Spending on cannabis, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine by Americans reached nearly $150 billion in 2016, with a large proportion of spending coming from the small share of people who use drugs on a daily or near-daily basis, according to a new RAND Corporation report. Researchers estimate that from 2006 to 2016, the total amount of money spent by Americans on these four … [Read more...] about Americans’ Yearly Spending on Drugs Now on Par With Alcohol: Report
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The Way Not to Fix Education, Housing, and Health Care
By Daniel J. Boudreaux As long as the reality of human existence remains on the imperfect side of paradise — mired in scarcity, often unpredictable, and always carrying at least a small risk of calamity for each individual as well as for groups — some people will complain about the state of reality. Indeed, as human welfare improves, such complaints grow more frequent and … [Read more...] about The Way Not to Fix Education, Housing, and Health Care
Massachusetts’ Addiction to Regulation Keeps Most Pot Sales on the Black Market
By Max Gulker Since Massachusetts residents passed a 2016 referendum legalizing recreational cannabis, the fate of the industry has largely been in the hands of the state’s Cannabis Control Commission. Having licensed 23 pot stores across the state, and set rules for individual growers, the commission is now drafting rules for marijuana delivery services. You may be … [Read more...] about Massachusetts’ Addiction to Regulation Keeps Most Pot Sales on the Black Market
How to Be the CEO of Your Own Career
By Brooke Medina and Doug McCullough Whether you’re a young graduate just starting your career or someone who is feeling the vocational version of the “Seven Year Itch,” the secret to professional development is taking control of the direction of your career. Many young professionals have been taught to ask for permission and seek guidance at every turn. At times this is … [Read more...] about How to Be the CEO of Your Own Career
What Student Loans and Health Care Have in Common
By Nicholas C. Anderson What is the governing dynamic causing both student loans and healthcare burdens to run away from us? As a health economist, I spend my days working with incredibly innovative medical device and biotechnology companies who are commercializing into the healthcare space. By consequence, I’m obligated and prone to think about the financial and economic … [Read more...] about What Student Loans and Health Care Have in Common
Schools Are Outdated. It’s Time For Reform.
By Paul Boyce The public education system we currently know has been around for more than 150 years. However, the basic schooling model remains the same. Roughly 20 to 30 kids of the same age are stuffed into a classroom and taught by one teacher. Even though the curricula have developed, the essence has stayed the same. Children are still taught in a standardized and … [Read more...] about Schools Are Outdated. It’s Time For Reform.
IRS Revoking Passports Shows How Government Erodes Everything We Hold Dear
By Graham Smith If you have outstanding tax debt, the IRS may now want to take your passport. For U.S. crypto holders still waiting on promised IRS guidelines for filing — especially those overseas who may have missed these warning memos — the over 400,000 agency notifications issued since February last year are troubling. This kind of behavior from government is nothing … [Read more...] about IRS Revoking Passports Shows How Government Erodes Everything We Hold Dear
Is It Obvious Yet That Tariffs Injure Americans?
By Jeffrey A. Tucker For years now, competent commentators have tried to explain that tariffs do no one any good (on net). They are taxes. They increase business costs. They force businesses to cough up to the government for no particular reason. They don’t work to open economies. They sow seeds of distrust. They invite retaliation thus ruining export markets in addition to … [Read more...] about Is It Obvious Yet That Tariffs Injure Americans?
The High Cost of Occupational Licensing
By Antony Sammeroff One of the most fundamental things about economics — which many people who are passionate about politics do not understand — is that the economy is not like a chess board where you can move one piece with deterministic and predictable consequences. On the contrary, an economy is an intricate fabric of interrelated institutions and actors all of whom act … [Read more...] about The High Cost of Occupational Licensing
The Difference Between Public Libraries and Public Schools
By Kerry McDonald Plans for the Boston Public Library, the nation’s second-oldest public library, were approved in 1852, the same year Massachusetts passed the country’s first compulsory schooling law. Both public libraries and public schools are funded through taxation and both are “free” to access, but the similarities end there. The main difference between public … [Read more...] about The Difference Between Public Libraries and Public Schools
How One Entrepreneur Is Waging War on Poverty in Africa
By Brittany Hunter Behind every successful entrepreneur is a cause or passion that pushes them to persevere even though the toughest situations. For Richard Branson, his desire to create a more reliable and affordable air travel experience for consumers helped him navigate the exhaustive regulatory hurdles that stood in the way of creating Virgin Airlines. For Dr. Devi … [Read more...] about How One Entrepreneur Is Waging War on Poverty in Africa
A Tale of Two Bubbles: How the Fed Crashed the Tech and the Housing Markets
By Luka Nikolic Since its founding, the Federal Reserve has had a hand in creating some of the largest bubbles in history. When the bank lowers interest rates, there is excess cash in the economy, making it relatively cheap for anyone to borrow. This creates malinvestment in the economy because while not everyone has profitable ideas, many more people can borrow, causing a … [Read more...] about A Tale of Two Bubbles: How the Fed Crashed the Tech and the Housing Markets