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News
Recent posts and articles from IGEG fellows, advisers, experts and scholars.
Declining Consumption Inequality Young billionaires wear T-shirts, jeans and athletic shoes, like ordinary folk
Listening to the debates among the Democrats running for president, there is much hand wringing about the alleged increase in income and wealth inequality. But is it true? Back in 2013, French economist Thomas Piketty, by using tax data, wrote a best-selling book...
Science and Economics Trump Government Mandates with Climate Change
Many in the political and media classes, showing their ignorance, try to ignore the laws of physics and economics, particularly when it comes to climate change. Various candidates make grand declarations that if elected they will stop all carbon emissions by “x” year....
Democratic Candidates Stupid or in Denial about Wealth Tax
You may recall, a number of years ago an admiral was testifying before Congress about the need to put more military personnel on an island in the Pacific. A congressman, in all seriousness (perhaps after having a bad night), asked the admiral if he was concerned that...
Abuse of Government Control over Banks Can Happen in U.S. Pitfalls of the Corporate Transparency Act and Illicit Cash Act
Thirty years ago this past Saturday, the Berlin Wall fell. That act and subsequent events freed hundreds of millions of people in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Unfortunately, there has been a partial rollback in Russia. Opposition leaders who are...
This Wonderful Era, and Its Exceptions The world is largely at peace, but there is still much to be anxious about
If you could choose to live in any year of the last 2,000, which year would you pick? For every person, some years are better than others; but looking across all of humankind, this year has probably been the best. The world is largely at peace. While some military...
Democratic Candidates’ Proposals Destroy American Liberties
The American republic was founded to protect persons and property and ensure liberty. Yet, many of those running for president are producing a never-ending stream of proposals to diminish protections for person and property and destroy liberty. Proposals to protect...
Rule of Law Undermined in the United States Media and politicians ignore the Constitution and its basic protections
If your favorite sports league had no rules to govern the game and the actions of the teams in the league, how long could it last? The rule of law, along with due process, is the cornerstone of civil society. Even communist countries, with an infinitely elastic...
Humor, the Most Effective Weapon in Politics Whether dealing with China or facing a political opponent, the right joke can disarm
Last week, the Chinese restricted the National Basketball Association (NBA) because a team official praised the Hong Kong fight for liberty, and then they censored an episode of “South Park” because it spoofed the Chinese communist government. After some back and...
Can the United States Avoid a Global Recession? There are several reasons why the United States should be able to avoid being dragged down
Is the world going into a recession? And if so, can the United States avoid being dragged in? Even though there are many who speak with great certainty as if they did know, the short and correct answer to both questions is no one knows. The United States is still...
Hasn’t Ukraine Suffered Enough? After a history of strife, the country finds itself at center of U.S. politics
The International Monetary Fund staff just concluded their mission to Ukraine. Upon reading the report, a colleague, who is a very good economist and student of IMF programs, immediately quipped, “Haven’t they suffered enough?” — with the added statement, “The...
The False Prophets of Climate Doom Some scientists and many Democratic candidates are environmental doomsayers
Miami – Every few years, some self-proclaimed prophet comes along with the announcement that the world is going to end on some specific date (usually because of mankind’s sins). These religious doomsayer prophets receive less publicity than in times past, only to be...
Freedom Still Works, as Opposed to Socialism Sanders and his allies say the kind of socialism they have in mind is not what's being practiced in Venezuela
Recent reports indicate that almost 300 people are leaving the New York metropolitan area each day, with the majority moving to Florida. Florida does not have a state or local income tax. In New York, state and local income taxes may exceed 12 percent. A number of...
Untouched by Climate Change Reality For years global Cassandras have predicted that doomsday is at hand
If the government had not spent any tax dollars trying to mitigate climate change during the last 30 years, how much warmer would it have been and how much higher would the sea level be? The correct answer is, no measurable change. To the extent that mankind has an...
Predicting the Next Recession Studies show that economists tend to be very bad economic forecasters
When will the next recession start? No one knows despite the very confident talking heads on TV who speak with great certainty about things they cannot know. Economic and weather systems both share the attribute of being exceedingly complex. They both have almost...
A Reality Check of The 1619 Project How The New York Times' politically correct version of history misses the mark
This month is the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first African slaves in Virginia. The New York Times has created what they refer to as The 1619 Project, whose goal “is to reframe American history, making it explicit how slavery is the foundation on which...
Math-Challenged Politicians Presidential candidates have assistants to crunch numbers, but their policies don't always make sense
Who among those now running for president would have been capable of creating the founding documents of the United States? Who among them could have shown the level of knowledge, the logic, and wisdom concerning political theory and practice, and human behavior that...
Democrats Mock and Deride a Slowing Economy
World economic growth is slowing, and a global recession may be in the making. Rational and compassionate people look at a recession as bad news, but not wealthy “comedian” Bill Maher, who wants a recession in his belief that it would cause voters to get rid of...
Stage II and Beyond Actions have consequences, which only the irresponsible ignore
Back in the early 1980s during the Cold War, I was with a friend in East Berlin. As the noon hour approached, we started looking for someplace to have lunch. We soon discovered that all the restaurants were closed from noon to 1 p.m. “so the workers could eat.” This...