By Dan Sanchez The other night, a politician criticized Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren for offering voters “free everything and impossible promises.” Remarkably, the critique came not from a Republican fiscal conservative but from a fellow Democrat during a primary debate. John Delaney, a former congressman from Maryland, said such policies were based on “fairytale … [Read more...] about “Free Everything” and the First Law of Politics
Government
The Hidden Reason the Primary Debates Seem Extra Crazy This Year
By Jeffrey A. Tucker This is a remarkable story of how the best-laid plans produced results that no one anticipated, with profound consequences for the Democratic Party. For many viewers in television land, the spectacle has been bizarre. The 20 or so contenders for the Democratic nomination have not only become outlandishly left-wing (“Left vs. Crazy Left,” as Kimberley … [Read more...] about The Hidden Reason the Primary Debates Seem Extra Crazy This Year
Fighting Recessions: When the “Cure” Is Worse Than the Disease
By Chris Baecker One recent Friday, after debating what to dial up on the tube, my wife and I settled on The Sixth Sense. One of the notable parts that had previously slipped my mind was Dr. Crowe and Cole’s visit to the wake of young Kyra, one of the dead people Cole “sees.” Afterlife-Kyra gives Cole a videotape showing her mother “keeping her sick” by spiking her … [Read more...] about Fighting Recessions: When the “Cure” Is Worse Than the Disease
Unbanked for Buying Bitcoin: How the Financial System Criminalizes Crypto
By Kai Sedgwick When we think of the unbanked, we envisage citizens of developing nations who lack the means and documentation to obtain access. But you don’t have to be a Mongolian goat herder to find yourself financially excluded. In the West, relatively affluent citizens are having their banking services withdrawn suddenly and without warning. Their ‘crime’? Buying and … [Read more...] about Unbanked for Buying Bitcoin: How the Financial System Criminalizes Crypto
The Minimum Wage Is a Complex Issue. We Should Treat It as Such
By Trace Mitchell Last week the House passed a bill that would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next five years. Proponents say it will put more money in the pockets of working-class people. Others worry that it will lead to a reduction in the number of jobs available to entry-level workers. A recent report issued by the CBO found that increasing … [Read more...] about The Minimum Wage Is a Complex Issue. We Should Treat It as Such
Privatizing Public Lands Doesn’t Mean Turning Them Into Shopping Centers
By Gor Mkrtchian Protected public lands in the United States — including national forests, national parks, and similar areas — cover nearly 500,000 square miles, or 14 percent of the land area of the United States. The existence of these government-controlled lands gives the federal government immense power over much of the United States, and in some US states, the federal … [Read more...] about Privatizing Public Lands Doesn’t Mean Turning Them Into Shopping Centers
When Government Fails, Communities Take Care of Themselves
By Kira English People often assume that government welfare programs provide the resources and safety net that local communities cannot. But in the early- and mid-20th century, systemic racism often meant that African American communities were excluded from government welfare programs. In the face of this injustice, we see numerous examples of communities stepping up to take … [Read more...] about When Government Fails, Communities Take Care of Themselves
Why Does the US Transit System Have a $100 Billion Maintenance Backlog?
By Chris Edwards The federal government spends $14 billion a year on subsidies for local rail and bus transit. This spending should be zeroed out in the next federal transportation bill because it induces cities to own and run monopoly transit systems that are unionized and mismanaged. Federal transit aid has mainly covered capital costs, not operations and maintenance. … [Read more...] about Why Does the US Transit System Have a $100 Billion Maintenance Backlog?
Nothing Is More Expensive Than a Free Government Service
By Jeffrey A. Tucker I’m listening to politicians hock their wares these days. The same ideas keep reappearing. Put them in charge and health care will be free. College education will be free. All life essentials will be free. Jobs will fall like manna from heaven. There will be a guaranteed income. Retirement will be secure. You get the impression of government as some … [Read more...] about Nothing Is More Expensive Than a Free Government Service
Debt, Deficits and the Cost of Free Lunches
By Richard M. Ebeling It seems that every generation or two, fundamental economic ideas are questioned and challenged. The reasonable and important idea that governments should balance their budgets on an annual basis was challenged in the 1930s by the rise of Keynesian Economics and the counter-argument that deficit spending was desirable, if it was used to maintain full … [Read more...] about Debt, Deficits and the Cost of Free Lunches
Universal Basic Income Is Little More Than Smoke and Mirrors
By Max Gulker The U.S. government spends just shy of $1 trillion per year on aid to low-income Americans. This would be enough to give each of the estimated 40 million Americans living in poverty a check for over $20,000 per year. In two previous articles, I showed how the current failed system grew out of a snowballing bureaucracy and misguided paternalism from the left and … [Read more...] about Universal Basic Income Is Little More Than Smoke and Mirrors
Aristophanes, Central Planning, and the Enduring Appeal of Utopian Fantasies
By Sarah Skwire Ludwig von Mises’s essay “Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth,” references Aristophanes’ play The Birds and the medieval fantasy of the idyllic and work-free Land of Cockaigne when Mises notes of socialist planners that, Economics as such figures all too sparsely in the glamorous pictures painted by the Utopians. They invariably explain how, … [Read more...] about Aristophanes, Central Planning, and the Enduring Appeal of Utopian Fantasies