By Joe Jarvis Illinois has the worst credit rating of any state. It has $8 billion in outstanding bills and a $3.2 billion deficit in just next year’s budget. But the worst part is the $250 billion they need to pay their state pensions… When you or I have debt, the first thing we have to do is tighten the belt. We save money and cut expenses. But imagine if … [Read more...] about Name ONE TIME A Government Program Accomplished Its Goal
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The Courage of Consistency
By James Walpole The older I get, the more I realize how brave it is to show up and do the same thing week after week. When I was younger, I had the impression that it was the pursuers of novelty and the unknown who were brave, and the “slaves of routine” were the ones who gave in to fear. Of course, this is often true. But if a routine is challenging and important and … [Read more...] about The Courage of Consistency
“National Security” and other Thought-Stopping Clichés
By Justin Murray I was browsing the news recently and came across an interesting headline. It read “ U.S. Orders Chinese Company to Sell Grindr App ”. My first through was that the Federal Government was, once again, narrowly defining a monopoly to a ridiculous degree and decided this Chinese company was somehow monopolizing the swipe left/right mobile phone dating scene … [Read more...] about “National Security” and other Thought-Stopping Clichés
“It Belongs to the People, Not the Bankers”: Italy Moves to Seize Gold From Central Bank
By Tyler Durden Two weeks ago, somewhat out of the blue, ECB President Mario Draghi issued an odd statement confirming that the European Central Bank needs to approve any operation in the foreign reserves of euro zone countries, including gold and large foreign currency holdings. The ECB shall approve both the operations in foreign reserve assets remaining with the NCBs … [Read more...] about “It Belongs to the People, Not the Bankers”: Italy Moves to Seize Gold From Central Bank
The Golden Rule Requires Markets
By Robert E. Wright At the third annual Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) Society conference in New Orleans last week, Nobel Prize winner Al Roth gave the final keynote speech about, what else, kidney exchanges. I had already read his book on the matter, but a reception was scheduled to follow, so I went. I am glad I did because he made a somber topic quite … [Read more...] about The Golden Rule Requires Markets
The Battle Isn’t Right vs. Left. It’s Statism vs. Individualism
By Daniel J. Mitchell I’ve written about how totalitarian ideologies such as communism and Nazism have a lot in common. Both subordinate the individual to the state and both give the state power over the economy. And both slaughter millions of people. My buddy from grad school, Matt Kibbe, has a great video on this issue. Needless to say, I agree with Matt’s … [Read more...] about The Battle Isn’t Right vs. Left. It’s Statism vs. Individualism
Alberta in Canada has Tried a Carbon Tax — It’s Been a Disaster
By Robert P. Murphy The Fraser Institute in Canada recently released my study critiquing the province of Alberta’s approach to carbon pricing. My analysis for Fraser confirms what I’ve been arguing on the pages of IER for years: in the United States, conservatives and libertarians should run from any “carbon tax deal” that promises to shrink the size of government while … [Read more...] about Alberta in Canada has Tried a Carbon Tax — It’s Been a Disaster
The Reasons Behind The Relentless Ideological Onslaught Against Free Markets
By Brandon Smith I sometimes think that the free market concept is treated like The Hunchback of Notre-Dame’s Quasimodo in the long novel of global economic history. It is considered ugly and undesirable by most people who judge it at a mere glance without bothering to understand it. It is a bogeyman; a scapegoat for numerous societal problems that it has nothing to do with. … [Read more...] about The Reasons Behind The Relentless Ideological Onslaught Against Free Markets
Entrepreneurs: Changing The World Through Business
By Per Bylund Politics is hardly an effective force for bringing about positive change in society. Instead, real change, and especially such that changes people’s lives for the better, comes from elsewhere. It comes from business, and specifically from innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneers in the market. And very often it does so despite politics and the state — or even … [Read more...] about Entrepreneurs: Changing The World Through Business
Name the State
By Jeffrey A. Tucker The number one problem of all public debate about politics and economics is the failure to name the state. If this would change, so would public opinion. There is no shortage of examples. People talk about health care for all, solving climate change, providing security in old age, universal educational access, boosting wages, ending discrimination, … [Read more...] about Name the State
What Greece And Venezuela Can Teach Us About Minimum Wage Laws
By Jon Miltimore States across America are increasing the minimum wage. This is bad policy for numerous reasons, but the movement nonetheless appears to be gaining steam. Eighteen states began 2019 with new minimum wage laws. Several more passed legislation in 2019, including Maryland, where legislators overrode a veto to pass a $15 minimum wage. McDonald’s, perhaps … [Read more...] about What Greece And Venezuela Can Teach Us About Minimum Wage Laws
Capital is a Mystery to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
By Mark Brandly We all know that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is dominating the political news with her demands for socializing the economy. Bob Murphy has explained that her Green New Deal "makes no sense on economic grounds” and even for Keynesians it “ would be nonsensical to implement such a program today.” Given the inanity of the Green New Deal, I would like to … [Read more...] about Capital is a Mystery to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez