Category Archives: Policy

ISIS (Part Two)

Posted on December 27, 2015 by Roger

In my first posting on this subject, we talked about what could be called the “forward defence” argument for military action against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.  Advocates of this strategy believe that to defend ourselves against ISIS terrorism, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Affairs, Policy | Leave a comment

More Silly-Con Valley

Posted on December 13, 2015 by Roger

The Wall Street Journal had an article this past week entitled “Tech’s Hometown Bank.”  This has convinced me that Silicon Valley has replaced Wall Street as the new epicentre of financial malfeasance and conflict of interest. The article is about … Continue reading →

Posted in Finance, Policy | Leave a comment

Overreaching Government “Enables” Culture Warriors

Posted on November 14, 2015 by Roger

I  have just finished reading an opinion entitled “A Birth-Control Morality Play Comes to Supreme Court” by Megan McArdle, the lonely voice of libertarianism over at BloombergView.  The thrust of the article is to use philosophical hypotheticals to explain the … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy, Politics | Leave a comment

Patently Absurd[1]

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Roger

It is presidential campaign season and we are getting a lot of incoming promises, particularly from the Democratic side, about how the government is going to make our lives better.  This makes it an opportune moment to report on some … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Policy, Politics | Leave a comment

Republican Debate in Boulder

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Roger

Through the modern miracle of the “record” button on my TV remote control, which I have finally learned to use, I have watched the recent Republican debate.  Here are my thoughts on the candidates and the issues raised. It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy, Politics | 1 Comment

Twins

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Roger

Both are long-term residents of New York City.  Both attended Ivy League business schools.  Both had successful business careers.  Both are Republicans with an independent streak.  Both are billionaires.  Both have self-funded their campaigns, in part to be beholden to … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Policy, Politics | Leave a comment

“Tax Expenditures” Are Not “Free Stuff”

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Roger

BloombergView has just published an article by Paula Dwyer entitled “Everything in This Column is Free Stuff.”  A better title would have been “Everything in This Column is Economically Ignorant and Offensive Nonsense.” The column attempts to draw an equivalence … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Policy, Politics | Leave a comment

Access (Should Be) Denied

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Roger

The Wall Street Journal has recently run a lengthy, front-page article entitled “How Some Investors Get Special Access to Companies.”  This is the type of article that should make the blood boil. The article describes private meetings between large investors … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Finance, Policy, Politics | Leave a comment

Bad Medicine

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Roger

I was recently watching something on television about an “morally bankrupt sociopath” making large sums of money selling drugs to price-insensitive consumers after having eliminated much of his competition.  No, I am not referring to the Netflix series Narcos, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy | Leave a comment

The Fed Decision

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Roger

After moving house and taking a two-week break in Canada and New England, there is a lot of catching up to do.  Let’s start with today’s post, the length of which I apologize for in advance. The Fed Decision Last … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Finance, General Culture, Policy, Politics | 2 Comments