Colonialism, Tax Cuts, Redistributionists, and Other Links
These are courtesy of Scott Sumner:
Study: Colonization was good. Islands colonized earlier have higher GDPs.
Bryan Caplan: Obama blew it on the payroll tax cut.
Karl Smith: just because progressives are hypocrites, doesn’t mean they are wrong.
Tyler Cowen: redistributionists should give more of their money away, anyway.
22 Brits have given a kidney to a stranger.
Arnold Kling: the financial crisis was not caused by deregulation because there was no deregulation.
That should not come as a surprise. Of course, colonization can vary from subjugation and pillage of indigenous peoples and their natural resourced; to investments in infrastructure, capital and social / legal institutions. The Belgium Congo is a good example of the former, while the United States is by far the best example of colonization accompanied by huge investments in human capital, physical capital and instructions.
I ready Karl Smith’s piece twice … and I still don’t understand.
For all the demonization of the colonial powers that we hear about in academia, the fact that colonialism turned out well for some places in the long haul is good news to hear.
Colonialism was good? Isn’t that politically incorrect?