 PM
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Property Rights Victory
August 2, 2004 10:25 AM
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Hell and Economic Growth
July 28, 2004 2:15 PM
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Airport Insecurity
July 13, 2004 12:13 PM
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Why Be Proud of Government Work?
July 8, 2004 7:55 AM
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