Quotes from Tyler Cowen

Somehow kids are supposed to match the levels of calm and composure we might find in mature forty-seven-year-olds. Estimates

Consider a simple comparison: The American government spends more on Americans' health care (per capita) than the French government spends on their entire health care system (again in per capita terms). It is a fair criticism that some individuals are left out of this coverage, or perhaps too much is sent to doctors and hospitals, but using some very plausible metrics, the American government is more involved in health care than is the French government.

Here is another reading tip: do less of other activities.

Most of what we spend on education is dominated by government. So unlike the expenditures on apples, our educational spending is not facing a strong market test.

Even four-year college graduates earned higher starting salaries in 2000 than they do today, by about seven to eight percentage points—assuming they get a job. This

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has estimated that 61 percent of all private-sector financial liabilities are guaranteed by the federal government, either explicitly or implicitly. As recently as 1999, this figure was below 50 percent.

today in the United States we are spending too much on the elderly and not enough on the young.

Composing for money was held in no shame, and the public concert spread throughout Europe. Wealthy countries that did not groom their own composers, such as England, imported them from outside with lucrative offers. Handel and Haydn were their two most notable imports. British conductor Roger Norrington said of Handel: "[the Messiah] was written for money ... he was a commercial composer; if he were alive today, he'd be doing jingles for

The splendors of the modern world are not just frivolous baubles; they are important sources of human comfort and well-being.

there is a fundamental messiness to the nature of the good.

The most striking results are for the job category of inventors. If you are looking for inventors, IQ is by far the most significant of all the measurable variables we have. Furthermore, at higher levels of measured IQ the probability of becoming an inventor rises all the more.

In that same data set, if you are considering what does explain who becomes a doctor or a lawyer, parental education (and not IQ) is the main explanatory variable, accounting for 39 and 52 percent of those career decisions, respectively. Furthermore, parental income plays a larger role in pushing you into being a doctor or a lawyer than it does in being an inventor.

People commit fraud both in and out of businesses, and the evidence shows they are just as dishonest outside of a business context as within it.

So to line up this simple comparison, in revenue terms the personal income tax sector is 4.7 times greater than the corporate sector. The relative "cheating factor" is about 6 to 1, with more of the cheating done on the personal income tax. In terms of those simple proportions, individuals would appear to cheat more on their taxes than businesses do.

Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Many individuals do not buy many books or go to many art museums, but the passion for music is widespread and nearly universal.

Unfortunately for the composers of the time, wealthy Renaissance merchants were more likely to commission a painting than a composition. The painting could be owned, repeatedly shown off, and later resold, unlike the music. The financial incentive to commission a composition, which can be enjoyed by any audience member, was weaker. Paintings were closer to private goods, and musical performances were closer to public goods.

There is a sense of rationality and order to human error.

That is one of the truths about American business that you are least likely to read about in a major media outlet: income inequality is mostly about the differences between the superstar companies and the others.

Compare today to the 1950s. At that time, a typical apartment in New York City rented for about $60 a month, or, adjusting for inflation, about $530 a month. Today you can't find a broom closet in the East Village for that amount. Even

argue that the physical world matters no less today, but we are in denial about its power and relevance. We seek to control it, to hold it steady, and to marginalize it ideologically by worshipping Silicon Valley and elevating the value and power of information. We

Mark Liszewski, executive director of the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum (Hershey, Pennsylvania), remarked: "Instead of Ford versus Chevy, it's Apple versus Android. And instead of customizing their ride, today's teens customize their phones with covers and apps. You express yourself through your phone, whereas lately, cars have become more like appliances, with 100,000-mile warranties.

Again, the main issue is not control-seeking bosses versus freedom-seeking workers; very often the person most likely to restrict the workplace freedom of one worker is another worker.

If I was the perfect Netflix, what type of movies would I recommend for you and why?" "How do you feel you are different from the people at your current company?" "What views do you hold religiously, almost irrationally?" "How did you prepare for this interview?" "What subreddits, blogs, or online communities do you enjoy?" "What is something esoteric you do?