Blog 37. Peanut butter: commercial failure or regulatory success?

Regulation reduces freedom?

Industry and its political spokespersons rarely miss an opportunity to state that regulation costs jobs, money, and freedom.  Well, ‘way back in Blog 9, I agreed that regulation (when done right) reduces freedom—the freedom to do harm.  Furthermore, I acknowledge that regulation often increases the cost of doing business—but for a reason.  Continue reading

Blog 5. Fracking

What’s fracking?

With the expansion of drilling for natural gas in New York through Ohio, the Dakotas, Wyoming, and the southwest, the term “fracking” (or fracing) appears repeatedly—but incompletely—in the news. Fracking means hydraulic fracturing of an oil or natural gas well, but it seems the news media is fractured, delivering incomplete stories. Continue reading