by Richard W. Rahn | Mar 31, 2020
How many rolls of toilet paper do you have in your home? Enough for a week? A month? A year? Who makes that decision and why? These very basic, simple questions have led to an improbable toilet paper “shortage” resulting from panic over the coronavirus, and serve as a...
by Richard W. Rahn | Mar 24, 2020
Some government officials, politicians and commentators keep saying words to the effect, “we need to spend whatever it takes to stop the coronavirus deaths.” They, of course, do not literally mean the government should spend an infinite amount of money to save a life...
by Richard W. Rahn | Mar 17, 2020
The expression “never let a crisis go to waste” is often quoted when cynical politicians use crises to enhance their power. It is also true that many of the crises that have affected mankind have also served as the catalyst for great innovations and constructive...
by Richard W. Rahn | Mar 10, 2020
Some have argued that the trade disruption caused by the coronavirus puts the U.S. economy in grave danger. These fears are overstated. Exports are about 11.7 percent of U.S. GDP, and imports are equal to about 14.5 percent of GDP, and much of this trade (goods and...
by Richard W. Rahn | Mar 3, 2020
China’s economic virus is likely to be much more dangerous to the world than the COVID-19 virus. We know from history that the consequences of recessions tend to cost many more lives than disease epidemics. Yes, there will be a tragedy of many thousands dying...
