Getting the economy back on its feet is properly viewed as an investment in future prosperity. When businesses and consumers confront attractive inve….

The most common mistake we make as teachers is attempting to tell our students too much..

John Stuart Mill believed that the only acceptable reason for government to limit a person's liberty was to prevent him from causing unacceptable har….

The primary source of waste in government is that legislators are often under heavy pressure to vote for projects that will benefit their campaign co….

Rising inequality hasn't really accomplished anything of value for its ostensible beneficiaries, the top one percent. They've all built bigger mansio….

It is no exaggeration to say that rising inequality has driven many of the 99 percent into a financial ditch. It also helped spawn the housing bubble….

Many social critics wag their fingers at what they perceive to be frivolous luxury spending. But that misses the point that consumption norms are loc….

When the rich build bigger, they shift the frame of reference that shapes the demands of the near rich, who travel in the same social circles. Perhap….

We're in a classic demand-shortfall recession. There aren't enough jobs because total spending is too low. Consumers won't lead the way because they'….

No society has ever succeeded without a decent government..

When people bump up against one another in the course of pursuing their goals, it is in everyone's interest to resolve any resulting problems in the ….

Adam Smith's uncritically enthusiastic modern disciples portray his invisible hand theory as saying that market forces reliably harness selfish indiv….

The fact that many private expenditures are mutually offsetting actually happens to constitute a remarkably good bit of fiscal news. Mutually offsett….

We've long known that firms can pay higher wages if they spend less on workplace safety enhancement. Libertarians ask, "If a worker is willing to acc….

Economics, as it is often taught today, portrays us as homo economicus-someone who doesn't vote in presidential elections, doesn't return lost wallet….

If top marginal income tax rates are set too high, they discourage productive economic activity. In the limit, a top marginal income tax rate of 100 ….

As economists have long noted, the puzzle is not that so few people vote, it's that so many do. After all, no individual's vote has ever tipped the b….