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Arnold Kling ponders the consequences of the rise of FOOL – the Fear Of Others’ Liberty. A slice:
Although ordinary people can be FOOLs, I believe that the bigger danger comes from elites behaving like FOOLs. Putting out regulations against gas stoves is an idea that originates with elites.
Politicians often compete for votes by stoking fear. Fear of being cheated in commerce. Fear of health problems. Fear of economic adversity. Fear of foreigners. Fear of terrorism.
In recent years, fear of others’ beliefs has become a big issue. People on the left fear Trump supporters. People on the right fear the Woke. Some of this increased fear probably comes from people spending more time on line, where people on your side are constantly bombarding you with outrageous stuff being said by people on the other side.
Kevin Corcoran talks toasters.
The bureau says the banks committed an “unfair, deceptive, or abusive act” under the Consumer Financial Protection Act by marketing Zelle as “secure” even though scammers use it. But the security claim refers to the fact that Zelle can’t be easily hacked. Charlatans also use the U.S. Postal Service, social media, email and telecom networks.
No less than acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu noted in a recent speech that while banks have stepped up fraud protection, social-media platforms, email providers, telecom companies and law enforcement need to do more. Nearly 60% of scams originate on social media. Banks and bank regulators “cannot solve the problem on their own,” he said.
The CFPB nonetheless demands that Zelle and its bank owners compensate swindled customers, which the law doesn’t require. Under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, banks must reimburse customers only for unauthorized transactions—i.e., when someone obtains access to a customers’s account or device and sends a transfer he didn’t approve.
But Mr. Chopra says banks must also reimburse customers for “induced fraud.” This will encourage more fraud. Customers will be less circumspect if they know banks are on the hook if they get conned.
Joe Lancaster explains that Bernie Sanders and his MAGA bros are mistaken about immigration.
Most things government does, it does because a constituency — intense, articulate and well-lawyered — wants it done. Or because government wanted to create such a constituency that, benefiting from it, will demand its continuance, and expansion.
Transforming the strange and embarrassing charisma of wealth into political power, beginning around 4 a.m. on a December day, Musk unleashed more than 150 posts on X to kill a bill to fund the government. This fusillade of opinions and falsehoods provoked a digital uprising in the countryside and stampeded congressional Republicans. An exultant Musk, confusing himself with the American public, cried, “The voice of the people has triumphed!” And, making God his accomplice, he added: “Vox populi, vox dei.” With remarkable precision, Ramaswamy chimed in, “That’s how America is supposed to work.” This, of course, is exactly wrong.
The framers’ institutional handiwork was designed to temper and refine, by slowing and filtering, the translation of impulses into policy.
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Critics call the populist party a threat to democracy, but many Germans aren’t buying it.
If you urgently want a product from somewhere in the free world and you are willing to pay the price, the worst “shortage” you will experience is the cost of flying there or hiring a “personal shopper.” As I previously wrote in response to an EconLog comment, “if you were willing to pay and you need a croissant before tomorrow morning, you can hop on a plane for Paris.” If you find that too expensive, there is no shortage but simply a price you are not willing to pay (I previously called that a “smurfage” as opposed to a shortage). The most costly obstacle, sometimes prohibitively costly, would be government regulation.
There are also companies, such as Grabr or AirWayBill, who offer to match the non-rich with travelers who will, for a modest fee, get what you want when they are there and deliver it to you in person when they are back. (See “Your Personal Shopper … On the Other Side of the World,” November 23, 2024.) It might take you a few days or weeks to get it, though.
The beauty of trade (on which I wrote a previous EconLog post) does not stop there, of course. Most of the beauty is invisible in our daily purchases, thanks to the merchants and other professional middlemen including retailers who brought the product close to you, or imported some of its components from distant places. But a Wall Street Journal story of last week gave another micro and personalized example of how trade brings to ordinary people what they could not otherwise obtain (Joel Millman, “1,800 Miles to Satisfy a Craving: Meet the World’s Most Dedicated Food-Delivery Guy,” January 2, 2025).
Maik Chavez, 36, is the owner-operator of Maik Express, a business in Guatemala where he lives. He is part of a cottage industry of individual couriers, called viageros or travelers, who deliver home-made meals and other goods from Guatemala to Guatemalan Americans who order them or receive them from friends or family in their country of origin. Last year, Maik made 38 runs to cities in five U.S. states, each individual run lasting less than 48 hours. He carries his wares as personal luggage on his flights. He charges a flat fee of $12 a pound. One of his new customers is Virginian resident Verónica Romero, who earns a living as a home-cleaner; she paid $240 in cash when Maik delivered her exotic home-made food for Christmas.
Fortunately, our benevolent government surveils and controls:
Chavez travels under a B1/B2 business visa that won’t expire until November 2027. Under the terms of his entry, he can’t stay more than five days at a time per excursion, nor can he make more than $2,000 on any visit. He says he averages $1,500 or so after expenses and pays Guatemalan taxes on his profits.
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When I was preparing to draft this post, I recalled reading an article on international personal shoppers, but I couldn’t find it. I have often joked that I face a big research assistant “shortage”: I direly need one but I can’t find one on the market for $3 an hour. Perhaps Chat GPT can solve my smurfage problem? I asked him or her: “Can you find the title or url of a story I read several months ago (perhaps one or a couple of years ago) about intermediaries who will go and get whatever somebody (presumably rich) wants in a foreign shop and delivers it in person?”
After five seconds of “reflection,” she replied, “You might be recalling the article titled ‘Your personal shopper . . . on the other side of the world,’ published by the Financial Times on November 23, 2024. This piece discusses services like Grabr, which connect buyers with travelers to purchase and deliver goods from foreign shops, catering to clients seeking items unavailable or expensive in their own countries. The article highlights how these intermediaries operate, often delivering luxury items directly to consumers.” Included was the link to the FT story.
This was precisely the article I was looking for and which I link to above—even if I was wrong on the timing and source!
I told her she was “a good robot,” and instructed her to draw an image illustrating the Wall Street Journal story I also cite in my post and which I uploaded to her. The featured image of this post (reproduced below) is the best one of half a dozen images she produced; far from perfect, but for the price…
An entrepreneur from Guatemala
The post The Beauty of Trade, Again appeared first on Econlib.
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