On Friday afternoons, we bring you the best of our blog and the best of the web. This week’s round-up includes a stellar podcast, an opportunity to be paid to learn about economics and public policy, a few great reads, and a video from our friends at Economic Freedom.
1. In the latest episode of The RJ Moeller Show, RJ talks with Andrew Klaven and Eric Teetsel. This one’s a must-listen!
Our very special guest this week on The RJ Moeller Show is none other than novelist, social commentator and all-around nice guy, Andrew Klavan. Andrew is the author of such internationally bestselling novels as True Crime, filmed by Clint Eastwood, and Don’t Say A Word, filmed starring Michael Douglas. He has been nominated for the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award five times and has won twice. Mr. Klavan is also a contributing editor to City Journal, the magazine of the Manhattan Institute.2. Mona Charen of National Review Online writes on liberalism and saving the American work ethic as she discusses a forthcoming book from Arthur Brooks, The Road to Freedom:
The American work ethic can be eroded though, and will be, Brooks argues, by an expanding welfare state. It isn’t just that people who believe life to be unfair demand that governments “equalize” outcomes. It’s that once governments undertake to equalize things, people begin to believe that success is more a matter of luck than of hard work. A 2005 study of 29 countries found that where taxes are high and wealth is redistributed through social programs, people are much more likely to believe that success is a result of luck.3. Does government spending create economic growth? The folks at Economic Freedom answer this question in their latest video: 4. Kurt Jaros continues his series on Milton Friedman’s “Free to Choose.” In his latest, he explores the ideas of economic regulations.
Bureaucrats like to think that economic regulations are helpful to the American people. But in reality, protectionism exploits consumers. Friedman even sites consumers as “major victims of such measures.” In the attempt to secure American jobs, bureaucrats hold off consumers from saving money because the nation is, as Adam Smith pointed out, unable to get the largest volume of imports as possible for as little as it can pay.5. AEI’s Summer Institute is a four-week, fully funded opportunity to live in DC and learn from AEI scholars! The application deadline is March 31.
