Failure

Warren Bolton fails Economics 101.

While some say competition is good for business, that’s not so when it comes to medical care. When hospitals begin adding new buildings, expensive equipment and programs, someone — patients — must pay for it all.

...

But if [the hospitals] are allowed to expand at will, in some instances duplicating services, we could end up paying more for mediocre facilities.

When McDonald's gets a new fryer, does Bolton similarly worry about the costs? Does it bother him that there are multiple car companies and private schools, each "duplicating services"? Why would he expect competition to lead to a decline in quality?

I guess they don't teach Econ in J-school. Or maybe Warrin' Warren just cut out of the class on competiton.

We Knew You Could Do It

It's so funny. After months of fawning coverage about the taxpayer-funded government boondoggle that is hydrogen fuel cell technology, The State is finally coming clean, so to speak, and admitting that it's a bunch of nonsense.

Do you see that, Brad Warthen? It's not so hard to tell the truth!

You Can Always Go Lower...

...or he can, anyway. Brad Warthen looks at Pakistan, a country bereft of liberty, representative government, or any sort of adequate government at all—and sees a model for the United States.

Don't believe it? Read for yourself.

Makes Me Queasy

When the dispute is between a badly-written, shoddily-reasoned column from The State and the poorly run, corrupt city of Columbia, the temptation of any good commenter with reformist tendencies is to sit back, watch, and hope it turns ugly.

Today, Warren Bolton criticizes the City Council of Columbia for not engaging in enough planning. Apparently, the problem with Columbia is that it lacks a mission statement.

Heh

You've got to love the internet for stuff like this. Once again Brad Warthen speaks out loudly on a topic with which he's barely familiar (economics of the car industry). Check out the contrast between Brad's post and the first comment to see the difference between the editor Warthen and someone who knows what he's talking about.