Hypocrites and half-wits : a daily dose of sanity from Café Hayek

Each day, Donald Boudreaux, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, writes a letter to the editor of a major American publication. Often, he writes in response to an absurdity offered up by a columnist or politician, or an eye-catching factoid misleadingly taken out of context. Boudreaux takes aim at pundits and politicos on the left, right, and everywhere in between. He tackles issues ranging from “lookism” in the office and the futility of border walls to naïve faith in alternative energy and the all-too-common tendency to trust a fallible and ever-expanding government. Hypocrites & Half-Wits – comprised of one hundred of his best letters – provides intelligent, witty rejoinders to shaky facts, faulty reasoning, and intellectual dishonesty – all of which are threats to a free, prosperous country. Each day, Donald Boudreaux, professor of economics at George Mason University, writes a letter to the editor of a major American publication. Often, he writes in response to an absurdity offered up by a columnist or politician, or an eye-catching factoid misleadingly taken out of context. This collection, comprised of one hundred of Boudreaux's best letters, provides intelligent, witty rejoinders to questions like -Are taxes ''really just prices''? (New York Times) -Does the Tea Party suffer from a ''fatuous infatuation'' with the Constitution? (Washington Post) -Is it ''obvious'' that ''if there are fewer guns, there are fewer shootings and fewer funerals'' (New Orleans Times-Picayune) -Has ''slowing population growth'' proven to be ''critical to long-term economic growth''? (Wall Street Journal) Without swearing allegiance to any party or ideology, Boudreaux takes aim at pundits and politicos on the left, right, and everywhere between. He tackles issues ranging from ''lookism'' in the office and the futility of border walls to naive faith in alternative energy and the all-too-common tendency to trust a fallible and ever-expanding government. Half-truths and Hypocrites won't change the deeply held convictions of readers. But it will entertain them, enlighten them, and sharpen their eye for shaky facts, faulty reasoning, and intellectual dishonesty--all of which are threats to a free, prosperous country. Each day, Donald Boudreaux, professor of economics at George Mason University, writes a letter to the editor of a major American publication. Often, he writes in response to an absurdity offered up by a columnist or politician, or an eye-catching factoid misleadingly taken out of context. This collection, comprised of one hundred of Boudreaux's best letters, provides intelligent, witty rejoinders to questions like these: Are taxes "really just prices"? ( New York Times ) Does the Tea Party suffer from a "fatuous infatuation" with the Constitution? ( Washington Post ) Is it "obvious" that "if there are fewer guns, there are fewer shootings and fewer funerals" ( New Orleans Times-Picayune ) Has "slowing population growth" proven to be "critical to long-term economic growth"? ( Wall Street Journal ) Without swearing allegiance to any party or ideology, Boudreaux takes aim at pundits and politicos on the left, right, and everywhere between. He tackles issues ranging from "lookism" in the office and the futility of border walls to naïve faith in alternative energy and the all-too-common tendency to trust a fallible and ever-expanding government. Half-truths and Hypocrites won't change the deeply held convictions of readers. But it will entertain them, enlighten them, and sharpen their eye for shaky facts, faulty reasoning, and intellectual dishonesty—all of which are threats to a free, prosperous country. A collection of 111 of Boudreaux's best letters to editors of major American publications. These letters were originally posted on the author's blog