“People have a great misconception in this way: They think the way you solve things by electing the right people…but that isn’t the way you solve things. The way you solve things is by making it politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right things. —Milton Friedman (59m16s)
Of course, on many issues, there is disagreement—even irreconcilable disagreement—over what things are “right”.
Articles for reference:
Abortion
“Dobbs v Jackson” by The Supreme Court of the United States (US Supreme Court, 2022-06-24).
“The morning” by David Leonhardt (The New York Times, 2022-06-27). Subtitled, “After abortion, how is the Supreme Court likely to change American society next?” As Donald Trump repeatedly (and cringely) illustrated, calling someone or a group of people a name doesn’t mean that name is accurate or even relevant. Beware how it biases views and conversation.
“The morning” by Jeanna Smialek (The New York Times, 2022-06-21). Subtitled, “The government’s plan to fight inflation could cost jobs and restrict wage growth.”
“The truth about inflation: Why Milton Friedman was wrong, again” by Blair Fix (Evonomics, 2021-11-24). Just because someone calls something “truth” doesn’t make it so. Or, on the importance of examining hypotheses and arguments. See the comments to the article.
“The strange art of asking people how much inflation they expect” by Josh Zumbrun (The Wall Street Journal, 2022-06-24). Reasons to question the relevance of inflation expectations as recorded by the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers, from a preference for round numbers to political bias. The graph of 1-year-ahead inflation expectations by political affiliation encapsulates these biases.
“Comparing past and present inflation” by Marijin A. Bolhuis, Judd N.L. Cramer, Lawrence H. Summers (NBER, 2022-06). Correcting for changes in the CPI measures over time.
“Is recession inevitable? Economist says plenty of tools remain” by Christina Pazzanese (The Harvard Gazette, 2022-06-21). A Q&A with Betsey Stevenson, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan. Dr. Stevenson served as chief economist at the US Department of Labor (2010–2011) and on the Council of Economic Advisers (2013–2015). Compare with the Q&A with Jason Furman from 11 May 2022.
“Your book review: Progress and poverty” by Lars Doucet (Astral Codex Ten, 2021-04-15). A review of (followed by many comments on) Henry George’s famous 1879 book.
“The Biden administration has dropped the ball on vaccine development” by Noah Smith (Noahpinion, 2022-06-26). Wait, do you mean to argue that US presidents* and those in their administration are self-interested, calculating politicians?! (*Not to pick on President Biden in particular.)
“The consumer age turned Americans into gamblers” by David G. Schwartz (Zócalo, 2019-05-02). The title seems incongruous with the article. More apposite, perhaps, would be “Government need and corporate greed: How gambling got its groove back”.