The great Texas A&M economist Tom Saving has died.
My GMU Econ colleague Pete Boettke writes about our late colleague Jim Buchanan and Buchanan’s archives. Here’s Pete’s conclusion:
In August 2012, I attended a lecture by my former professor – James M. Buchanan. At the time he was 93 and would turn 94 that October. After his talk, we were casually chatting and I simply asked him, “Jim, how are you doing?” Never one for small talk, he just looked at me and said, “Well, I am not happy with that paper I just gave. I need to go home and do some revising.” With that he walked away to no doubt go home and do some revising. 93 years old, still thinking, still working on his craft as a writer, still revising to improve his thinking and his prose. This unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and his lifelong learning is evident throughout this archive. He was an inspired thinker, and an inspiring teacher, scholar, and academic entrepreneur. And he offers a unique window into our discipline that is so fascinating to peer through.
Those bureaucratic wars, skillfully crafted by creator Mick Herron, are important in explaining the appeal of the show. All espionage tales have the great inherent attraction of peeking into the shadowy world of cloak and dagger and witnessing the deadly battles between competing systems of governance. But Slow Horses has something else. Intelligence and security agencies are large impersonal bureaucracies just like the DMV. Herron has humanized his characters and placed them in a world where individuals are susceptible to both traitorous temptations and the basic human instincts of self-interest and ambition that play out in the politics of bureaucratic institutions—whether it’s getting the corner office or murdering a loyal agent to cover up a scandal. At a time when the West faces multiple security threats from terrorists, dictators, hackers, and extremists and is also experiencing explosive growth in unchecked bureaucratic autonomy and authority, Herron has made the well-worn spy thriller even more relatable to his audience.
Jennifer Huddleston warns against letting E.U. bureaucrats design American tech. A slice:
Many Americans first experienced the impact of the European regulatory approach in May 2018, when they started noticing more click-through requirements to accept cookies and updated privacy policies. All those annoying security pop-ups and repeated notice of updates to terms of service on websites were the direct result of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), an E.U. policy that required companies to adopt specific practices around interactions with user data and users’ rights related to those data.
Gary Galles describes what property taxation and rent control have in common with each other.
Several major destinations, facing housing shortages, are watching the fallout. Christian Klossner is executive director of New York City’s Office of Special Enforcement, which oversees the short-term-rental regulations. His said his office’s main goal is to uphold laws that protect housing, as well as residents and travelers.
In addition to hotels, one clear winner in the Big Apple battle is New Jersey, where Airbnb units in Manhattan-adjacent Jersey City and Hoboken are attracting travelers.
Should Americans who drink tea now worry?!
People who need emergency health care in the U.K. should indeed worry.
Australians are now a bit more free and have higher purchasing power.
David Henderson has a Substack; it’s titled “I Blog to Differ.”
Vinay Prasad warns against the fear-mongering now afoot about long covid in children.
