I am a libertarian, but probably not as serious as you think. Has it occurred to you that I’m mainly just reporting the collective knowledge of economists?
You are reporting the collective knowledge of economists as reported to you by libertarians. Most economists are not libertarians and most support the status quo. Look for a survey of economists’ opinions, eg, by Robert Whaples. They probably lean in your direction on all these issues, compared to the general public, but that does not mean they support them in absolute terms. eg, half want to eliminate the minimum wage, but half want it as is or higher.
I wasn’t aware that there was such an even split on the minimum wage, thanks. (One of the citations in the ejw article you linked to below provided the evidence)
I tried to pick items that I thought there was a general consensus on in the profession. Apparently I was wrong about the minimum wage. Looking back on my list, I would also be worried about insider trading laws (I’m sure it’s controversial), the capital gains tax, and probably the post office. I was intentionally vague about which subsidies economists would dislike because they aren’t necessarily bad (and economists don’t necessarily dilike them), but ethanol is one there is probably some agreement on. Tariffs and the income tax I’m also pretty confident in. Fannie and freddy I’m less confident in, but still pretty sure about. Note that the ejw article you linked supports my assertions about tariffs and the ethanol case of subsidies.
You are reporting the collective knowledge of economists as reported to you by libertarians. Most economists are not libertarians and most support the status quo. Look for a survey of economists’ opinions, eg, by Robert Whaples. They probably lean in your direction on all these issues, compared to the general public, but that does not mean they support them in absolute terms. eg, half want to eliminate the minimum wage, but half want it as is or higher.
I wasn’t aware that there was such an even split on the minimum wage, thanks. (One of the citations in the ejw article you linked to below provided the evidence)
I tried to pick items that I thought there was a general consensus on in the profession. Apparently I was wrong about the minimum wage. Looking back on my list, I would also be worried about insider trading laws (I’m sure it’s controversial), the capital gains tax, and probably the post office. I was intentionally vague about which subsidies economists would dislike because they aren’t necessarily bad (and economists don’t necessarily dilike them), but ethanol is one there is probably some agreement on. Tariffs and the income tax I’m also pretty confident in. Fannie and freddy I’m less confident in, but still pretty sure about. Note that the ejw article you linked supports my assertions about tariffs and the ethanol case of subsidies.
Do you happen to have a link to a Whaples survey on general economic policy issues? Everything I see is behind a subscription.
ejw is not gated.
economists’ voice is gated, but has some kind of guest access.