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My new book, WILD PROBLEMS comes out August 9--how to face the big life decisions that define us, decisions where so-called rationality either misleads or is irrelevant. Pre-order now:
Russ Roberts
33.1K posts
Russ Roberts
@EconTalker
President, Shalem College, Jerusalem (shalem.ac.il/en/) Research Fellow @hooverinst EconTalk.org, substack.com/@listentothesi…
Joined May 2009
- This brilliant image from @neuterthedebt and adapted by @nntaleb in his Principia Politica paper (academia.edu/38433249/Princ…) captures my view of inequality issues in less than 1K words:
- Now that Hamas has rejected the Egyptian plan to end the war, I guess the protests for a ceasefire will be directed at Hamas, right?
- Ninety seconds of economics. Shockingly clear and shockingly subtle.How import tariffs weaken the economy and your wallet. #milei #argentina #economy #tariffs #imports #entrepreneurs #wages #openeconomy #freetrade
00:00 - UK has about 5K ventilators for 63M people Canada has about 5K for about 37M France has about 5K ventilators for 67M Germany has about 25K for 83M US has about 170K ventilators for about 330M people Still may not be enough. But we have a lot of ventilators in the US.
- I am old enough to remember that people thought @elonmusk was a fool for buying Twitter and mocking me for suggesting that he might have a better understanding of the upside and downside because he was spending his own money. I'll also admit I doubt even he saw anything close to
- I watched two minutes. Yes, there are horrible things happening in Gaza. But this is not journalism. This is controlled by Hamas and censored by Hamas. It's a propaganda piece masquerading as journalism. I stopped listening when she said "the UN estimates that 2/3 of those killedI am begging you to watch this six minute @CNN clip from a field hospital in southern Gaza — “a window to hell.” At some point, you hear the sound of an air strike. Later, you see the people who were maimed in that strike brought in. Simply horrifying.
- No one should ever say that a policy is a good idea because it is "good for the economy" or "efficient." The only thing that matters is human flourishing. Yes, they are related. But the shorthand "the economy" leads to mistaken thinking and stupidity.
- The deepest insight for understanding the lenses people use to understand the world comes from @KlingBlog in his superb, concise book, The Three Languages of Politics. Simple idea. Liberals see the world as a struggle between oppressor and oppressed. Conservatives see the 1/
- Yes, what you're paid is less than what you produce. But if the employer contributes nothing you don't need an employer--you can just make widgets yourself and sell them. So the employer contributes something--capital, equipment, insights, or else you'd quit and do it yourself.
- My father has passed away. He was an extraordinary man who I already miss. Many thanks for the good wishes, prayers, and thoughts. I will be off the grid for a while. EconTalk episodes lined up for the coming weeks. Enjoy. Talk to you soon.
- The aftermath of October 7 is a test for the West and for all open societies—societies that purport to tolerate and even embrace diversity of opinion, culture, and political opinion. Societies that nominally believe in freedom of speech and the press. Such societies are now 1/
- What's heartbreaking is that @piersmorgan thinks this is Israel's fault and not Hamas's. Hamas has plenty of fuel and power. I don't think Piers is a wicked man. But is he not abetting wickedness? Yes, the world is complicated. But this seems simple. What am I missing?
