We Spent a Billion Dollars Fighting the Houthis…and Lost
2024-06-18
Why does it seem the Pentagon is far better at spending money than actually putting together a successful operation? The failed “Operation Prosperity Guardian” and the disastrous floating Gaza pier are but two recent examples of enormously expensive initiatives that, though they no-doubt enriched military contractors, were incapable of meeting their stated goals.Prophets of War: Lockh…Hartung, WilliamBest Price: $10.13Buy New $14.99(as of 02:45 UTC – Details)To great fanfare, last December the Pentagon announced the launch of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a joint US/UK military operation to halt the Yemeni Houthi disruption of Israel-linked commercial shipping through the Red Sea. The Houthis announced their policy in response to civilian deaths in Israel’s war on Gaza, but when the US
US Job Growth is Slower than Reported
2024-04-04
The news media has been reporting steady job growth in the US economy since the Covid 19 crisis. Employment has grown steadily. However, data on employment represents progress in the number of jobs filled. The total number of jobs in business plans is the sum of all filled and unfilled jobs, total employees plus total job openings (see the red line in the top-left graph below).The total number of jobs in the US economy increased rapidly up to March 2022. Total filled and unfilled jobs have fluctuated since March 2022, with little increase. Why have businesses been planning for relatively few new jobs? It appears that low businesses confidence has put a damper on business plans to create additional jobs. Growth of fixed nonresidential fixed investment peaked in the second
California’s Minimum Wage Increase is Inefficient and Unfair
2024-04-03
California raised its minimum wage rate for the fast food industry to 20$ today. US Politicians haven’t targeted specific industries with minimum wage increases since the Great Depression. There are already signs that some fast food places in California are cutting back on employment. The specific effects of this fast food minimum wage will become clear during the rest of this year. For the time being, we should recall the general effects of minimum wages.Minimum wage laws reduce employer demand and increase labor supply; this causes higher unemployment rates. Minimum wage laws affect teen workers more than adult workers because teens are less skilled, less educated, and less reliable. The below left graph depicts the relationship between minimum wages and overall
Biden’s Middle East Policy Puts Americans at Risk
2024-01-24
The situation in the Middle East is growing more and more dangerous for the Americans stationed there. Two Navy SEALs are dead after being lost at sea off the coast of Somalia while searching a boat that was allegedly carrying weapons bound for Yemen. And many US troops have suffered concussions and other brain injuries in rocket attacks in Iraq and Syria. President Joe Biden and his advisors are reportedly convinced that it is only a matter of time before US troops are killed directly.
The Biden administration also suggests American deaths will give them no choice but to carry out direct attacks against Iran—the exact approach Biden himself has admitted isn’t working against Yemen.
But the danger is greater than Biden is letting on.
In 1996, the Israeli government conducted a military
Bye Bye Willie: The Political Rent-Seeker
2024-01-22
On January 1, 2024, the famous Steamboat Willie entered the public domain. The intellectual property that is the original Mickey Mouse design has been controlled by the Walt Disney Company since 1928. The internet blew up in excitement as a result. Within minutes of the world waking up to the news, horror games were announced based on the design of the famous mouse. The editors of Wikipedia were practically Olympic racers, waiting for the moment it hit midnight to upload the entirety of the cartoon to Wikimedia Commons.
This cartoon, under eight minutes long, and its long-awaited release to the public domain is a perfect example of political rent seeking and corporate protectionism.
American copyright and patent law has a long history that goes back to the colonial period. The 1623 English