In a democracy such as ours, widespread dissatisfaction over some issue may be a necessary condition for reform, but it is not a sufficient one. That is the lesson that current public dissatisfaction with health care teaches. Many people complain…
Funding formula paved with intentions
It doesn’t matter if the venue is Slayton, St. Paul, Washington, D.C., or Brussels. If there is a pot of money, people from different regions will fight over it and economists will not be able to offer much advice. Society…
Common property systems have uncommon results
Sometimes a bad idea, eloquently expressed, has enormous influence. Garrett Hardin’s famous essay, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” demonstrates that truth. Hardin, a biologist and population ecologist who taught at University of California-Santa Barbara, died last month. Soon after publication…
Unlikely answer for GOP
Remember the Hessians, the mercenaries from Germany that King George III hired to help put down the rebellion in the 13 colonies? The king did not want to cause domestic political problems by sending English boys off to die in…