mailbag

An anonymous reader e-mails: So, seeing as you know a lot about economics, I was wondering if you could tell me anything about the economic ramifications of a large corporation like “Large Corporation” donating shrink/ old product to organizations like “Loving Charity.” I am trying to understand why “Large Corporation” donates so little and throws [...]

An anonymous reader asked, “What do you think of Ayn Rand? I recently read Atlas Shrugged and wanted to hear what you think.” From what I’ve seen and read of her interviews, she seemed like an unpleasant-enough person that she’d cast almost anything I wrote about her as foolish, ignorant, infantile, malicious, stupid, or some [...]

Yesterday an anonymous reader e-mailed, asking: “Your thoughts on Rick Santorum?” He or she apparently has read neither this post nor this post. If I may address the matter a bit more seriously than in the January post: Obviously, Santorum has survived much longer than I thought he would. I still tend to think that [...]

A few days ago, Noutheteo asked: From an economic standpoint, what is your opinion of SOPA/PIPA and the recent “blackout”? Is there a need for government to intervene with intellectual property laws, and if so, is the SOPA/PIPA route appropriate? On a similar note: any thoughts on the book Against Intellectual Monopoly? I’m doing my [...]

From the mailbag: Last week, “Hard Candy” asked, “What is your opinion on the Austrian School of Economics?” Before I respond, let me warn you that my answer would probably not please the purists of the Austrian (or “Vienna”) school or of the Keynesian (i.e., mainstream) school of economics. The Austrians would find reasons to [...]