Counter Markets

Financial Newsletter for Free Marketeers and Libertarian Entrepreneurs

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Uber Warns Of 111% Price Hikes After California Judge Rules Drivers Are Employees

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By Tyler Durden Uber has warned that it may have to hike prices up to 111%, after a San Francisco judge ruled on Monday that the ride-sharing company, as well as its competitor Lyft, must classify their drivers as employees - a move which will disproportionately affect low-income customers. The ruling means that the companies will be required to provide various benefits … [Read more...] about Uber Warns Of 111% Price Hikes After California Judge Rules Drivers Are Employees

The New Fascism

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By George Gilder Up here in Maskachusetts, in the Berkshire Hills, we have a new form of fascism that might well be called “phasism” as our Governor Charlie Baker phases out our freedoms and our economic life. Banning music and theater and Tanglewood concerts and tennis tournaments and baseball games and track meets and schools and colleges, he has put his knee on the … [Read more...] about The New Fascism

Could COVID-19 End the Government Monopoly on Education?

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By Daniel J. Mitchell The coronavirus has been horrible news, most obviously because of death and suffering. But the disease has also wreaked havoc with the economy and given politicians an excuse to push counterproductive policies. But if you want to find a silver lining to that dark cloud, the virus may be putting pressure on America’s government school monopoly. For … [Read more...] about Could COVID-19 End the Government Monopoly on Education?

4 Countries Welcoming Digital Nomads During Covid

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By Simon Black, Sovereign Man Life has taken an eerie turn for digital nomads as their favorite cities emptied of tourists and foreigners working remotely. Tasha Prados arrived in Vietnam in late February, a few weeks before the country closed its borders. On March 12, she received word that she had 10 days to request an evacuation to the US through her travel … [Read more...] about 4 Countries Welcoming Digital Nomads During Covid

Rejoice! The Agora is Growing!

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By James Corbett Have you entered a store without the mandated mask affixed to your face? Visited a friend in violation of a lockdown order? Frequented a New York bar that didn't offer "substantive" food to go with your beer? Congratulations! You're a thought criminal! And here's the best part: There are more thought criminals being born every day! What am I … [Read more...] about Rejoice! The Agora is Growing!

Get Ready to Homeschool This Fall — Here’s a Checklist

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By Kerry McDonald As schools and districts across the country finalize back-to-school plans amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some parents are instead choosing independent homeschooling. My inbox has been filling lately with messages from parents who may never before have considered homeschooling but are worried about their children’s potential exposure to the virus at … [Read more...] about Get Ready to Homeschool This Fall — Here’s a Checklist

Computer Models Can’t Substitute for Real Life

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By Peter C. Earle On the 31st of July — just a few short days away — the six month anniversary of the WHO Declaration of a Global Health Emergency will arrive. And while there are many dates which could serve as the starting point for the start of the crisis, this one seems particularly appropriate: it is shortly thereafter that epidemiologists began plying the quantitative … [Read more...] about Computer Models Can’t Substitute for Real Life

Runaway Fraud Plagues the Massive Unemployment Program Congress Is About to Extend, Report Finds

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By Brad Polumbo The debate over expanded unemployment benefits has proven particularly fractious, given that the $2 trillion CARES Act Congress passed in March set up a broken economic system where nearly 70 percent of the unemployed can get paid more in benefits while staying home than they would make by going back to work. Yet as important as the ramifications of this … [Read more...] about Runaway Fraud Plagues the Massive Unemployment Program Congress Is About to Extend, Report Finds

Three Ways that Workers Can Be Underpaid

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By Donald J. Boudreaux There are three ways that a worker – call him Joe – can legitimately be said to be underpaid. One way – the way that is identified in modern economics textbooks – is for Joe’s pay (wage plus fringe benefits) to be below the value of his marginal product (“VMP”). If Joe is one of four janitors employed by Acme Inc. and is – like his co-workers – paid … [Read more...] about Three Ways that Workers Can Be Underpaid

“Pandemic Pods” Make Homeschooling Easier For Parents and Profitable for Teachers

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By Kerry McDonald This tumultuous back-to-school season has parents and teachers alike scrambling to make sense of the madness: from ever-changing district directives to COVID-19 response protocols. Some school systems have announced that the academic year will start with remote-learning-only. Others are pursuing partial reopening options with both online and in-person … [Read more...] about “Pandemic Pods” Make Homeschooling Easier For Parents and Profitable for Teachers

Why George Orwell’s Warning on “Self-Censorship” Is More Relevant Than Ever

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By Brad Polumbo Rule One: Speak your mind at your own peril. Rule Two: Never risk commissioning a story that goes against the narrative. Rule Three: Never believe an editor or publisher who urges you to go against the grain. Eventually, the publisher will cave to the mob, the editor will get fired or reassigned, and you’ll be hung out to dry. The above is a quotation from … [Read more...] about Why George Orwell’s Warning on “Self-Censorship” Is More Relevant Than Ever