On the very same Greek topic is the Wall Street Journal‘s Holman Jenkins. (gated). A slice:
But Mr. Tsipras shriekingly insisted that Europe go on subsidizing Greece so Greece wouldn’t have to change. He effectively put a gun to Greece’s head and said, “Pay us ransom or the idiot gets it.”
The idiot is now getting it. Greece’s banking system and government are running out of cash because Mr. Tsipras spurned loans that the EU, frankly, was quite eager to give. The Greek people will likely vote overwhelmingly to stay in the euro in next week’s referendum, but by then it may be too late. By then, too, Mr. Tsipras likely will be propagating a “stab in the back” myth to blame Europe for rejecting Greece, not the other way around.
But it also pays to see why this crisis was baked into the euro. Of course the Greek people want to keep the common currency: Not only is the euro an excellent currency, but it comes with the additional virtue of requiring the EU to bail out member governments so politicians and voters can always view reform as less than an absolute necessity.
Reserve your seats for upcoming “Conversations with Tyler.”
Here’s yet another account of the disgusting, would-shame-a-banana-republic-autocrat practice in the United States of civil asset forfeiture. Again I ask of drug-war advocates (as I will ask of them whenever I encounter such instances of government thievery and tyranny): Do you really think that this ‘war on drugs’ makes the U.S. more civilized, law-abiding, free, and pleasant? And if you are a white, middle- or upper-class suburban person, do you not think it incumbent upon you to put yourself in the shoes of blacks and other minorities upon whom the bulk of this atrocious tyranny is unleashed?
Finally, here’s the great Israel Kirzner’s lecture last month in Berlin upon his receipt of the 2015 Hayek Medal, awarded annually by the Berlin-based Hayek Gesellschaft:
(HT Pete Boettke)
