“There are, of course, two components to affordability: sellers’ prices and buyers’ incomes. For most American families, buying (or renting) focuses either heavily or entirely on life’s essentials: housing, food, transportation, education, health care, and other forms of care (child, senior). That a clear majority of American families are, at minimum, stressed by these costs is a consequence of not just a host of factors on the sellers’ side, but of one big factor on the buyers’ side: a half-century of wage stagnation, even as investment income has soared. Or, if you prefer, a half-century of buyers’ income stagnation, even as sellers’ income has soared. If you depend on investments for most of your income, this is a pretty damn good time.” (12/03/25)
“Kids say the darndest things — and ask the darndest questions. Especially when they were 8-12 years old, my kids would often bring up sensitive topics at dinner. Sexy topics. Disgusting topics. Sexy, disgusting topics. Though I was proud of their unconventional curiosity, I didn’t want to ruin dinner for the whole family. Before long, I came up with a simple response to defuse such situations: ‘Ask me again after dinner.’ A response that simultaneously expresses two distinct positions: First, it’s a fine question to ask, and I’m happy to discuss it with you in detail before bedtime. Second, it’s a bad question to ask right now, so let’s change the subject so everyone has a nice dinner.” (12/03/25)
“The people of Honduras had not yet made up their minds. So, Donald Trump intervened to help them. … The time has long passed for the U.S. to stop engaging in colonial-style interference in the elections of Latin American countries and to stop ‘defending democracy’ when our candidate wins and subverting it when our candidate loses.” (12/03/25)
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Week before last I was up for jury duty, instructed to check a web page twice a day to see if they wanted me to come in. The first two days they did not, the third day they did. I was told to come to the south county courthouse by nine in the morning; so were more than eighty other people. … What most struck me, as an economist, about the process was the implication of its having access to nearly free labor — there was no payment for the first day, fifteen dollars a day thereafter.” (12/02/25)
“Few Americans lie awake at night worrying about the federal debt — so the Republicans’ plan to end ‘temporary’ COVID-era Obamacare subsidies due to their exorbitant cost won’t win them votes. It will save Uncle Sam money: A staggering 93% of Obamacare premiums are now paid directly by the federal government to health-insurance companies. But will that bring victory in the coming midterm elections? No. That’s why Democrats are gloating that reducing the subsidies will mean higher costs for enrollees, and increase the number of Americans who go without insurance. Because of it, Republicans ‘are going to get their clocks cleaned’ in November, Sen. Chris Murphy (D- Conn.) predicts. Democrats cynically insist on continuing to spend huge sums of taxpayers’ money — $450 billion over the next 10 years — to prop up lousy insurance, defending the indefensible because of its Obamacare label. Even though Obamacare is an utter failure.” (12/02/25)
“[I]f wishes were horses, beggars would ride. At some point, apparently somebody invented an imaginary citation regarding taxes, fees, and natural rights and liberties. And since then, many people have swallowed that whole, repeating it and even seeking to get the courts to accept this fake decision.” (12/02/25)
“The Trump administration recently threatened to return retired Navy captain, former astronaut, and now Senator Mark Kelly to active duty and court-martial him—along with investigating other veterans in Congress—merely for publicly advising members of the military to honor their oath to defend the Constitution and refuse to obey illegal orders (presumably from President Donald Trump, the commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces). Of course, Trump’s threats are outrageous but unsurprising. He has said he wants to terminate the Constitution. He has also said that Article II, which defines the presidency, allows him to do whatever he wants. More than the flag, the national anthem, the pledge of allegiance, and the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution provides the pillars for the preservation of the American republic. That’s why the military Oath of Enlistment pledges allegiance to the Constitution rather than to a person or branch of government.” (12/02/25)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Diogo Costa
“Tom Stoppard died on Saturday, November 29th, at 88. Some would call him a scholar’s playwright, due to his allusions and philosophical meditations. When my friend Pedro Sette-Câmara introduced me to his work, I was pursuing graduate studies in New York. The Coast of Utopia was premiering at Lincoln Center, and I couldn’t find an affordable ticket to see it. Instead, I read his trilogy in book format. Partially because of my studies in political philosophy at the time, I started to see in his work the themes related to human freedom and human knowledge, as well as the forces that threaten them.” (12/02/25)
“Having lived through what they call a ‘meltdown,’ a massive service failure in 1999 that actually continued into the year 2000. I think they didn’t get this mess cleaned up for probably about 18 months. Our main line looked like a parking lot and the Norfolk Southern takeover of our portion of Conrail was an unmitigated disaster. This is not good for railroad workers. We worked endlessly, largely 12 hours every time we went to work. It’s a complete chaotic environment. This is not a safe environment. Workers are demoralized. It’s a state of confusion, and we are all constantly fatigued. And we’re pretty upset that we’ve seen our railroad turned upside down and largely destroyed by a corporate takeover. So I would postulate that this kind of meltdown is certainly not in our interest, and there’s very good reason to believe that a UP and NS merger would result in this.” (12/03/25)
“Perhaps the largest barrier to housing availability and affordability in places like California are permitting rules, land use restrictions, and construction codes that make it absurdly expensive, or even outright impossible, to construct new single or multi-family housing. Part of this is a conspiracy of current homeowners to protect and increase the value of their property … Another part of this is ‘everything bagel liberalism’ where every program has to achieve every Leftish goal — eg we want new housing but it has to have solar and appliances with a minimum SEER and use recycled materials and have a certain number of units set aside for protected groups and create a conservation easement on part of the land, etc …. But another barrier to housing availability and affordability that is less talked-about is the combination of rent control and tenant protections for existing housing stock.” (12/02/25)
