A roundup of economic news from around the Web.
- Hayek: On Freakonomics, Justin Wolfers has some fun with government intervention being used to force the teaching of free marketeer Friedrich von Hayek. “Hayek just doesnt belong with Smith, Marx, Keynes, or Friedman. In fact, it seems that despite having enjoyed a much longer period to accumulate citations, he is still much less widely cited than Larry Summers. Sure, Hayek was an insightful economist. But insisting that high schools teach Hayek is a clear statement of ideology, not of economic science. The message from the Texas Board of Education seems to be: If you cant win in the marketplace of ideas, turn to government institutions to prop you up. I dont think Hayek would approve.” William Easterly comes to Hayek’s defense on his blog. “Although Wolfers doesnt do this, many readers of his blog will fall for that classic trick, the Reverse Ideological Rejection: because ideologues like Hayek, therefore I should (ideologically) reject Hayek. This is in the same class as Hitler liked Wagners Ring, therefore I should hate Wagners Ring. Its sad that Hayek has been the victim of so many violations of the intellectual freedom for which he was one of the most eloquent and courageous spokesmen ever.”
- Bank and Criminality: Simon Johnson of the Baseline Scenario looks at potential criminal actions during the global debt-fueled boom. “In any case, it is time to close the loophole that effectively allows deception regarding securities sold into the United States. Rule 144A should be abolished US residents (individuals and institutions) should only be allowed to buy securities that are properly registered with the SEC. If other countries are willing to have their people buy fraudulent securities, that is their problem. This is no longer acceptable in the United States.”
- Deficits: Writing for her Economist Mom blog, Diane Lim Rogers looks at Virginia’s deficit cutting measures and compares it to the federal situation. “The Virginia example may provide a little window into what the federal government would look like if Congressman Paul Ryan, newly named to the fiscal commission and the author of a plan to balance the budget entirely on the spending side, got his way. What Virginia will be cutting looks like a lot more than just waste, fraud, and abuse. But I guess Im supposed to be happy about my taxes staying low, and people like me who (at the moment) have good jobs and income and health arent supposed to think that there but for the grace of God go I when we see our fellow citizens losing their safety net just as theyre falling.”
Compiled by Phil Izzo