--E. Frank Stephenson

Story here.

Hey, bacon works on nose bleeds too (HT: Instapundit).

--E. Frank Stephenson

From the NYT (italics added):

Americans recognize rights not widely protected, including ones to a speedy and public trial, and are outliers in prohibiting government establishment of religion. But the Constitution is out of step with the rest of the world in failing to protect, at least in so many words, a right to travel, the presumption of innocence and entitlement to food, education and health care.

There's a good reason that the U.S. Constitution or any other constitution should not recognize entitlements to food etc.--such a "right" implies an obligation that someone else provide the food or medical care. While many people believe that in a decent society people should voluntarily help others, compelling a person to provide another with food or medical care or whatever is enslavement. It is depressing that this point was not mentioned in the NYT article and that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg thinks the U.S. Constitution is an anachronism because it eschews such provisions.

--E. Frank Stephenson

--E. Frank Stephenson

It's been awhile since I've bothered to point out someone's ignorance about Herbert Hoover's economic policy but here's one worth noting.

FT's Martin Wolf, the author the superb Why Globalization Works, thinks that British policymakers' belief that fiscal stimulus would not help the sluggish British economy indicates they think Herbert Hoover was correct. Never mind that Hoover wasn't much of a fan of fiscal restraint either since he boosted spending some 50% during his four years in office.

Of course, it is also silly to think that current British policy rises to anything resembling "masochism in economic policy" as Wolf claims. Don Boudreaux and Scott Sumner point out that British spending has increased since 2007 and that Britain's budget deficit as a share of GDP trails only Greece and Egypt among 44 major economies tracked by The Economist.

--E. Frank Stephenson