BOHANON & STYRING: No movement toward a rules-based Fed
A constant debate in every Macroeconomics class since at least 1975 is, to what extent can or should the Federal Reserve provide policy certainty?
Bill Styring / Special to IBJ
Articles
BOHANON & STYRING: Rankings only as good as criteria they’re based on
But northern Indianapolis suburbs have been scoring rather well in several recent rankings.
BOHANON & STYRING: Tariffs often tilt playing field rather than level it
tariffs aren’t really about fair trade; they’re all about fixing the market for domestic firms at the expense of the rest of us.
BOHANON & STYRING: Nanny state taxes often fail their objectives
They neither reshape consumer behavior to the desired ends nor provide a stable revenue source for local governments.
BOHANON & STYRING: Tax fairness begins with government honesty
Congress has “pivoted” from health care to taxes. This means we’re doomed to much high-sounding rhetoric about “fairness.”
BOHANON & STYRING: Index funds aren’t going to destroy capitalism
One commentator goes so far as to claim index funds are “worse than Marxism.”
BOHANON & STYRING: A hurricane-force lesson in supply and demand
Prices are how resources are directed to their highest valued uses. A higher price says both “use less” and “we want more.”
BOHANON & STYRING: Yes, there is such a thing as a free market
In a free market, government plays a vital role in enforcing laws against violence, fraud and theft, and in resolving contract disputes.
BOHANON & STYRING: NCAA deck is stacked in favor of schools
One service the NCAA provides for its members is to rig the market for student athletes
BOHANON & STYRING: Alt-right, liberals find economic common ground
The alt-right views white Europeans as socio-political—and economic—victims, and calls for a strong dose of white nationalism and anti-Semitism.
BOHANON & STYRING: Carmel shouldn’t get into the hotel business
In 21st century Indiana, is there any limit to what government can do as long as “economic development” is the justification?
BOHANON & STYRING: Solar-panel tariff faces opposition from two sides
The subsidy says we want cheaper solar costs to encourage more solar projects. Tariffs on cheaper imported cells and panels say we want higher-cost solar projects.
BOHANON & STYRING: Eliminate corporate tax in name of transparency
No corporation ever paid a dime in taxes. People, in some capacity, pay all taxes.
BOHANON & STYRING: Tariff logic is as mushy as canned tomatoes
Forcing steel-using firms to substitute high-cost U.S. steel for low-cost foreign imports makes those businesses less competitive.
BOHANON & STYRING: Don’t sweat artificial intelligence. We’ll adapt.
Ever since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, we’ve been substituting machine power for muscle power. The main consequence has been that life has gotten better.
BOHANON & STYRING:Breaking down the Purdue-Kaplan deal
Purdue University’s purchase of online college Kaplan University should be considered in the context of at least two economic principles: composite goods and division of labor.
BOHANON & STYRING: It’s time to own up to Social Security shortfall
No myth causes more mischief than the fiction of the “Social Security Trust Fund.
BOHANON & STYRING: What do price controls get you? Venezuela
Venezuelans aren’t eating high on the hog. Common people aren’t eating much hog—or anything else.
BOHANON & STYRING: Widely cited CBO scores have their shortcomings
CBO doesn’t look beyond immediate, first-order consequences of legislation.
BOHANON & STYRING: Same dance: Raise debt limit, spend, repeat
Sometime in early autumn, the U.S. Treasury will run out of cash and once again beg Congress to raise the debt limit.