BOHANON & STYRING: Making commodities free comes with a price
Sometimes paying for something is better than getting it for free. Enter private enterprise.
Bill Styring / Special to IBJ
Articles
BOHANON & STYRING: Protectionism causes more harm than good
When there’s an international boundary involved, The principle of free exchange making everyone better off gets lost in a wave of “us” versus “them.”
BOHANON & STYRING: How market forces are reducing our emissions
A shift by utility producers from coal to natural gas is happening without any Paris Accord or a single regulation from the U.S. Department of Energy.
BOHANON & STYRING: Federal spending never forgets a crisis
During a crisis, government grows in scope, power and budget. All recede somewhat after the crisis. But never to pre-crisis levels.
BOHANON & STYRING: All this health care rhetoric is bad for our health
If society is determined to help those with expensive medical problems, the way to do it is … well, by helping those with expensive medical problems.
BOHANON & STYRING: Marsh liquor sell-off was an economist’s dream
Indiana’s byzantine liquor laws recently provided a clean textbook example—a natural experiment—of the Law of Demand.
BOHANON & STYRING: Strong U.S. government is desirable, within limits
The Federalist Papers regarded federalism and its cousin, the separation of powers, as surer bulwarks of liberty than anything written into the Bill of Rights.
BOHANON & STYRING: Gender pay gap is real–and there’s a reason for it
Women tend to choose lower-paying occupations, and are more likely to have career interruptions for childbearing/child care and for care of elderly relatives. This results in lower pay.
BOHANON & STYRING: Study vouchers but don’t limit availability
Assuming the government’s interest is in educating the child and not in providing employment at public schools, the state should be indifferent as to how and where the educating takes place.
BOHANON & STYRING: Don’t get carried away with ‘America First’
America First is a nice slogan, but let’s not push things too far.
BOHANON & STYRING: Those favoring robot tax driven by unfounded fears
the technological innovations of the last 60 years have replaced some jobs, but they have created new jobs that were unimaginable in 1957.
BOHANON & STYRING: Evaluation of health care plan was devoid of nuance
When the Congressional Budget Office scores a bill, it has to follow certain rules. Fair enough. But by nature, this excludes plausible details in the administration of the law.
BOHANON & STYRING: The economics of immigrating illegally are alluring
One doesn’t have to bless or even condone illegal immigration to understand the powerful incentives driving it.
BOHANON & STYRING: Border adjustment may be only path to tax cut
A revenue-neutral corporate-tax-rate cut, instead of border adjustment, could be financed by eliminating tax loopholes or raising other taxes. But these tax offsets fall on Americans.
BOHANON & STYRING: Enjoy all the rankings, but read the fine print
Here is the dirty little secret behind all rankings. More than anything else, they reveal the policy preferences of the organization doing the ranking.
BOHANON & STYRING: Both sides have it wrong on currency manipulation
The Trump administration is known for its anti-manipulation rhetoric, but so are Bernie Sanders and other Democrats. Complaining about this is a bipartisan sport.
BOHANON & STYRING: Licensing people who braid hair is nonsense
Our Legislature is debating whether to remove the requirement that hair braiders obtain a cosmetology license to practice their craft.
BOHANON & STYRING: Don’t swim against the manufacturing tide
Manufacturing employment as a share of total employment is down from 25 percent to less than 10 percent. It has fallen under every U.S. president since Truman.
BOHANON & STYRING: Airbnb critics unwisely toy with property rights
Clear and enforceable property rights are at the core of any prosperous and free economy.
BOHANON & STYRING: Trump has no easy way out of his Mexican standoff
How do we make Mexico pay for the wall? “Mexico” is a nation-state abstraction. Economists insist all costs are borne by people, not legal entities called countries or corporations.