Economics 101 with Yaron Brook

The capitalist answer to all that populist sniping from left and right.

Last week in Newsweek:

Who Is To Blame?

Some point to Alan Greenspan. But his hands-off approach to the economy originated with Ayn Rand.

Read on: "Who Is To Blame?"

"The Tennessee Waltz" (Bisexual Polyamorous Edition)

I was dancin' with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz
When an old friend I happened to see
I introduced her to my loved one
And while they were dancin'
My friend stole my sweetheart from me.

I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz
Now I know just how much I have won
Yes, I won another darlin' the night they were playing
The beautiful Tennessee Waltz.

I was dancin' with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz
When an old friend I happened to see
I introduced her to my loved one
And while they were dancin'
My friend kissed my sweetheart for me.

I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz
Now I know just how much I have won
Yes, I won another darlin' the night they were playing
The beautiful Tennessee Waltz
The beautiful Tennessee Waltz

Capitalism, Communism, and a Mixed Economy

What's the difference between capitalism, communism, and a mixed economy?

In capitalism, if a CEO like Roger Smith bets the company on a new technology and loses, losses are limited to the money invested by preexisting shareholders and creditors.

In communism, if a commissar bets the kolkhoz on a new type of whip and loses, every soviet citizen is on the hook for the losses until the next purge, when the commissar gets executed.

In a mixed economy, if a CEO like Roger Smith bets the company on a new technology and loses, every taxpayer is on the hook for the losses indefinitely.

Downsize Two Dinosaurs

A good idea, actually: "Merge the Big Three"

Just make sure that Ford takes over GM and Chrysler, not the other way round. The dinosaurs with the worst track records ought to be eliminated.

Carey Lowell Is Too Beautiful

"Was this the face that launched a thousand ships and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?" — Christopher Marlowe

Too beautiful to dock a ship, that is. To put into perspective my statement to the effect that only blondes are beautiful, consider Carey Lowell.

There's scientific evidence that though brunette, she is beautiful. As Pam Bouvier, the main Bond girl from the last real Bond movie, License to Kill, she crashes the WaveKrest into a dock. That proves that she lacks the ugliness of one millinegahelen required to dock a ship.