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Arnold Kling is also correct, I believe, to argue that the ‘gradualist’ school of economic growth – those economic historians who deny the historical reality of an industrial revolution – are mistaken [3]. (DBx: But this growth was sparked by more than trade and specialization according to comparative advantage [4]. As important as these are, innovation unleashed by bourgeois virtues [5], dignity [6], and equality [7] are key.)
Alex Nowrasteh and Ben Powell explain how mass immigration put the damper on the push for socialism in America [8]. Here’s their conclusion:
All in all, immigration did more to slow the growth of government in the 19th and early 20th centuries and to frustrate the goals of left-wing reformers than it did to overturn the fundamental economic and political institutions of the American founding. With few exceptions, immigrants helped preserve, protect, defend, and expand American free markets.
“It’s About Time We Stopped ‘Trying Communism'” – so correctly argues Ethan Yang [10].
My intrepid Mercatus Center colleague Veronique de Rugy identifies yet another good reason for cutting taxes [11]. A slice:
In theory, more money in the IRS budget means more agents to help taxpayers comply or to track down tax evasion. But it likely requires some serious tradeoffs with civil liberties.
How far would you be willing to go to crack down on Uber drivers, cleaning ladies, and individuals operating cash-based businesses—also known as small businesses? We’d better have an answer, because that’s the plan. And in light of the recent IRS data leak to ProPublica or the political harassment of conservative political groups in 2012, how much more power would you give the IRS to access people’s finances?
David Simon identifies six facts that climate-change warriors would prefer remain unknown [12].
Richard Phelps writes critically about the long-standing peer-review process for academic papers [13].