George Mason University Econ alum Dominic Pino, writing at National Review, describes Friday’s inflation report as “the final nail in the coffin of ‘greedflation.'” Here’s his conclusion:
The idea that inflation was the result of monopolization and insufficient antitrust enforcement was always nonsense, as I have mentioned many times before. Now, there’s not even circumstantial evidence to back up the demagoguery.
The Jan. 6 committee will forfeit the public’s limited trust in it — and the public’s limited interest in it — if members pursue preexisting progressive agendas, such as abolition of the electoral college or other changes to election law. Furthermore, Congress has neither a constitutional power nor an institutional aptitude for building a criminal case against Donald Trump. If the committee attempts this, it will sink into the quicksand of fascinating but legally problematic definitions of “conspiracy,” and of speech that becomes illegal by “inciting” illegality.
Juliette Sellgren talks with Arnold Kling about the three languages of politics.
Arnold Kling offers evidence of the intellectual decline of the economics profession.
Economists who claimed inflation was transitory and driven by increases in select categories such as used cars are belatedly admitting they were wrong. What else can they do? Prices for some goods have moderated in recent months, but inflation is broadening. That’s why the so-called core inflation index that excludes energy and food is up 6% over the past 12 months and 0.6% from April.
Here’s Reason’s Nick Gillespie on Colorado governor Jared Polis.
Still another argument against liberalism is that it will lead to “unacceptable” inequality. The rich will get way too rich, which government must prevent. The authors respond that material equality is not an ethically relevant goal, writing, “What matters is absolute material standards of living, not anger that someone else might be doing better.” Statism thrives on envy, but, say the authors, we must not let it get in the way of progress.
Not only do we not need big government to “save us” from liberalism and enrichment, we need to steer clear of the traps it sets for us. Even “mild socialism,” they write, “puts people under pressure to commit the sins of state-enforced envy or class hatred or environmental imprudence.”
The New York Post‘s Editorial Board calls for a permanent end to all mask mandates.
But even these measures would not solve the problem. After all, countries with high vaccination rates still can’t guarantee zero-Covid – and China’s leaders are sticking to the official line that the virus must be entirely eliminated. As the country’s health chief, Ma Xiaowei, recently declared: ‘We’re a long way off being able to relax.’
