Economy

A woman dances around a fire

Just a little shift in perspective goes a long way on climate change fear.

By Justin Katz | August 5, 2022 |

An underappreciated risk laps at the legs of our advanced knowledge.  When people didn’t know why things were happening in the world around them or how to predict change, they just dealt with them.  They invested some energy in a relationship with gods in the hope of exerting some control on their environments, but mostly,…

The sun rising or setting

Technology, Building, and Weather

By John Loughlin | July 24, 2022 |

John Loughlin talks with Dr. Shafman about bladder cancer, Tim Taylor of the Lost 52 Project, Lori Garver, former Deputy Director of NASA, Tom Lopatosky, owner of LOPCO Contracting, and Joe Bastardi of WeatherBell Analytics.

Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

Whitehouse wants a dictator in the White House.

By Justin Katz | July 22, 2022 |

Actually, it’s worse than that.  Rhode Island Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse wants an American dictator who actively harms our country for the benefit of foreign countries that are mostly hostile to us.  Objectively, the malice or mania necessary for a privileged American to make such declarations as the Wall Street Journal describes is something of…

A gas shortage starts in South Carolina

The economics are important to consider when undercutting gas prices.

By Justin Katz | July 13, 2022 |

It’s nice of Tiverton gas station owner George Alzaibak to take 50-cents per gallon out of his own pocket and give it to drivers, although one could argue that he’ll be able to write it off as a marketing expense.  However, before joining the pop-radio show hosts in calling for a revolution in his image,…

Theodore Gericault, Heroic Landscape with Fishermen

The smart set needs to ponder the value of historical limitations.

By Justin Katz | June 14, 2022 |

An episode of the High Noon podcast featuring Oren Cass brought to mind a point relevant to my break from social media. Cass is, in some respects, a contrarian in conservative circles, expressing some healthy skepticism against the free-market bent of the Right (a bent, to be clear, toward which I definitively incline).  The assumptions of…

A wind farm at sea

Hey, don’t worry! It’s only an energy sector “transition.”

By Justin Katz | June 7, 2022 |

You can tell our country’s radicals — from Joe Biden on down — are going for the kill this time because they aren’t moderating on energy, even as gas prices shoot up and inflation decimates the wellbeing of Americans.  Instead, they talk about how it’s simply a “transition.”  Note the phrasing of progressive Democrat State…

Tidewater Landing design

Is anybody surprised the cost of the soccer stadium is going up?

By Justin Katz | May 31, 2022 |

When government officials allow a business to shift its risks onto taxpayers, the people can never be certain about how the costs will be “unexpectedly” driven up, but news like this is a near certainty: The cost of building a professional soccer stadium in Pawtucket has risen to $124 million, the city said Friday, $40 million…

Liquid pouring into an invisible glass

Politics This Week with John DePetro: The Illusion of Politics

By Justin Katz | May 16, 2022 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz pull back the curtain on Rhode Island politics

A gas shortage starts in South Carolina

“Price gouging” is another term pols and the media use to slippery effect.

By Justin Katz | May 16, 2022 |

Three things come immediately to the eye of anybody who carefully reads Sarah Doiron’s WPRI article, “Dems urge crackdown on price gouging as gas skyrockets.” First, the article contains not a single number or specific instance of price gouging.  Politicians (Democrats all) simply note that prices are up, assert that there is “price gouging” and…

Pickpocketing in Oliver Twist

Matt Brown is selling other people’s money.

By Justin Katz | May 11, 2022 |

A tweet from an apparent Matt Brown supporter shines an unmistakable light on two realities of progressive politics: Matt Brown, a wealthy man, himself, is precisely the sort of politician observers warned us about at the founding of our country, a huckster willing to capitalize on the ability of people to vote themselves other people’s…