The current tax bill is largely motivated by the theory that if you give tax cuts to successful rich people, even though it increases inequality, it will be worth it because these elites will create jobs through innovation with the…
Yearly Archives: 2017
Monopoly power at the emergency room
There is a lot of monopoly power in healthcare in the US, and it has been driving up prices by decreasing competition. Research shows that greater consolidation in the hospital industry causes higher prices, but it is hard to explain…
Posted in Health, Public Finance
Antitrust Regulation
Monopoly power (aka “market power” or “pricing power”) is simply the ability to raise prices without losing all customers. The US economy is increasingly dominated by large firms and all medium-to-large firms have some monopoly power. That is one of…
Posted in Public Finance
Shoulda bought Bitcoin a year ago…
The WSJ found a great way to show how much bitcoin has risen this year: Their video is fun too. Many bitcoin fans argue that this price rise is based on the fundamental value of bitcoin. I agree with the…
Posted in Macro
Trickle-down vs. flood-down
Thomas Sowell wrote a 20-page book called “Trickle Down Theory” and “Tax Cuts for the Rich” that he is selling on Amazon for $5, but you can download it for free on his website. In it, he argues in favor…
Posted in Public Finance
Rural politics
Farming communities have always been less cosmopolitan than urban areas, and that makes them more culturally conservative, but my sense is that they used to be more economically liberal in the past than today. Today, the most solidly conservative parts…
Posted in Pence2018
Escaping the tyranny of climate
Note: This is an abbreviated repost that I did for a climate change class of an article I wrote that focused more on economic development. Humans co-evolved with our technological inventions for warming up in the cold: fire, shelter, and…
Posted in Development
Medianism 