Clearing the Tabs January 15, 2022

Happy New Year! Here are some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. A lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts again, expect a post on January 31 as well. Also, just because I post something here does not mean I agree with it, it simply means it made me think and I think my readers might enjoy it.

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January 1
Small town is a feeling in the Strip District

January 3
Trouble in Paradise: The Crumbling California Model
California is broken, but it is not doomed.

Welcome to the end of democracy
A rising tide of money and administrative power defines the rising autocracy

January 4
Philly's crime wave could affect the midterm election results in Pennsylvania

The Economics Of How San Francisco’s Drug Policies Are Devastating The City

Is this the end of progressive America?
Multiple fronts of resistance are taking shape

January 5
Class War is Just
Seismic economic and demographic changes will feed division and conflict.

Imagine electric vehicles in bad weather

January 6
Free Markets, Not Slave Markets
On the enmity between human bondage and capitalism

January 9
COVID-19 allowed too many to pervert their power

Is it Time for Intellectuals to Talk about God?
It's a New Dark Age. Evil abounds. Is a postmodern embarrassment about discussing spiritual matters, keeping us stupid and putting us in danger?

January 12
Inflation is eating away at the heart of America’s small businesses

California Is a Bastion of Innovation Marred by Deep Inequality. Is That America's Future?

January 13
How to Succeed at Failure
Sometimes you just can’t win. Make the most of it.

Sasse Blasts Biden’s ‘Senile’ Demagoguery
The Nebraska senator also took aim at the Democratic voting bills in question and made the case for reforming the Electoral Count Act.

Ultimate Agglomeration Diseconomy: The Standard of Living

January 14
Plenty of Waste at the Pentagon, but America’s Big Fiscal Problem Is Domestic Spending

Clearing the Tabs May 15, 2020

Some things I've read so far this month or will be reading soon. It appears the month will be a long one, and a lot of people are staying at home looking for things to read, so I've broken this month into two parts, expect a post on May 31 as well.

May 1
Subways Seeded the NYC Epidemic: MIT Economist

The Pandemic Road to Serfdom
Our Covid-era oligarchs are fitting us for feudalism.

May 3
Letter from Los Angeles: The death of small business is a tragedy for Jewish community and democracy

May 4

Falling Prices Aren't 'Deflation.' They Instead Signal Booming Growth

Coronavirus and the Future of Public Policy

Congress, don't extend disincentives to work

May 6
Rethinking the Social Safety Net

May 7
Cuomo to Covid Volunteers: Pay Up
The governor imposes New York income taxes on the health-care workers from other states who answered his call to come fight coronavirus.

One Nation, Under Lockdown, Divided By Pandemic

May 8
Deindustrialization as a Template for COVID-19

May 9
Don’t bet on vitamin D to fight coronavirus, researchers warn

Coronavirus Is Worsening America’s Grim Fiscal Outlook
May 10
The flattened economy must be revived now

Hygienic fascism: Turning the world into a 'safe space' — but at what cost?

May 11
The Glory—and Risk—of Cities
From the beginning, urban density has yielded opportunity while also posing the danger of contagion.

May 12
Are California leaders 'losing the locker room' with coronavirus response?

May 13
Time to explode the Andrew Cuomo myth

May 14
Towards a Better Urbanism

The Dangerous Consequences of Renewables in the Age of COVID-19

May 15
Keeping schools closed in the fall is not a viable option

How Many More Ways Could We Possibly Stifle Small Business?

I came across an interesting column today over at OpenMarket.org, discussing how to help small businesses across America. I recommend the entire column, but the three highlighted sections below merit particular attention.

"Paychex, Inc., a payroll service provider that works with many small businesses, recently commissioned a survey. They asked small business owners their thoughts on the economy, and what the biggest obstacles are to growing their businesses. The most common gripe? Regulation. 47 percent of small business owners say that regulations have “slowed or prevented” their business from growing."

This is where bureaucracy gets in the way of real economic growth. Damn, just get out of the way and let those with initiative and drive and capital investment put people to work.

"If Congress is genuinely interested in helping small businesses while speeding up economic recovery, it’s time for a different approach."

Can you join me in saying "Transformational Change"?

"Federal regulation alone costs $1.75 trillion to comply with. Congress should lighten the load. 47 percent of small business owners say that regulation has made their business grow more slowly. Letting that 47 percent grow more quickly would go a long way toward getting the economy growing again."

Almost $2,000,000,000,000 (yes, that's 12 0's) just to comply with regulations!