I am going to begin by apologizing to the readers for the long delay between articles. Recently, I’ve been running on the ragged edge, sort to speak. With my job, obligations to other people and life’s ever dramatic way of introducing that cliché wrench in the works, I’ve found little time to sit and…
The recent passing of Nobel Laureate Gary Becker had me reflecting on some of his work. Specifically, his thought on how time is our most scarce resource. In his Nobel lecture he begins by explaining that economics impacts more than just the financial decisions that people make. Economics, when properly applied, allows the student to study…
I recently watched the critically acclaimed independently produced movie, “Blue Collar Boys” by director/producer Mark Nistico. What I experienced was an emotional ride with a blue collar family struggling to keep their construction business alive during the 2008 financial meltdown. The viewer can see, first hand, how such misguided Fed policy and political maneuvering damaged…
The Austrian School of Economics has been at the forefront of price theory. Beginning with Carl Menger, the founding patriarch, through others such as, Böhm-Bawerk, Mises, Hayek, Rothbard, Lachmann, Kirzner and more have advanced the theory of prices. It is generally accepted that prices are a function of supply and demand. But, there’s more.
One of the fundamental laws of economics is that human beings act on incentives. People make choices to act every day, all the time. The choices they make, are without fail, whether they will be left better or worse off. As a matter of fact, people remain inactive until they have made their choice whether…
How many have gotten themselves into that usual Twitter or maybe a Facebook debate about “capitalism” or “the free market” with someone who doesn’t even understand the definition of the terms? It can be equally frustrating because these social media environments aren’t really suited for an honest debate. When anonymity is introduced during any discussion, the…
Recently, fast food workers across America have been striking for higher pay, to include a “living wage”. Complaints have been that a fast food worker can’t afford to raise a family on slightly above minimum wage. Better yet, congress has held hearings over the last few weeks about the possibility of raising the national minimum…
The Blue Collar Economist 