John Tamny

Government spending is always and everywhere a consequence of economic growth, not an instigator of same.

How did we get to the explosion of private money?

For over a year well-to-do Americans have quite literally been “quarantining” packages shipped to them,  and that were dropped off at their residences by...

Imagine a future defined by the past. For the purpose of When Politicians Panicked, imagine a future of laughing, cheering, joyous crowds at amusement

Keep the massive container ship in mind the next time some self-serious economist starts drooling about output gaps, overheating, and other fallacious notions so popular inside the...

Should companies mix politics with business? We take a deep dive on the new Georgia Voting Law and Coca Cola, Delta Airlines, Major League Baseball and other...

What’s the most common "people" sight in any public place, anywhere? At this point in our evolution the answer is easy: hunched over individuals tapping away on smartphones. It...

Imagine if one year ago U.S. states had been left free to craft fifty different responses to the rapidly spreading coronavirus. If so, it’s not unreasonable to speculate that...

Imports relentlessly strengthen those who import, which means China's economic rise will serve as rocket fuel for the U.S. economy.

“While my advisers tell me that the response to this new virus will be different in all fifty states because of something about “states’ rights” in the...

Centuries ago John Stuart Mill made the essential point that no act of saving ever shrinks demand. And for centuries demand-side economic thinkers have been ignoring this basic...

A very real reminder of how cruelly bankrupt the run-and-hide strategy is as a broad form of virus mitigation.

Since money is an effect of production, attempts to plan its supply would be as successful as conceited efforts to plan production. Meaning, not at all. Which means focusing the Fed...

On this edition Seth Berenzweig of Berenzweig Leonard Law and John Tamny of Real Clear Markets discuss Big Tech back on Capitol Hill to discuss censorship. W...

“I never thought I would be standing in a food line for hours. Just the degradation of it. You say to yourself, ‘Wow. I am really at this point.’” So said...

Imagine a politician running for local or national office with a promise to shrink economic growth. It’s a waste of words to say that such a politician would face long election...

Can we at least not insult intelligence by pretending we don't know why people are discreetly or not-so-discreetly wiping away tears?

On this edition Seth Berenzweig of Berenzweig Leonard Law and John Tamny of Real Clear Markets discuss the government's recently passed relief bill. Does government spending save us...

“Besides,” added Papa, “sometimes the price of things goes up, like gas. The price of gas for our car went up twenty cents just last week! Maybe the same thing...

Nicholas Kristof is elated. Of course, there lies the problem with elation found in the overly emotional. It’s not always grounded in reality. To see why, consider what has the...

An attempt to understand why some might prefer that the indefensible remain. One possibility is that a lack of competition is comfort for those who would prefer not to compete.

A look into the economy as Biden tries to shape it. 

“Because a strong dollar lowers the price of imports and raises the price of exports, it gives foreign companies an advantage over American competitors and can drag down U.S....

Prices are how a market economy organizes itself. Without real prices arrived at by freely operating individuals, you have chaos. As P.J. O’Rourke long ago quipped, tragically...

Economists, like politicians, yearn for cushy retirements too.

“His future seemed limitless. En route to their home in Fort Worth, Texas, they were on a narrow highway when a Greyhound bus coming from the other direction tried to pass a...

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” – Mother Teresa Imagine 100 people on a wholly deserted, seemingly...

Cato Institute co-founder Ed Crane has long argued that it’s hard to be informed about politics and economics without reading the Washington Post and New York Times....

During the media promotion for Big Russ & Me, the late Tim Russert’s much-loved tribute to a father whom he very much venerated, Russert the son talked with bursting pride...

It doesn?t matter what the Fed does. Capital flows to where it?s well treated. If investors don?t agree with the Fed, they'll 'tighten' with a click of a mouse and there's nothing...

Seth and John talk about the meaning of what shouldn't be a war. 

Is it a horror show of rules, or a revival of reason?

He was the one everyone wanted to sit next to at dinner. Though Joseph Epstein didn’t mention him in his excellent book Charm: The Elusive Enchantment, it’s not...

To visit China as an American is to very much feel at home. In some ways, Americans feel more at home in China than the Chinese do. And that’s not just because street signs...

When it comes to inflation, there are no battles engaged in to fight it. Inflation is currency devaluation. Meaning it's a bad policy choice. The simple answer is to not make this...

It was the summer of 1989, and I was working a job that robbed the season of all the joy that so many associate with the months in between school. I was selling door to door 1,500...

Back in the early 1990s it was assumed by some of the deep in thought that the dissolution of the Soviet Union signaled the “end of history” of sorts. Supposedly small l...

Fox Business Channel anchor David Asman was a columnist for the Wall Street Journal’s legendary editorial page back in the early 1990s. This was when the old Soviet Union...

In June of 2019 basketball great Kevin Durant tore his Achilles tendon. In the words of the Wall Street Journal’s Ben Cohen, what Durant suffered was “basketball’s...

If you?re doing something special, global sources of finance will find you.

Politicians always fight yesteray's battles. 

There’s a new television show that’s coming out or already out. The name of it escapes, but that's really not the point. The point is that it’s about a pandemic....

Not long before he passed, John Maynard Keynes referred to his disciples as “fools.” With good reason. Their attempted articulation of the ideas of their hero only served...

Federal loans for college students should be abolished. Period. There’s certain things the feds shouldn't do, and aren't empowered to do. This includes subsidizing education....

Let's consign a word that's unsophisticated and lazy to the dustbin of history.

Among those who’ve watched the tragic and needless lockdowns unfold over the last 11 months, a frequent question has come up: what if the coronavirus had spread, but had never...

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” This colloquialism is arguably the one most frequently repeated in the economics space. Nothing’s free. Even the...

Amid all the overdone excitement about GameStop, AMC et al last week, the trading platform that some think enabled the overdone excitement, Robinhood, began to receive a lot of...

Short sellers are corporate watchdogs. They protect consumers and shareholders alike from laziness inside the C-suite.

Back around 2007, investor John Paulson began to feel skeptical about the viability of mortgage securities. Though demand for them was much greater than supply, Paulson sensed that...

People drive economic growth. Always people. There's always growth where people care, and who are enterprising. Read this spectacular book to see why.

“An inflation always creates winners and losers, redistributing wealth.” – Robert L. Bartley, The Seven Fat Years By John Tamny In 1819, England’s debt-to-GDP...

On January 26, 1995 heavily recruited Rich East (Illinois) High School quarterback Quincy Woods signed a letter of intent to play for John Robinson and the USC Trojans. Almost 26...

On January 26, 1995 heavily recruited Rich East (Illinois) High School quarterback Quincy Woods signed a letter of intent to play for John Robinson and the USC Trojans. Almost 26...

There are some staggering, life-improving and life-saving advances in the billions corporations put to work annually.

“I’m not willing to give up without a fight — I’m just not.” – Annie Rammel, Carlsbad, CA restaurant owner. It’s been said off and on over...

Nancy Bush Ellis passed away at an assisted living facility the Sunday before last. Sister of George H.W. Bush, and aunt of George W. Bush, the New York Times obituary indicated the...

It’s a correct article of faith among conservatives that humans aren’t static creatures. They constantly evolve, improve, and in particular they respond to...

The untaxed Adelson was the personification of economic growth

Nick Saban added yet another national championship to his resume on Monday night. College football coaches, assistants, and agents everywhere celebrated. Why’s that? The answer...

Decades ago the inside accountants at Royal Dutch Shell would play a game, Ahead of each earnings announcement, those privy to the numbers would make friendly bets on which direction...

A non-dollar dollar that magnifies the greenback's worst qualities

Republicans are better than this. It’s that simple. No moral authority here, and with no presumed heft within the GOP, I still never imagined Republicans would act the way they...

In a Wall Street Journal front page story from last week, it was reported that the boom in Austin, TX continues. Tall buildings and fancy clubs sit where auto repair garages, head...

If he sticks to his campaign promises, president-elect Joe Biden will soon pursue tax increases on top earners. Unknown is how helpful a near-evenly divided Congress will be when it...

The economic similarities between the U.S. and China are greater than many conservatives think.