The Fallacy of Redistribution

Thomas Sowell:

... The history of the 20th century is full of examples of countries that set out to redistribute wealth and ended up redistributing poverty. The communist nations were a classic example, but by no means the only example.

...You can only confiscate the wealth that exists at a given moment. You cannot confiscate future wealth — and that future wealth is less likely to be produced when people see that it is going to be confiscated. ...

... Barack Obama can endlessly proclaim his slogan of "Forward," but what he is proposing is going backwards to policies that have failed repeatedly in countries around the world. ...

Logical fallacies in climate hysteria

Christopher Monckton:

But there’s a consensus!” shrieked the bossy environmentalist with the messy blonde hair.
“That, Madame, is intellectual baby-talk,” I replied.
I was about to give a talk questioning “global warming” hysteria at Union College, Schenectady. College climate extremists, led by my interlocutor, had set up a table at the door of the lecture theatre to deter students from hearing the skeptical side of the case.

Starting with the consensus or headcount fallacy Monckton goes on to illustrate another ten or so of the logical fallacies (codified by Aristotle 2300 years ago) that regularly crop up in AGW hysterics' arguments.

The above linked account of Monckton's talk at Union College also makes an interesting read.

The Hurricane Irene stimulus?

Will they never learn that the destruction of property makes everyone poorer?  It seems that even some "economists" including University of Maryland professor Peter Morici haven't:

... after the damage is tallied up, repair efforts could give the country an economic boon.

After infrastructure is destroyed in natural disasters, Morici told MSNBC, "we generally rebuild better than before." Morici said that spending on new roads, bridges, and other infrastructure could total as much as $20 billion. "We'll not only rebuild, but we'll get a multiplier effect, and we'll get more capital," the Maryland professor said.

Maybe Morici would think differently if a tornado leveled his home and someone told him that fairy tale:



And here's Milton Friedman: