With Tom Toles and Ruben Bolling attacking economic freedom with almost every swipe of their pens, it’s nice to see a comic strip that can find humor and pathos in unemployment while showing at least some understanding of the larger issues. Maybe Carla Ventresca and Henry Beckett — the writers of “On a Claire Day” — are skeptical of the blessings of economic capitalism, but their comic strip isn’t guilty of being … well, cartoonish.

And Wiley Miller’s “Non Sequitur” for today speaks to me on multiple levels:

And speaking of the F-word, here’s a note from a reader:

If you really believe the spectrum should be private property, then in turn, I believe you must be a fascist. The principle of free speech, required by any true democracy, cannot be achieved unless the means to propagate that speech is also given. And in private ownership the means to propagate is denied: sure sign of an effective dictatorship, irrespective of whether you call it a ‘democracy’ or not.

This is presumably in reply to my article in the Journal of Libertarian Studies, “Radio Free Rothbard” (available in PDF), or its earlier incarnation on Mises.org:

The Spectrum Should Be Private Property:
The Economics, History, and Future of Wireless Technology

How much of the spectrum should be privatized? All of it, writes B.K. Marcus. Even the vast “beachfront property” held by the military? Yes, all of it. Most government-held spectrum is currently unused, but remains off-limits to private appropriation. The result, in the United States, is an artificial scarcity well beyond that imposed by the FCC’s protectionist practices. How do we privatize the airwaves? If the spectrum confiscation were a recent development, the answer would be obvious. In today’s world, matters are more complicated. [Full article]

Advanced praise:

“It’s the most extensive Rothbardian take on the topic that I’ve seen since, well, Rothbard.”

— Jesse Walker, author of
Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America

Email and blog comments:

“Another great production from BKM.”

“A super Halloween thank you for your well written article! I love having my mind blown and informed simultaneously.”

“The goofiest collection of bull pippy I have read in a Mises essay.”