Category Archives: Business

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

The Laffer Curve

19 Comments

Yes, there’s more to tax revenue than rates. I think that from an economic growth (and revenue) standpoint, a reduction in regulations would be more effective. I don’t think that most people understand the regulatory cost to the economy. It’s probably trillions.

[Update a while later]

This, on the continuing and growing ignorance of the media, seems related:

The article explained that unlike Egypt or Pakistan, America doesn’t really have a powerful deep state, and to claim that it does “presents apolitical civil servants as partisan agents.”

Give me a break. “Apolitical civil servants”?

A deep state absolutely exists. Some call it “administrative state” or “regulatory state.” These are the people who crush innovation and freedom by issuing hundreds of new rules. Regulators, if they don’t pass new rules, think they’re not doing their jobs.

Even “anti-regulator” President George W. Bush hired 90,000 new regulators. Calling them “nonpartisan” doesn’t make them harmless—it just means we put up with them through multiple administrations.

Even if you exclude the military and post office, more than 20 million Americans work for the government. Because of civil service rules, it’s almost impossible to fire them.

The Times calls these 20 million people “apolitical”. Please. Most are just as partisan as you or I. Maybe more so, as leaks and signs of bureaucratic resistance to presidential edicts demonstrate.

The notion that George W. Bush was an anti-regulator is ludicrous.

Business, Economics, Technology and Society, War Commentary

Sorry, Saudis

4 Comments

You have lost control of the oil market, probably permanently. Boo hoo.

[Monday-morning update]

OPEC’s cuts are treading water. “The simplified version is that U.S. oil production is reaching a point where OPEC can choose to sell 100 barrels at $50, or 125 barrels at $40. They can choose between higher profit margins or larger market share, but the days of having both are over for now.”

Business, Economics, Political Commentary, Space, Technology and Society

Trump’s NASA Proposal

17 Comments

Loren Grush has the details.

This is just a proposal; as she notes, Culberson is likely to restore the Europa lander. And in general, the White House proposes, and Congress disposes. What really matters is what gets appropriated.

Business, Economics, Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Shared Risk

9 Comments

No, that’s not how insurance works. The word “insurance” has lost all meaning in the context of the health-care debate.

But this raises another issue. I’ve been seeing stories that insurance companies are factoring “climate change” into their premiums. These people have real skin in the climate game, and I’m wondering if they’re taking the “climate scientists” too seriously, and creating a market opportunity for an insurer who doesn’t buy the nonsense?

Business, Economics, Health, Law, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Technology and Society

If You Lose Your Health Insurance

38 Comments

Are you really worse off?

The word “insurance” has lost all meaning when it comes to health care, and the continual confusion and conflation of the two lies at the root of much of the problem. Crazy idea: I want a health savings account to deal with normal medical expenses, and insurance for catastrophes. You know, the way insurance used to be until it got screwed up by wage controls during the war and union negotiators.

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Space, Space Science, Technology and Society

The Planetary Society

1 Comment

Entirely not unexpectedly, they have some terrible suggestions for Trump and NASA:

  1. Maintain the exploration of Mars as the organizing principle for NASA’s human spaceflight program
  2. Direct NASA to plan an executable, affordable path for sending humans to Mars orbit by 2033
  3. Expand NASA’s highly successful science portfolio
  4. Continue to grow and support the commercial space industry
  5. Initiate annual five percent increases to NASA’s budget for five years

The only good one is the fourth. Here are mine:

  1. Make the continuous reduction of the cost of space activities the organizing principle for NASA’s human spaceflight program
  2. Direct NASA to end development of its own launch systems and to start to procure propellant in LEO to enable trips beyond
  3. Expand NASA’s science portfolio with data purchases
  4. Continue to grow and support the commercial space industry
  5. Direct funding from SLS/Orion to support 1-4
Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Popular Culture, Space, Technology and Society

Wasteful Spending

7 Comments

Trump is going to order a government-wide review of it.

[Update a while later]

Congratulations to Altius Space Machines for their NASA SBIR Phase II win for cryo propellant transfer technology development. If we canceled SLS/Orion, we could found several thousand efforts like this.