“Britain’s problems stem from no one being able to ever do anything. Therefore we’re short of things that have been done. Sorting this out so that more people can do more things seems sensible, for then we’d all enjoy more things that have been done. The New Manchesterism then suggests that government should do all those lovely long term things that markets can’t or don’t and thus will the land of milk and honey return. We do tend to think that the long term isn’t something that politics is going to look to. Not when a Prime Minister with a stonking majority gets – well, likely will – killed off by a chippy northerner after 2 years and how many days is it?” (06/23/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“I’m always amused whenever I read some criticism of America’s ‘capitalist’ system by some leftist. Leftists rail against the evils of capitalism and cite American ‘capitalism’ as a prime example of such evil. I’m sure that such leftists are thoroughly confused when they encounter a libertarian. That’s because libertarians also condemn the economic system under which we Americans live. I’m sure that the leftists just don’t get it. How can a libertarian, they think, criticize and condemn America’s ‘capitalist’ system when libertarians are deeply committed to capitalism? The answer is very simple, but one that all too many leftists are loathe to consider: America doesn’t have a genuine capitalist system.” [editor’s note: Actually, it does. What it does not have is a free market system. There’s a difference – TLK] (06/23/26)
“Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is talking in circles. The city is suffering under a $55 million operating deficit. The mayor pointed out in a 2023 budget letter that ‘The demands of a City this size in square miles and infrastructure age far exceed affordable options for residents and available resources.’ What to do? The answer is obvious: dedicate more public tax dollars to private corporations. And not just baseball, but women’s soccer, too! Kansas City leaders are once again proposing public subsidies for a sports facility.” (06/22/26)
“The view that an increase in the money supply could revive an economy is based on the idea that money transmits its effect through the aggregate expenditure. With more money in their pockets, people will be able to spend more and the rest will follow suit. Money, however, only enables one producer to exchange his produce with another producer.” (06/23/26)
Source: Common Dreams
by Medea Benjamin & Nicolas JS Davies
“The 60-day extension of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran may lead to lasting peace or it may be over within a week, doomed by the dysfunctional alliance between the US and Israel. If it holds, it could mark the beginning of a transition away from the doctrine of ‘low-intensity conflict’ that has shaped US foreign policy for decades. Talks between the US, Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar began in Switzerland on June 21. But Iran was firm that it holds the United States responsible for Israel’s violations of the US-Iran memorandum and cannot move forward with other parts of the agreement until the US fulfills its part in Article 1, which requires an actual Israeli ceasefire and withdrawal from Lebanon.” (06/23/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya
“Mark Twain popularized the phrase, ‘There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.’ This phrase could equally well be adapted to depict the role of socialist narratives taught as ‘history’—narratives that wreak even more economic havoc than outright lies. Lies can be debunked with facts, but socialist narratives appeal to political and moral ideologies that are less easily dislodged once they take root.” (06/23/26)
“The most controversial part of last week’s article on the Midjourney ultrasound scanner was medical experts’ recommendation against whole-body screening (including existing whole-body screening technology using MRI). Isn’t this crazy? Whole-body screening can save lives by detecting serious diseases like cancer. The experts counterargue that it finds so many false positives – minor zit-like imperfections that would never have caused problems, but which cost patients time, money, anxiety, and side effect burden to investigate – that it ends up net negative. But isn’t this just a problem of setting thresholds correctly? Can’t you commit to only investigating the most obviously bad things, then ignore the rest?” (06/22/26)
“The pattern is obvious. In an overworked House office, whoever has time and capacity to produce a clean draft often decides what gets written. On defense portfolios, that is increasingly a uniformed fellow on detail from the Department of Defense. In practice, executive-branch detailees do not supplement staff capacity; they replace it on key tasks, shaping agendas, drafting text, and gatekeeping information that will later govern their own departments. About ninety military fellows cycle through the Hill each year, with roughly two dozen each from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and a dozen more from the Marine Corps. Their credentials are strong and intentions usually public-spirited. The problem is institutional. A congressional staffer owes undivided loyalty to Article I. An officer owes loyalty to a chain of command that runs to Article II. When workloads are crushing, that conflict is resolved by inertia rather than deliberation.” (06/23/26)
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Suppose we come up with really good pleasure drugs, drugs that give us lots of pleasure without negative side effects such as hangovers or cirhosis of the liver. If we accept the economist’s model of the rational actor, their invention is clearly a good thing. It expands our choice set, provides us one more and possibly better way of getting what we want. To people skeptical of the rational model, that conclusion is less clear. To see the problem, consider an extreme version. Larry Niven, in some of his stories, describes wireheads, people who have had a wire inserted into the pleasure center of their brain and stimulate it with a mild electric current. The intense pleasure that results dominates all other concern, making it possible for a wirehead to die of hunger and thirst because getting food or drink is simply more trouble than it is worth.” (06/22/26)
