Despite huge increases in money flowing to oil-exporting nations, you seldom hear the word “petrodollar” anymore. Perhaps buzz words eventually just fall out of use. Or perhaps philosopher George Santayana’s dictum that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned…
Category: Other
Should we pay for roads now or hand bill to our kids?
The dispute between Gov. Tim Pawlenty and many legislators over highway funding boils down to the old question of “jam today or jam tomorrow?” On second thought, that is not quite accurate. Both the governor and legislators want jam today.…
Drug policies prop up the profits in dope
The Afghan government just announced a new crackdown on opium production. That country now produces 90 percent of the world’s output. Opium reportedly is the largest single component of Afghanistan’s gross domestic product. Though laudable, history and economic theory tell…
Ignoring past costs often leads to a brighter future
We all know there is no use crying over spilled milk, but when it is our own milk we do so anyway. In love, war, and even business, it can be hard to know when to walk away from a…
Human nature can make a mess of trash policy
Work with solid-waste disposal and you will get a jaundiced view of human nature. That must be true for St. Paul officials faced with 18,000 incidents of illegal waste dumping each year. This highlights a paradox: Policies to foster cost-efficient…
Mounting debt defies theories
The president has delivered his budget to Congress. Though Congress can be expected to weigh in with much overblown rhetoric, the appropriation bills it passes probably won’t differ much from the president’s proposal. Whatever the exact outcome, one thing is…
Bush health plan deserves consideration
Democrats should be ashamed of the short shrift they are giving President Bush’s health proposals. They should embrace his proposal that we equalize tax treatment of health insurance spending. The current system is inequitable and economically inefficient. Liberal and conservative…
A “tax exemption” is just a bribe
There are many euphemisms for ‘bribe.’ Depending on the country it may be ‘baksheesh,’ ‘blat,’ ‘speed money,’ ‘propina,’ ‘an envelope’ or ‘chai.’ Here in Minnesota we generally say “economic development incentives.” We seem to think that if payoffs are reported…
Don’t blame ethanol for costly tortillas
Many people like Sgt. Joe Friday’s approach to economic issues: ‘Just the facts, ma’am.’ The problem is that individual cold, hard facts, taken in isolation, often mislead. People like certainty and simplicity. But real life is uncertain and complicated. Consider…
Bush misses chance to be true conservative
Like father, like son. That kept running through my mind during the State of the Union address Tuesday. As his father did 16 years ago, President Bush ignored a golden opportunity to alter history by boldly advancing conservative ideas on…