Opinion
Trade deficits do not mean bad economic news
The United States has seen trade deficits for most of its history. Successful economies include factors that promote deficits.
News
Those we’ve lost in 2021
This story was updated at 3pm on December 31, 2021. As we close the books on 2021, the year leaves stories for the future: an awakening from the pandemic, renewed attention to public school classrooms, and indications that the 2022 elections could bring a Republican wave. While we look toward the future, we acknowledge some...
News
Friday Interview: Keynesian Overconsumption Comes Home to Roost
RALEIGH — Ever since the recent financial crisis took hold, we’ve heard the name Keynes and the word “Keynesian” crop up in political and economic debates. John Maynard Keynes was a 20th-century British economist. One of his most famous sayings was “in the long run, we are all dead.” Paul Cwik, associate professor of economics at Mount Olive College, used Keynes’ line as the basis for a presentation this year to the John Locke Foundation’s Shaftesbury Society. Cwik spoke on the theme “Say’s Revenge: Living in Keynes’ Long Run.” Cwik discussed Keynes, Say, and competing economic ideas with Mitch Kokai for Carolina Journal Radio.
Opinion
Anatomy of a Phony Flap
By all means, argue with Walter Williams or other people with whom you may disagree. But do so knowingly.
News
Friday Interview: Walter Williams on Liberty
RALEIGH — Today, Carolina Journal Radio’s Mitch Kokai talks to Walter Williams, a George Mason University economist, writer, and commentator on television and radio. In a recent speech in Chapel Hill, Williams discussed the proper role of government in society. (Go to http://www.carolinajournal.com/cjradio/ to find a station near you or to learn about the weekly CJ Radio podcast.)
Opinion
No. 883: Is the Minimum Wage a Magic Wand?
There is no legislative magic wand for prosperity. As Walter Williams notes, the minimum wage is “maximum folly.”
Opinion
The Public’s Interest in Lobbying Reform
The right to lobby government officials is protected by state and federal constitutions. But rules that require disclosure and distinguish lobbying from bribery are proper in a republican form of government.
Opinion
The Minimum Wage—Magic Wand?
In 1914, Henry Ford paid his factory line employees $97.30 per day—in 2005 dollars. The minimum wage is currently an issue in North Carolina, as well as at the national level. Interest in a new federal minimum has little to do with Ford's productivity and tedium argument, however, and there is no legislative magic wand for prosperity.
Opinion
Let Them Eat (High-Priced) Shrimp
Cheap foreign imports are the bane of U.S. producers of all types of goods. And no wonder. The cheaper version sells because it saves the consumer money and allows him to satisfy one desire, and still have money left over to fulfill other desires as well. As always, consumers want the lowest possible price to apply to the things they buy.
Opinion
No. 133:Nothing Is Sacred: Barro Writes Against the Grain
Considering the vast number of economists trained in leftist universities and fed socialist soup, it’s refreshing to encounter some who found truth or who got mugged by economic reality. Robert J. Barro is one such person. Noted Harvard professor, economic consultant, and author, Barro also admits to having experienced this deep-seated university tilt.
News
Walter Williams on Trade, Politics
George Mason University economist Walter Williams, a syndicated columnist and guest host on the “Rush Limbaugh program,” came to Raleigh recently to help kick off the creation of a new program that will provide leadership and citizenship training to North Carolinians. In an interview with Carolina Journal, Williams discussed politicians' new flirtation with protectionism, the issue of incentives for business, and the need for advocates of freedom and market economics to add their voices to the debate.
