Bruce Bartlett explains his new new book, The New American Economy, and why he thinks supply-side economics should declare victory and go away before it causes any more problems. The supply-siders are to a large extent responsible for this mess, myself included. We opened Pandora’s Box when we got the Republican Party to abandon the […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
Is Gov. Perry Covering Up the Execution of an Innocent Man? (continued)
A few weeks back, I asked whether Texas Governor Rick Perry was seeking to obstruct an inquiry into whether Texas executed an innocent man. There is reason to question the forensic evidence upon which the conviction and subsequent execution of Cameron Todd Willingham was based, and Gov. Perry replaced members of the state’s Forensic Science […]
When Did Sex Offenders Have to Register?
This morning, in United States v. Cain, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit split over whether a sex offender convicted prior to the enactment of the federal Sexual Offenders Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) was required to update his sex offender registration before the Attorney General adopted regulations implementing the law’s registration […]
Good Luck, Mike
This morning, at the U.S. Supreme Court, my colleague Michael Benza will argue on behalf of the respondent in Smith v. Spisak. He will argue that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit correctly granted a writ of habeas corpus to death row inmate Frank Spisak due to constitutionally defective jury instructions and […]
Regulation on the Rise
The Washington Post reports on how the Obama Administration is increasing regulatory efforts on many fronts. There’s no question Obama appointees are more enthusiastic regulators than their Bush counterparts (with the possible exception of those at Homeland Security), but it would be a mistake to place all the credit/blame for increased regulation on the Obama […]
Clean Air, Dirty Water
The NYT reports on how efforts to reduce air pollution have sometimes led to an increase in water pollution. Even as a growing number of coal-burning power plants around the nation have moved to reduce their air emissions, many of them are creating another problem: water pollution. Power plants are the nation’s biggest producer of […]
A Prize for New Institutional Economics
More on the economics Nobels from Paul Krugman, Vernon Smith, David Henderson, and Tyler Cowen (1, 2). UPDATE: Like my co-bloggers, I am very pleased with the selection of Ostrom and Williamson. They are both very important figures who are well deserving. On a personal note, they have also both been influential on my own […]
Bainbridge, Tabarrok, and Levitt on Williamson
Professor Bainbridge responds to the economics Nobels and digs out some old reviews of Oliver Williamson’s work, while Alex Tabarrok discusses Williamson and the pin factory and Steven Levitt notes there was a time when the Williamson choice might have been less surprising (at least to him).
Ostrom and Williamson Win Economics Nobel
Americans Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson were awarded the 2009 Sveriges Riksbank Prizein Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel this morning for their work on “economic governance” in the commons and the firm, respectively. Their work is important insofar as it pioneered analysis of economic governance and institutional arrangements outside of competitive market settings. […]
Important News from Honduras
The United States has advanced to the 2010 World Cup by defeating Honduras 3-2 in San Pedro Sulas.
An End to DNA Test Waivers?
The Washington Post reports the Justice Department is reviewing a Bush Administration policy that required some criminal defendants to agree to waive their right to DNA testing as a part of plea deals. The practice of using DNA waivers began several years ago as a response to the Innocence Protection Act of 2004, which allowed […]
Sunday Song Lyric
Hank Williams‘ “I’m So Lonesome, I Could Cry,” was the first Sunday Song Lyric. Appropriately so as Hank Williams is easily one of the greatest American song writers of all time. He died at only 29, and yet left one of the most impressive songbooks of any song writer. Bob Dylan (no song-writing slouch himself) […]
Fined for Inadequate Insurance
Wendy Williams and her husband liked their health insurance plan. The premium and annual deductibles made sense for them, and a more “gold-plated” plan was not worth the money. Yet Massachusetts’ health care regulators disagreed, and forced the Williams to pay a $1,000 fine if they wished to keep their insurance plan — a plan […]
Release the Koh Memorandum on Honduras
James Kirchik, writing in a recent issue of The New Republic, ponders the Administration continued insistence that there was a “coup” in Honduras. He concludes: In the immediate wake of Honduras’s constitutional crisis, it was understandable that the administration, caught by surprise, might jump the gun in its denunciation of the military action as a […]
On Obama’s Nobel
Unlike some, I don’t think the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama during his first year in office is all that shocking. For many years the Nobel Peace Prize has been given as much if not more for what the committee hopes recipients will accomplish as for what they’ve already done. Just […]