Hear David Henderson's radio interview promoting his SU speech

Link here

Review of David Kendall's Morality and Capitalism

Before I get into the book, David Kendall is a professor of economics at UVA-Wise.  I met David when we both worked at RTI International between 2002-2004.  I always knew he was a libertarian, but I had no idea he was such a great writer.

In Morality and Capitalism: A Dialogue on Freedom,David teaches about why capitalism is the only economic system to use if you are concerned about morality.  He does this in an interesting way.  Much of the book contains a dialogue between a wise teacher and an inquisitive student.

The book is great and I highly recommend it.  It's not too long and you can get it for your e-reader for a reasonable price. (Right now it is $4.99.)

I don't want to give much away, but I can't resist listing a few excerpts:

1. All people want to be free.  Freedom is a universal human value.  But we cannot be free if we are compelled by others.  Consequently, if we want to be free, we should be moral.

2. Tyro: So, we should quit using the term "public property"? 

Solon: No, Tyro.  That would be impractical.  It is fine to call certain land "public property," provided we understand that such property is not and cannot be owned "collectively".

3. Rational People have but one right, the right to be free of unjust compulsion of others.

Quoted in NPR Philadelphia story

link here

You can read or listen!

Three great sentences ...

I don't normally read the comments on the articles I write, because often they can turn into harsh personal attacks.  But readers of The Federalist have seemed both intelligent and civil, so I checked out the comments from my recent oped.  Here is a great comment by someone with the screen name of "SpaceCommie":

The median world income is about ten thousand dollars a year, adjusted for buying power by country. A minimum wage worker in the US makes more money than over half the workers in the world.

This is not to say that people working for low wages in the US don't face serious problems, but it should be sufficient to establish that the idea that it's somehow illegitimate to pay workers below $10/hour is silly.

My new oped in the Philadelphia Inquirer

Here is my new oped in the Philadelphia Inquirer titled Three Keys to Prosperity

I think the timing of this is ideal, as it is the day Tom Wolf becomes governor of Pennsylvania.

Here is an excerpt:

For Pennsylvania's economy, 2014 was a good year. The unemployment rate fell, and few new impediments to working were created by our state lawmakers. Looking ahead, here are three recommendations for elected officials in Harrisburg to help make 2015 prosperous.

Anti-fracking insiders didn't disclose position when writing NY report

Very sleazy.  Not surprising, but sleazy nonetheless.

Link here

Excerpt:

One of the three peer-reviewers is Sandra Steingraber, a biologist and environmental advocate who is also co-founder of New Yorkers Against Fracking. Two others, Robert Oswald and Jerome Paulson, are vocal opponents. Several of the study's authors, though not all, are known fracking skeptics and have ties to groups that oppose the practice -- including Denny Larson, study co-author and director of Global Community Monitor, which is sharply critical of fracking.

And ..

“They do the studies to get the results they want,” he said. “They are not going to be objective, they have an agenda.”

My newest oped in The Federalist

Changing these two laws would appropriately commemorate MLK Day

Excerpt:

A day spent not working is a bad tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. We should instead provide more opportunities for African-Americans, and all Americans, to lead productive lives on MLK Day and every other.