Foundations of Liberty 
Essential
The Literature of Liberty
"The Literature of Liberty," written by Cato Institute senior fellow and Vice President Tom G. Palmer, is an overview of the major books of the classical liberal or libertarian tradition of individual rights, free markets, limited government, peace and tolerance. This bibliographic essay was originally published in The Libertarian Reader, edited by David Boaz (New York: The Free Press, 1998), pp. 415-453.
Economics in One Lesson
By Henry Hazlitt: "This primer on economic principles brilliantly analyzes the seen and unseen consequences of political and economic actions. In the words of F.A. Hayek, there is "no other modern book from which the intelligent layman can learn so much about the basic truths of economics in so short a time."
The Market Economy and the Distribution of Wealth
By Ludwig M. Lachmann: "Everywhere today in the free world we find the opponents of the market economy at a loss for plausible arguments. Of late the “case for central planning” has shed much of its erstwhile luster. We have had too much experience of it. The facts of the last forty years are too eloquent."
Twenty Myths About Markets
Tom Palmer subjects popular fallacies about the market system to the critical scrutiny of economics and ethics.
The Constitution of the United States of America
As the supreme law of the land, the American Constitution acts to limit the role of government to the defense of our rights against foreign and domestic threat.
The Declaration of Independence
As one of America's founding documents, the Declaration is one of the most influential pieces of libertarian thought ever written
On Property and Government
By John Locke: "Though the earth, and all inferior creatures, be common to all men, yet every man has a property in his own person: this no body has any right to but himself."
An Arrow Against All Tyrants
By Richard Overton: "To every individual in nature is given an individual property by nature not to be invaded or usurped by any."
Declaration of the National Anti-Slavery Convention
By William Lloyd Garrison: "Every man has a right to his own body—to the products of his own labor—to the protection of law—and to the common advantages of society."
On Liberty
By John Stuart Mill. "The sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection."
Defending Civil Society
By Edward Crane: "Ladies and gentlemen, we've got to stand up to the statists in both parties. America should be leading the worldwide market-liberal revolution, not pulling in the other direction."
Economic Freedom and Peace
"Since before the time of Thucydides, states have used wealth to acquire more territory and to dominate the affairs of their neighbors. Understanding the reasons that the powerful countries of today are less prone to dispute than their predecessors is critical to maintaining the peace and to extending its benefits more broadly."
Strangulation by Regulation
By Peter Van Doren: "Why are America's markets so heavily regulated? Regulation usually rides in the Trojan horse of "market failure"-the perception that a particular market does not (or will not) operate efficiently without government intervention. Yet regulation persists in spite of evidence that it does not enhance efficiency. Why?"
Areopagitica
By John Milton: "Milton’s famous defense of freedom of speech. It was a protest against Parliament’s ordinance to further restrict the freedom of print. Milton issued his oration in an unlicensed form and courageously put his own name, but not that of his printer, on the cover."
A New Approach to US Foreign Policy
By Christopher Preble: "The expansion of state power has occurred in almost every crisis, and at the expense of individual liberty. In short, war is a kind of petri dish for the germ of expanding state power."
Freedom and the Law
By Bruno Leoni: "The greatest obstacle to rule of law in our time, contends the author of this thought-provoking work, is the problem of overlegislation. In modern democratic societies, legislative bodies are increasingly usurping functions that were and should be exercised by individuals or groups rather than government."
Associations in Civil Life
By Alexis de Tocqueville. "Thus the most democratic country on the face of the earth is that in which men have, in our time, carried to the highest perfection the art of pursuing in common the object of their common desires and have applied this new science to the greatest number of purposes."
What Sort of Despotism Democratic Nations Have To Fear
By Alexis de Tocqueville. "It would seem that if despotism were to be established among the democratic nations of our days, it might assume a different character; it would be more extensive and more mild; it would degrade men without tormenting them."
The Federalist No. 10
By James Madison. "Among the numerous advantages promised by a well constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction."
The Freedom Philosophy
This anthology includes 14 essays on the political, economic, and moral foundations of a free society. These classic writings by Leonard E. Read, Frank Chodorov, Benjamin Rogge, F. A. Harper, among others, demonstrate the superiority of individual choice and capitalism over any forms of collectivism.
The Purpose and Limits of Government
"With the aid of experience, this essay will examine the theory behind the Declaration’s universal insights. Its focus will be on the moral order the Declaration sketches and the place of
government within that order."
(The link above is a summary article, while the full document can be found here.)
The Liberty of Ancients Compared with that of Moderns
By Benjamin Constant: "The danger of modern liberty is that, absorbed in the enjoyment of our private independence, and in the pursuit of our particular interests, we should surrender our right to share in political power too easily."
Entrepreneurs Are the Heroes of the World
By Johan Norberg: "The amazing fact is that entrepreneurs and innovators and businesses have turned luxuries that not even kings could afford into low-priced everyday items at your local store. That is the best defense of capitalism."
The Sphere and Duties of Government
By Wilhelm von Humboldt: "Humboldt explores the role that liberty plays in individual development, discusses criteria for permitting the state to limit individual actions, and suggests ways of confining the state to its proper bounds."
Vices Are Not Crimes
By Lysander Spooner: "Vices are simply the errors which a man makes in his search after his own happiness. Unlike crimes, they imply no malice toward others, and no interference with their persons or property."
The Use of Knowledge in Society
By Friedrich August von Hayek: "One of Hayek’s most important contributions to economic theory is his demonstration of the part prices play in disseminating widely diffused knowledge about consumer demand and the availability of economic resources in order to make rational economic calculation possible."
The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z
"This mini-encyclopedia of Objectivism is compiled from Ayn Rand's own statements on some 400 topics in philosophy, economics, psychology, and history." Now available online.
Beginner's Guide to Liberty
The Adam Smith Institute has released A Beginner's Guide to Liberty (2010), a ten chapter booklet that presents some of the most important principles of liberty that societies must grapple with everyday. With chapters like 'How markets work,' 'The importance of liberty, ' Welfare without the state,' and 'Why government fails,' the book promises to pack quite a punch into its relatively few pages. Reviewers boast that the book clearly presents powerful ideas in jargon-free language. Whether as a gift or for yourself, the book can be purchased or downloaded for free, here. Stay tuned to Cato On Campus, as we highlight each of the ten chapters over the next few months!
Recommended
Event: Libertarianism vs. Conservatism
Join us for a lively debate among interns from the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation on July 21st. The event will be held in the evening, at 6:30p.m., to allow maximum attendance and will address issues ranging from immigration to marriage, foreign policy to post 9/11 civil liberties, drugs to the role of virtue in society, and even more. The debate promises to offer an excellent juxtaposition of the two philosophies and instigate excellent dialogue during the reception. Please register here to join us.
Uncle Sam and Big Business: Enemies or Allies?
Some politicians claim to be both "pro-business" and "pro-market" — as if they're the same thing. Yet today's largest corporations often stifle market competition and reap billions of dollars through a complex web of high taxes, strict regulations, and government handouts. Are government and business inherently at odds with each other? Cato On Campus hosted a lively debate on this subject on Friday, June 24th at the Cato Institute. Stay tuned for the archived version of the event, here.
Nat Hentoff on Che Guevara
To many college students and young people, Che Guevara is an icon of freedom, democracy and revolution - a symbol of standing against "the man." Nat Hentoff, renowned First Amendment scholar and long-time journalist, has a very different view of the former Castro confidant, based on an interview with Che decades ago.
In celebration of his 86th birthday, Cato corespondents Caleb Brown and Austin Bragg interviewed Mr. Hentoff, producing a series of interviews on a wide range of topics. Explore them here.
The Morality of Profit
The morality of profit-making has long been a subject of extensive debate, with religious and moral philosophers falling on both sides of the issue. In the below video, Cato senior fellow Tom Palmer clearly provides a defense of profit as a moral act.
Attend Cato University
Wanting to get away this summer? Looking to learn about ideas and meet cool people while having a great time? You're in luck! There is still time to register for Cato University, the premier educational conference hosted annually by the Cato Institute. The conference boasts an excellent lineup of speakers, including David Boaz, Don Boudreaux (www.cafehayek.com), Lynne Kiesling (www.knowledgeproblem.com), Ed Crane, Radley Balko (www.theagitator.com), Robert McDonald, and many more. Make the most of your summer by registering today.
Osama bin Laden is Dead
This is perhaps the best news Americans have recently heard. Commenting on the issue, Cato Director of Foreign Policy Studies Christopher Preble notes that, on the broader scale, this event allows closure for thousands of Americans. And on the smaller scale, "The details should remind us that some of the most effective counterterrorism techniques do not rely on tens of thousands of troops stationed indefinitely in distant lands." While bin Laden's death will not end terrorism or costly outlays for U.S. military, Preble calls for hope that it might allow U.S. counterterrorism strategy to evolve, better balancing "American security with the need to preserve our essential rights and liberties."
Are Smugglers Heroes?
Walter Williams, economics professor and syndicated columnist, notes that "Government tyrants want to either prevent or interfere with peaceable voluntary exchange among individuals," and smugglers "reduce the impact of that interference." From molasses taxes in the early 1700s to cigarette taxes in today's economy, governments have enacted limits on peoples' freedoms. And smugglers are quick to swoop in and meet the demand. The downside is that smugglers bring along crime and erosion to a nation's rule of law. So while smugglers may appear to be heroes, it would be best to simply have the government and moral crusaders step out of the way.
For a Reason.tv interview with Walter Williams on his new book, Up From the Projects, see here.
EVENT: Video Sneak Preview
Cato On Campus is hosting a sneak prieview of Swedish economist Johan Norberg's new documentary on globalization and economics, Free or Equal: A Personal View. Register to join the event at the Cato Institute on Friday, April 29th at 4:00pm.
Here's a bit of a teaser:
Study: Imports and Trade Deficit not a Drag on Growth
In a new study, released by the Cato Institute’s Trade Policy Director Dan Griswold, the case is laid out why imports and a trade deficit are not negative factors of economic growth and why they are, in fact, a boost to the national economy. The study analyzes the past 30 years of U.S. trade policy and outcomes, finding that economic indicators such as "stock market appreciation, manufacturing output, and job growth were all significantly more robust during periods of expanding imports and trade deficits." This Trade Policy Analysis serves as an excellent empirical study applicable to academic topics ranging from economics to political science to foreign policy.
China: Wealth But Not Freedom
Perhaps no other country's economy in the past 50 years has grown as remarkably as China's. Yet Cato scholar James Dorn explains that while China can be proud of its "rapid economic progress," the country "has gained wealth but not freedom." The Chinese ruling elites still prefer to be the gatekeepers of control, building a great wall around the ability for the Chinese people to pursue the rights that other people in liberalized countries hold. Making his case that China's rising economic prowess does not necessarily mean freedom, Dorn uses the words of China's own Lao-tzu: “harmony cannot be forced; it must be natural."
Green Energy Economy Reconsidered
A "green economy" utopia is a popular dream in the minds of people across the ideological spectrum. However, Cato scholars Peter Van Doren and Jerry Taylor note that this is less a dream than a memory of the distant past. The main technologies being advocated for today's green revolution are the same technologies employed in the 13th century and before. Comparing lifestyles between then and now should be enough to make one reconsider returning to that route. If that doesn't work, Van Doren and Taylor offer five reasons why pursuing a reenergized portfolio of entirely green initiatives is neither feasible nor economical.
Students Who Get It
John Stossel recently filmed an episode of his television show at the International Students For Liberty Conference, held in Washington, D.C., along with Cato Institute vice president David Boaz. In an article on the experience, Stossel remarks that the students really "get it." What do they get? He explains that, "(There) were hundreds of students who actually understand that government creates many of the problems, and freedom—personal and economic liberty—makes things better." In the midst of economic crisis, foreign war, and political riots, find out why Stossel claims that "After spending time with those students, I feel better about the future of America."
The Militarization of Compassion
Economics professor Pete Boettke looks at the recent disasters around the world, and reflects that, "The militarization of compassion may help those far away to feel they are doing their best to address the crisis, but once we get beyond the initial search-and-rescue phase and on to the second, rebuilding phase, the result is usually planned chaos." Boettke then argues for a decentralized approach, relying on citizens on the ground in the impacted communities. As referenced by John Stuart Mill, it is remarkable what the free mobility of capital and labor can do. With the best local knowledge and the practical understanding that they must live with whatever they create, people will choose what is best for themselves and the community, free from the idealistic, disconnected approach from a large-scale government or military operation. From several studies of previous disasters, Boettke finds that civil society and commerce do much more for recovery than planned compassion.
Obama: Acting Like a King
As the U.S.-led assault on Libya continues, John Samples, Director of the Cato Institute's Center for Representative Government, says that President Obama has overstepped his constitutional bounds. Using excerpts from the U.S. Constitution and speeches by both President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, Samples makes the case that Obama’s recent actions resemble more of a monarch than a democratically elected and constitutionally restrained American president. Samples asserts that it is up to Congress to reign in the wayward President, saying "Together members of Congress could finally live up to their constitutional obligations and impose restraints on a president who has become too much of a king."
What is the "Rule of Law"?
What do condoms, beer, bongs, lotto tickets, and guns have in common? Find out in this LearnLiberty.org video, as Chapman University School of Law professor Tom W. Bell explains the definition and importance of the rule of law.
'Wealth of Nations' Turns 235
This month marks the 235th anniversary of the publishing of the Wealth of Nations, the famous work by Adam Smith that laid the foundation for modern economics. From the conception of GDP per capita to making the case for division of labor, the Wealth of Nations, though half a millennia old, contains many topics still worth considering today. In tribute to a book that changed the world, the Adam Smith Institute, a leading libertarian think tank in the United Kingdom, notes that "(Smith's) greatest breakthrough was the realisation that we do not have to grow or make things in order to increase our wealth. We can also increase it by simply exchanging things."
Are We Running Out of Resources?
Economist Steve Horwitz addresses the above question with a quick lesson in how decisions are made in the global economy. He explains that a free market allows prices to signal producers, consumers, and entrepreneurs.
The Internet and Social Media: Tools of Freedom or Tools of Oppression?
Freedom movements around the world are using Twitter and Facebook to express dissent and to organize, particularly in the Middle East. It might be fair to say that the Internet is becoming the platform for political liberation. But the "just add Internet" thesis has its skeptics, who argue that, in fact, the Internet may give authoritarian governments the upper hand. Social media platforms are very amenable to government surveillance, and revolution doesn't come easy, online or off. Should lovers of freedom be saying "Internet FTW!" or is it one big "#InternetFAIL"?
This cutting edge debate took place at the Cato Insitute on Friday, February 25th. The event archive will soon be updated, and made available here.
Young Libertarians Point Way to Freedom's Future
This past weekend was the largest gathering of liberty-oriented students perhaps ever assembled, at the International Students For Liberty Conference. Cato vice president Gene Healy was in attendance, and writes that what he saw suggests that "the future of the limited government movement will be libertarian, not conservative." The reason for this shift in focus is due to it being driven by a young crowd, one that has a different approach to politics than earlier generations – without a need for foreign entanglements and with a share of government debt far above that of their parents. Giving teeth to the sentiment that the limited government movement can and will actually be advanced by today's youth, Healy notes that "the students at the SFL conference were extraordinarily well-read, highly motivated — and shockingly normal."
Against the Four Loko Ban
As featured in last month's Liberty Wire newsletter, Will Massey, a Hampden-Sydney College junior, created this video in response to the banning of the party-friendly beverage Four Loko. It lays out a persuasive argument on the basis of both liberty and logic.
Will Massey won the YouTube Contest of the month and will be a contestant to win a trip to Cato University this summer. Find out how you can do the same on our Contest page.
What is Classical Liberalism?
Our good friends at the Institute for Humane Studies launched their new experiment in online education, LearnLiberty.org! Check out today's featured video, Dr. Nigel Ashford explaining the 10 core principles of classical liberalism.
Phony Solutions for Real Social Ills
Social conservatives say they want to address family breakdown, crime and welfare costs. These are certainly serious issues worthy of concern but, Cato executive vice president David Boaz argues, when it comes to actual policy solutions social conservatives tend to bark up the wrong tree.
Four Reasons Why Big Government Is Bad Government
In this Economics 101 video created by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Blayne Bennett from Students For Liberty explains that excessive government spending undermines prosperity by diverting resources from the productive sector of the economy. Moreover, the two main ways of financing government -- taxes and borrowing -- cause additional economic damage.
Was Reagan a Libertarian?
As the nation remembers the 100th birthday of Ronald Reagan, a man who brazenly advocated for free enterprise and limited government, the Cato Institute highlights research over the years on his legacy and how it has affected the progress of liberty. The resources include interviews with Cato scholars who worked for Reagan, articles from the time of his presidency, and publications citing his lasting influence on politics today.
In a post at the Encyclopedia Britannica, Cato executive vice president David Boaz contrasts Reagan’s success and failures in an article on Reagan’s Libertarian Spirit, explaining that while Reagan had his faults, “he was an eloquent spokesman for a traditional American philosophy of individualism, self-reliance, and free enterprise at home and abroad." Libertarians can find something wrong with just about every politician, but at a time accentuated by illiberal policies and government takeovers, it is good to remember those who have been effective advocates for liberty – and Ronald Reagan is as good as we’ve had for a while.
The Freeman Online
Check out the most recent edition of the Foundation for Economic Education's Freeman magazine! It includes articles on Insider Trading, Prohibition, the question Does war end recessions?, and more, by authors such as John Stossel, Walter Williams, and Steve Horwitz. This magazine is an excellent source of up-to-date material analyzed by the time tested ideas of a liberty-based perspecive -- and it's free online.
The Case for Gridlock
In the most recent Policy Analysis released by the Cato Institute, political science professor Marcus E. Ethridge explains that while President Obama and Progressives don't like it, the American Framers intended for government to be gridlocked. Since the New Deal, administrative agencies have sought to realize the public interest more effectively by circumventing the checks and balances as originally designed. However, "A large and growing body of evidence makes it clear that the public interest is most secure when governmental institutions are inefficient decisionmakers." Ethridge finds that by maintaining a system that fosters gridlock, American politics will more likely reflect true democratic interests rather than be steered by narrow, well-organized groups.
School Choice Week
This week is National School Choice Week, when advocates gather across the nation to shine a spotlight on effective education options. Cato's Education Policy scholar Andrew Coulson explains, in a two page overview, why we should consider a market approach to schooling rather than our existing monopoly approach. For a dose of modern statistical evidence, check out the corresponding analysis.
In light of this week's national focus on education, the Cato Institute will be hosting an international panel for an event, Cloning "Superman": What Other Countries Already Know about Scaling Up Good Schools, that will discuss what's the way forward and how the U.S. can learn from other countries' experiences. Register for Friday's event here.
Ask the Expert: Can Businesses Transact with Gold on the Internet?
Jim Harper, Director of Information Policy Studies at the Cato Institute and government regulation guru, presents the case for transacting business on the Internet with precious metals as currency and the reasons why governments aren't likely to support it. Companies have offered platforms that facilitate alternative payment methods in the past. However, the U.S. government typically cracks down on these ventures citing that the anonymity and inherent lack of oversight that such a system offers draw attention from more criminal minds. There are additional reasons why governments may be interested in stomping out this concept of free-market business interaction, and Harper speculates on a few of them as well.
40 Minute Crash Course in Economics & Politics
Want some bullet points for instances of government gone wrong? Check out Cato's David Boaz and Michael Cannon on FOX's "Top 10 Promises Gone Wrong" with John Stossel. Stossel, Tanner, Boaz, and others highlight government inefficiencies, economic falacies, and misleading legislation in an excellent crash course in economics.
Deregulation Works: Mobile Phone Industry
Mobile phones have exploded with capabilities and features over the past few years, and quality of service has increased dramatically since those vogue bag phones of the 80s. But as Adam Thierer of the Mercatus Center notes, we've seen those increases in performance without an increase in monthly bills. In fact, the average price of mobile phone service has plateaued or even fallen since the 80s. Thierer explains that a "lighter regulatory touch" has led to lower bills and higher capital investment in the industry.
The Five Worst Op-Eds of 2010
For Gene Healy's last column of the year he channels his inner Scrooge to name the worst op-eds of 2010. Healy looked for bad arguments, bad writing, and bad faith, awarding extra points for warped values. Check out the worst of the worst.
The FCC Should Not Regulate the Internet
Cato information technology scholar Jim Harper says that government involvement in the Internet industry is a bad idea. He bases this on two main reasons. First, the premise for the regulation is wrong; consumers won't simply roll over to the ISPs. They watch their own backs, and even more so as the Internet itself facilitates this process. Second, the major assumption in favor of government regulation is that the regulators are able to do a better job than consumers. Ultimately, says Harper, regulation inhibits the free flow of ideas, and Net Neutrality regulation is therefore a bad idea.
Peace On Earth, Free Trade For Men
This oldie but goodie from Cato trade policy expert Daniel Griswold argues that the gifts stacked under the tree might actually play a substantial role in creating lasting peace on earth and goodwill to all. Free trade encourages people and nations to live in peace with one another, raises the cost of war by making nations more economically interdependent, makes it more profitable for people of one nation to produce goods and services for people of another nation than to conquer them, and, by promoting communication across borders, trade increases understanding and reduces suspicion toward people in other countries. It seems it’s better to give and receive!
Are Republicans to the Right of Pat Robertson?
David Boaz, Cato's executive vice president, asks if social conservative Pat Robertson can be right to doubt the legitimacy of marijuana prohibition, then how can moderate conservatives afford to be wrong in their support of the war on drugs? While certainly no libertarian, Mr. Robertson deserves credit for thinking through the dangerous and counterproductive implications of a federal ban on pot. Hopefully others on the political right will open their minds and recognize the failure of national drug policy.
Homeland Security Is Getting Stuck on Stupid
Cato vice president Gene Healy argues that, like so many other homeland security schemes, the only "logic" behind D.C. Metro's new random bag search initiative is a mindless bureaucratic imperative. It will add to the capital's growing security-state atmosphere without making us measurably safer. So too with the larger bureaucratic empire we're building around counterterrorism. It's past time we thought consciously about the road we're on--before it's too late to turn back.
Economic Building Blocks
In the age of computers and jet planes, it seems a mystery that billions of people are still devastatingly poor. In his recent conlumn, John Stossel says that the reason for this is found in the work of developmental economist Hernando de Soto. Stossel, channeling de Soto, explains that the system of property rights and rule of law, while simple, is powerful because it allows planned interactions between strangers to happen when it otherwise would not. Just because the system is relatively simple, however, doesn't mean it's easy. And in fact, Stossel notes, the U.S. is liable to loose its productive system because many Americans (including our politicians) no longer grasp the nature of these fundamental concepts. So while parts of the developing world are starting to get the picture, the richer countries need to learn from their past so they don't degenerate.
Government Doesn't Create Jobs, Silly
Former Cato intern and current George Mason University economics student, Meg Patrick, gives a real quick lesson in why the general public (and the government) should respect private enterprise. She also explains what happens when the government prints money and taxes people. Check out GMU's Students For Liberty blog here!
How Much Freedom is "Sufficient"?
Advocates of liberty spend much time working in opposition to expansive governments and their programs, with the mental model that the two concepts are mutually exclusive. However, economics professor Donald Boudreaux makes the controversial statement that, "I don’t believe that the welfare state, or the regulatory state, inevitably leads to widespread poverty or to oppressive collectivism." He further argues that his approach actually more strongly bolsters the moral case for freedom. Check out Boudreaux's look at historic "reality" and the case he makes for "sufficient" freedom.
What Causes the Economic Pie to Shrink?
At a time when the economy is impacting Americans’ holiday budgets, the U.S. government is contemplating increases of both taxes and unemployment support. That, according to Cato's Michael Tanner, causes the economic pie to go in the opposite direction than we desire, shrinking rather than expanding it. "We know that in the long run, the best way to reduce poverty is to create more jobs and opportunity. Too many think of the economy as a fixed pie, and the role of government is to divide up the slices of that pie," says Tanner. If we are truly trying to aid the poor and increase general welfare of all Americans, we should embrace the policies that reduced poverty from 75 to less than 20 percent over the past century.
Can a Libertarian Be Thankful?
As the Thanksgiving holiday rapidly approaches, Cato executive vice president David Boaz notes that while many bemoan the liberties being lost daily to an overactive congress and paternalistic government, it helps to step back and consider how much there is to be thankful for – including the freedom to do the aforementioned bemoaning. Among many key freedoms, Boaz lists important elements of the American life that stand out historically as great advances. This Thanksgiving Day, if you’re used to being disgruntled at government intrusion into your life, that’s fine, America isn’t heaven. But, as Boaz highlights, “Compared to countries that lack the rule of law, equality, property rights, free markets, and freedom of speech and worship, it certainly is.”
David Boaz Makes the Case for Libertarianism
In this new video, Cato Institute executive vice president David Boaz argues that both liberals and conservatives think that your life belongs to the state. The “Hillarys” and “Huckabees” believe that they can run your life better than you can. Mr. Boaz offers a compelling vision for the future -- one that embraces the dignity of the individual and the efficacy of civil society to solve problems and improve the lot of mankind.
The Kid and the Benevolent Bully
The epic tale of kids vs. bullies continues daily, except now it occurs on the playground called the American economy. In an enlightening and clever allegory, Roger Koopman draws a link between government and entrepreneurs, explaining how bullies live off the productive power of others and end up stunting economic growth. With particular effectiveness, Koopman demonstrates why, though hindered by it, many regular citizens are tricked into supporting such a defunct system. For some insight and humor, be sure to check out this short article/story.
Video: Chuck vs. Government Regulators
The Institute for Justice recently documented how hard it is for entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into businesses in America. What's needed to boost the economy is not government "stimulus," but rather government exodus.
This video documents barriers to entrepreneurship in Milwaukee, L.A., Houston, D.C., Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York...
Upcoming Student Events at Cato
How is a liberty-oriented student supposed to approach the midterm elections? What does the future of our country look with and without real change? The answers to these questions, and anything else you want to ask, will be addressed at two upcoming events at the Cato Institute. Cato executive vice president David Boaz will be speaking on Friday, Oct 29th, at an event titled: 'Beyond Left and Right: The Case for Libertarianism.' And former governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson will present on Monday, Nov 1st, at an event called: 'The Future of Our America.'
These events will be a great way to lead into the elections for libertarian students, and for those who are curious about libertarianism.
Cato, John Stossel, and Students For Liberty!
Students For Liberty has just announced that John Stossel will be the keynote for their international conference, coming up in February. In fact, he will be taping a special edition of The Stossel Show at the conference, interviewing Cato executive vice president David Boaz and involving the audience of the expected 400+ students to be in attendance. The student liberty movement is well on its way to making a national and international impact. Find out today how to get involved, and register for the International Students For Liberty Conference here!
The Cuba Embargo at 50
On the fiftieth anniversary of the U.S. embargo on Cuba, Cato scholar Ian Vasquez deems the embargo ineffective and calls for it to be lifted. Doing so, Vasquez claims, will prevent the country's dictators from blaming the U.S. for their economic failings and it will expose average Cubans to the contagious culture of freedom that is America's hallmark, "unleash(ing) a social dynamic that will be difficult to control."
Cato scholars Dan Griswold (The US Embargo of Cuba Is a Failure) and Yoani Sánchez (Freedom and Exchange in Communist Cuba) have also released recent papers on ending the Cuba embargo, which would "be good for democracy and the economy."
Event: The Future of Our America
On the eve of a hotly contested election, Cato On Campus has invited Gov. Gary Johnson to offer a critical look at the issues Congress and the president need to deal with — including making government smaller and more efficient, lowering taxes, ending the costly and destructive war on drugs, protecting civil liberties, revitalizing the economy, and strengthening entrepreneurship and privatization. We hope you'll be able to join us for this exciting event and the reception to follow!
Don’t Personalize the Political
Economics professor Stephen Horwitz provides some advice to libertarians: "keep the focus on the structural problems and avoid personalizing the failures of government." Horwitz notes that when criticizing a system, like public schools or politics, it is easy to fall into the trap of using arguments based on the character of the actors, like lazy teachers and crooked politicians. But, doing so has the tendency to alienate those we are trying to persuade. Afterall, it's most often not people who cause systems to fail, but rather the incentive and knowledge problems due to the institutional structure in which they operate. To make this case, Horwitz uses examples ranging from the Titanic to O.J. Simpson.
How to Balance the Budget without Raising Taxes
A new video by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation, presented by Cato scholar Dan Mitchell, debunks the statist claim that the federal budget can only be balanced through massive tax hikes. Even though a better policy would be to limit the size and scope of government instead of taxing to fund all current programs, this video shows that balancing the budget is easily achievable with a modest amount of fiscal restraint - even if the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are made permanent.
Beyond Left and Right: The Case for Libertarianism
Ten years of Bush-Obama big government have put many Americans in a libertarian state of mind. Can there be a real challenge to the welfare-warfare state? Libertarians have an alternative: individual liberty, free markets, limited constitutional government, and peace. But how do we get there?
Come hear David Boaz make the case for a libertarian approach to life and politics, specifically tailored to a student audience and with reflections on the midterm elections that are three days after the event.
Recipe for Irresponsibility
In a recent New York Times article, William Cohan questions the nature and necessity of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. The new bureau is intended to look after consumers, making sure that they are not taken advantage of in “unfair, deceptive, or abusive” interactions with financial products. Further clouding the issue, poised to lead the bureau is Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard law professor and former TARP overseer who was appointed without Senate approval, via a legal loophole. The new bureau is estimated to cost around 500 million dollars, or up to 10% of the Fed’s budget. Cato scholar Chris Edwards has advised, “Unless today's massive deficit spending is reduced, the nation is headed for a fiscal calamity. The freedom and prosperity of young people will be crushed by debt.” The bottom line, as Mr. Cohan puts it, is that the creation of the bureau spends money when we can’t afford it, appoints a leader with conflicts of interest, and “gives us all yet another excuse to avoid taking responsibility for our own actions.”
Fiscal House of Horrors
It's October, the month of FrightFest, scary movies, and things that make you scream. Considering the status of the economy in the U.S., it seems rather fitting. In light of that, Reason has released its monthly magazine along with several video clips documenting the downright scary 'Fiscal House of Horrors.' And to make the fright even worse, they're in 3D! Check out the three installments: I Spend on Your Grave!, Night of The Living Debt, and Attack of The Killer Compensation. (The videos are also available in 2D here.)
The Hayek Interviews
This remarkable collection of interviews with Nobel Prize winning economist F. A. Hayek was only recently released. It is an invaluable resources for anyone interested in delving deeper into the ideas of one of the greatest scholars of the twentieth century. And it's searchable!
Drugs and Conservatives Should Go Together
The U.S. debate over drug legalization has pitted conservatives on one side against libertarians and some liberals on the other. But as Harvard economist and Cato fellow Jeffrey Miron argues, "opposition to the drug war should be a no-brainer for conservatives." From funding enemies overseas to exacerbating fiscal irresponsibility in state and local governments, the war on drugs is a resounding failure, and one that advocates of limited government must abandon.
Ask the Expert: Is Cato Conservative, Liberal, or Radical?
Jason Kuznicki, a Cato Research Fellow and Managing Editor of Cato Unbound, explores the ideological underpinnings of the Cato Institute. Answering whether Cato subscribes to the label of "Liberal," "Conservative," "Radical," or something else, Kuznicki explains that it is difficult to confine Cato to any current, mainstream title, particularly when considering the historical nuances of such terms. However, he lays out the connections to and differences from each of the labels in question, and clarifies where and why the Cato Institute and its scholars take the positions they do.
Does Spending Create Prosperity?
In a recent article, George Mason University economist Russ Roberts addresses the question of how top-down macro policies impact bottom-up economic growth. He questions the logic that spending resources could generate prosperity, stating that it's prosperity that drives spending. To move away from a theoretical discussion, Roberts uses two examples with empirical evidence: WWII and foreign aid. Both cases show that artificially inflating an economy with government spending only lasts a short while, and has minimal, if any, long-term impact. Foreign aid specifically shows that the political elite and interest groups are the ones who benefit most, at a cost to others.
Snooping on Teens Isn't Cool
Cato's Gene Healy remarks on the growing rate of government intrusion into the lives of American youngsters. Students have been monitored by GPS tracking, hacking into their laptop webcams, submitted to impromptu strip-searches, and are now being deterred from public places by age-targeted high-frequency devices (i.e. dog whistles for teens). These efforts, Healy notes, mark not just the increase of government in kids' daily lives, but the increasing propensity for the youth generation being much more accepting of Big Brother. Besides the disturbing nature of government taking advantage of kids' acceptance, the rising role of government in personal life restricts the individualism and free-thinking disposition that has hallmarked American culture for many prior generations. But all hope is not lost; Healy explains that, “as our cousins across the pond are showing, the trend can be reversed.”
Obama & Jobs: Expect the "Unexpected"
As President Obama initiates a new push on growing the economy, a look at his track record may shed some light on what to expect. Cato scholar Jim Powell explains that the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress have said "jobs, jobs, jobs" but have instead enacted the most progressivist -- and anti-job -- agenda in recent history. Powell documents a litany of offenses Obama has committed against the American economy. If Obama truly wants to focus on jobs, he can make great progress by simply reversing everything he's done so far. But, Powell notes, that would mean he'd have to dump his progressivism, and that is not to be expected.
Americans Aren’t Europeans
The Obama administration recently authored a UN report on the status of human rights in American, citing that much work is still to be done. However, Cato's Roger Pilon notes that moving toward a more socialized view of human “rights” is unwise. The UN guidelines consist of 1) civil and political rights -- which Americans heartily support, and 2) economic, social, and cultural standards -- which the majority of Americans reject. Furthermore, the UN recognizes countries like Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Cuba as supporters of human rights, despite their major abuses. Should the U.S. stick to what has made it prosperous and free, or adjust to subjective standards of countries with mere facades of human rights? The Obama administration seems to think one way, and Pilon another.
Humane Studies Fellowships
The Institute for Humane Studies has opened the application process for its Humane Studies Fellowship, a scholarship opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students planning academic careers with liberty-advancing research interests. In 2010 the program awarded more than 190 fellowships ranging from $2,000 to $15,000. Select winners are invited to present and discuss their research at the annual Research Colloquium and to attend the Friedrich Hayek Discussion Colloquium.
The Low Road and the High Ground
As economic and ideological debate rages in the U.S. between having the government either more or less involved in our individual lives, economist and columnist Steven Horwitz explains that advocates of freedom should set a good example. Horwitz documents several individuals -- like Harry Reid and Exra Klein -- and instances to make his case that, "Assuming bad faith and being intellectually lazy really are the low road of political discourse." With that in mind, he proposes a "simple list of rules" to follow in order to ensure that not only your message is received more warmly, but that you can be confident of staying on the moral high ground, fostering a respect for others that "without which a free society cannot function."
Why Hollywood Loves Democrats
In a very creative piece reminiscent of F.A. Hayek's critique in 'Intellectuals and Socialism,' former Cato intern Prateik Dalmia writes that Hollywood's love for Democrats can be traced to actors' feelings of guilt that they rose to stardom by doing relatively little to merit it. Dalmia explains that "what Hollywood fails to realize is that markets allocate rewards not based on individual merit but on the value individuals produce for others.” For that reason Hollywood tends to distance themselves from Republicans – and even libertarians – and find a home in Democrat policies. Until Hollywood understands what makes free markets more efficient and, indeed, more fair than other systems of governance, it will continue to support liberal doctrine – and that is no happily-ever-after.
Monks Fighting Back!
The Institute for Justice has recently taken up the case of a Louisiana monastery. This group of monks has been making simple wooden caskets for over 100 years, and now the government wants to stop them.
Can Obama Order Executions of Citizens Abroad?
Whether or not an American is a criminal and should die, the judge/jury/executioner should not be the president of the United States. This statement echoes Gene Healy's recent column, partially in response to the Obama administration's targeting of Anwar al-Awlaki (involved with the 9/11 attacks, Ft. Hood shooting, "underwear bomber," and Times Square car-bomber). Al-Awlaki's despicable acts aside, Healy notes that "an important matter of principle (is) at stake." On the slippery slope of politics, the danger is not what the administration can get away with now, it’s what one might attempt 50 years in the future. And, as Healy comments, “You don't need to wax conspiratorial to find that prospect disturbing.”
Private Enterprise Does It Better
"Free enterprise does everything better," is the claim John Stossel makes in an article on privatization. The government is often seen as the default provider of all sorts of so-called public goods. Stossel uses the example of privatization in the transportation industry to show how entrepreneurs improve social well-being by taking risks that pay off. From toll roads, to maintenance, to accident prevention, private parties demonstrate that private entrepreneurs improve conditions and save money in the process. Government acts on the premise of making social order, while the free market relies on catering to the people. Stossel's examples demonstrate that "freedom and responsibility triumph." If we could get government out of the way, imagine the better services, lower taxes, and fewer intrusions in our lives.
A Captive of the Industry
Net-neutrality is a common term that few understand. Google and Verizon recently submitted a proposal on the topic (basically asking for regulations on the Internet) to the U.S. government. What does all this mean to a libertarian? Cato tech scholar Jim Harper explains the situation, discusses the risk of "regulatory capture," and proposes solutions for moving forward. If you've been keeping tabs on where the Internet is going, you may want to take a look.
What Drives the Economy?
Consumer spending, often heralded as the leading indicator of an economy's health, is nothing more than an indicator of real driver of the economy: investment. Long time investment advisor and former Foundation for Economic Education president, Mark Skousen explains how, when counted correctly, "consumption represents only about 30 percent of the economy, while business investment represents over 50 percent." Consumers are the ones who ultimately buy things businesses produce, but entrepreneurs rely on investment to discover new markets and to develop new technologies. In fact, Skousen remarks, we have personal savings and investment to thank for such things as personal computers, SUVs, the Internet, and the iPhone.
Degrees Are No Substitute for Experience
Cato scholar Dan Mitchell analyses Obama’s track record on improving the economy. He notes that the Obama administration sets the record for having the least private sector experience. And, sad to say, their private sector inexperience has not been offset by their academic experience. In fact, the Obama administration has done a fairly good job doing exactly the opposite of what it claims to pursue. Mitchell states that for businesses to contribute to the economy, they need confidence that their efforts will be awarded and not punished or hindered – and taxes, restrictions, and bureaucracy are not the way to do that.
Event - The Future of American Politics: the Tea Party, Rand Paul, and Young Voters
Tea parties, Rand Paul, limited-government, 10th Amendment, Millennial voters -- these are all topics that have burst forth on the public scene over the past two years. Come find out what they mean for the next election cycle, numerous policy issues, and the future of American politics!
Cato scholar John Samples joins David Weigel (Slate and MSNBC) to discuss these issues at an event hosted by Cato On Campus at the Cato Institute, August 20th, 2010 at 4:00p.m.
Is Toy Story 3 About the Tea Party?
In a clever article posted at Reason, David Harsanyi links the plotline of Toy Story 3 – currently the highest grossing movie of the summer – to the rise of the Tea Party movement in American culture and politics. In fact, themes of liberty seem to be appearing throughout popular culture, particularly animation and commercials. Harsanyi cites the Washington Post when he remarks that all the Founding Fathers portrayed in commercials over the past year indicate a shifting trend that once again recognizes the stand for freedom that is inherent in our culture. “It is a matter of time before concerns about liberty begin to filter into mainstream popular culture.” So to paraphrase, “Stay tuned...”
What's so Wrong About Grade Inflation?
In a timeless piece in The Freeman, George Leef notes that the problem with the growing focus on higher ed is that professors face rising pressure to graduate more students, even if their work is not good quality. The incentives are misaligned and the result is that a “C” has become the new “F.” When education becomes an industry that undermines its very purpose with artificial credentials, and when the government supports that cycle with billions of dollars in subsidies, many people loses – the qualified grads whose job market gets flooded by incompetent degree-holders, the kids and families that spend fortunes on school but don’t have what it takes to graduate, and the economy as a whole as we misallocate resources.
Gambling: Free to Lose?
Gambling has been around for much of human history. But as it grows from a local practice to an international online phenomenon worth $335 billion, people begin raising questions. Cato scholar Radley Balko participates in the Economist's debate series, on the resolution: "This house believes there should be no legal restrictions on gambling." Blako describes many practical reasons why gambling creates perverse incentives, but says that the best reason to legalize gambling is upon the grounds of individual liberty. "If liberty means anything at all, it means the freedom to make our own choices about our own lives, our money, our habits and how we spend our leisure time, even if they happen to be choices other people would not make for themselves." Check out the debate and share your thoughts here.
Freedom University Podcast Available
The Foundation for Economic Education recently held Freedom University, their annual weeklong seminar. Now you can enjoy lectures from cutting-edge scholars right in your own home! This podcast series includes 16 recordings from the seminar on topics like “The Freedom Philosophy” and “The Morality of Capitalism.”
NEW: Student Conferences
Students For Liberty has just announced the schedule for their regional conference line-up. This Fall, they will be hosting nine conferences across the country -- at university campuses ranging from New York to Texas to California. Check out the details and find a conference at a campus near you!
Entrepreneurship Helps Make America Great
As a former business reporter, John Stossel has seen a great deal of what makes businesses thrive, and in this article describes how entrepreneurship is a key to America's prosperity. In America, different than many other countries, failure in business is an opportunity to start over and try again, not something to be ashamed of. In fact, the U.S. Constitution even includes several protections for entrepreneurship. However, the modern economy and business environment are not without challenges, as Stossel states that “Unfortunately, bureaucrats are threatening this good part of America.”
Cato Student Podcast & Bastiat Essay Contest
Sloane Frost is a Cato intern and a co-founder of Students For Liberty, and is currently featured in a Cato Daily Podcast discussing SFL's Bastiat Project. The Bastiat Project seeks to get resources into students’ hands so they can better understand the world around them. Frost briefly describes how the work of Frederic Bastiat, a 19th century economic journalist, very aptly applies to 21st century policy problems. Also, she describes the Bastiat Essay Contest, hosted by Students For Liberty and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation.
Questioning Elena Kagan
The confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan begin this week, and Cato's Ilya Shapiro suggests that the process may highlight more than just partisan wind-blowing. "For the first time in decades, the Constitution is a major issue in an election year... Americans are correctly asking: Are there any limits to government power anymore?" Shapiro offers a list of questions to be asked of Ms. Kagan to determine her views on the power and extent of the government's reach. These questions serve to, as Kagan herself wrote in 1995 regarding the nomination process, "gain knowledge and promote public understanding of what the nominee believes the court should do and how she would affect its conduct." Shapiro notes that if Kagan deflects or otherwise subverts senators' questioning, she will have failed her own standard.
Are We Still 'Free to Choose'?
In a throw-back article on Milton Friedman's seminal work, 'Free to Choose,' John Stossel recounts the value of Friedman's 1980 argument and reasserts its relevance today. "If we are free to make our own choices, we prosper. That was a new idea to many back then," says Stossel, adding that 30 years later American and other nations "still have not learned Friedman's lesson." Stossel notes that of particular importance to the freedom to choose is being forced to suffer and live with consequences of one's choices. What, then, would Friedman have thought of America's recent propensity for bailouts?
Free E-Book: Cult of the Presidency
The Cato Institute is now offering a free e-book of Gene Healy's 'Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power.' Take advantage of the opportunity now!
(Available for a limited time.)
Too Many Gov't Employees Getting Too Much money
Cato scholar Dan Mitchell discusses the explosion of public sector employment, pay, and benefits. Among other things, government jobs offer higher wages than the private sector, lower termination rates, greater pensions and earlier retirement, and extremely low attrition rates -- all at taxpayers' expense. Government is far too big, and it's costing far too much.
Forthcoming Death Panels in the U.S.?
Claims of “death panels” were derided as far right-wing lunacy when the Obamacare legislation was being debated over the past year. However, Cato health policy scholar Michael Tanner notes that those claims may not be as far from reality as the bill's defenders would like the public to think. President Obama's recent nomination of Donald Berwick to direct the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (the office that oversees government healthcare programs), seems to substantiate the claims of upcoming rationing of healthcare services. Tanner explains how Berwick’s infatuation with the British healthcare system, and its rationing mechanism, could lead to some interesting – and scary – developments stateside.
Conspiracy Theories Undermine Liberty
Conspiracy theories are ubiquitous these days, and they range from beliefs on the far left and the far right. However, believing such stories ultimately undermines the principles we hold as classical liberals, says Steven Horwitz, a St. Lawrence University economics professor. He notes that "Our case for freedom must ultimately rest on reason and logic, and we must be open to evidence that genuinely contradicts our understanding of the world."
But besides the logical challenge of classical liberals (or anyone, for that matter) holding conspiracy theory beliefs, such ideas undermine the effectiveness of free markets. "When we fall into conspiracy thinking we are actually accepting the fundamental premise at the heart of every form of socialism: that it is possible for human beings to consciously control the economy or society more generally," says Horwitz. This is not the slippery slope we want to be on.
Racism and Rand Paul
John Stossel agrees with and defends Rand Paul, who has been in the news all week, first for his primary victory in Kentucky and now for comments he made in several interviews on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The media and many blogs, some on both sides of the political aisle, have publicly berated Paul for his view that government should not set rules that trump liberty, namely private ownership and freedom of associations. Stossel explains, saying "the clumsy fist of government cannot attack racism without stomping on the rights of individuals. The free market, as usual, will address the problem. It punishes racists."
Whole-Body Imaging: Intrusion Without Security
Writing for the Foundation for Economic Education, Becky Akers describes the FTA's rollout of full-body imaging in airport screenings, technology that provides a plethora of conversation starters but no dramatic increase in security. The imaging, which reveals practically everything under one's clothes, can be adjusted to protect privacy and only detect dense items, like guns, but then it misses softer items like plastic explosives. Akers conveys the sort of graphic trade-offs such policies will assuredly produce. Hinting at the ballooning costs of broad-scale adoption, Akers offers a solution: entrust security decisions to the professionals rather than politicians. This would not only save tax payers money, but it would also align business interest with safety because “airlines have all the incentive we could ask to institute practical, effective security.”
What's Wrong About Insider Trading?
Cato scholar Doug Bandow raises some questions about the federal laws restricting and punishing insider trading, and calls it “a genuinely stupid thing to do.” Besides the fact that insider trading is the use of the most current information (typically a good thing in market economics), Bandow explains that "The law bizarrely affects only one-half of the trading equation." Only those who act on the information get punished, but those who intentionally do not act receive no oversight.
Despite the incalculable number of insider "non-traders," there is no evidence that they impair the market; why would insider trading be any different? This calls into question the whole concept of sanctions against insider trading, suggesting it may be less about market efficiency and more about artificial fairness by restricting action based on the most current information. (Although, Bandow questions the “fairness” of restricting one person simply for being related to a company exec but not restricting another for using 30 years of intuition and experience.)
17 Things to Despise about Government Regulation
At a time when the government is considering more regulation of private business - in the energy, financial, and healthcare industries, it is important to look a little deeper into what that may mean for average Americans. The Foundation for Economic Education, in a couple of articles in their Freeman publication, do just that.
- Richard Fulmer and Robert Bradley lay out fifteen problems with government regulation, saying "Any time government regulators try to do much more than lay out the basic rules of the game, unintended consequences and moral hazards rear their ugly heads."
- In an article on the financial crisis, Peter Lewin, professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, unveils two faulty assumptions of government involvement: 1) the cause of "market" failure, and 2) the nature of regulation itself.
At a time when "regulation" is a term filling many top headlines, it would serve us well to consider time tested lessons, and not repeat the same mistakes.
How Bankrupt is America?
This video by www.BankruptingAmerica.org, via Reason, explains how much America owes, and also explains a way out of all the debt... Watch the two minute video for the answers.
Reason and Gary Johnson in Philadelphia
The East Coast staff of Reason will be hosting Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, for a reception at Smokin' Betty's on May 12th at 7pm.
In 2003, Johnson climbed Mt. Everest just a few months after busting his leg in a skiing accident. That’s a feat less inspiring than his record as governor: Johnson vetoed 750 bills and never raised taxes in eight years. The event begins at 7pm and will feature generous drink specials throughout the evening. Details are found on Reason's site, here.
2010 Bureaucrash Student Contest & Conference
Bureaucrash, with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, is hosting an advanced training conference for student activists. Ten students with the best response to the question: “How can students best communicate the message of liberty to the next generation?” will be invited to a two-day activism conference at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and given a $500 stipend. Also, accommodations will be provided at the The Quincy – Downtown DC Boutique Suite Hotel. Other contestants will win other prizes. Find out more details here.
Florida's Unheralded School Revolution
Choice is a good thing. And so is education. When you put the two together, you get the current school reform sweeping across Florida. Adam Schaeffer, Cato education policy analyst, details the expansion of Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which was signed into law in April. The program allows for businesses to donate to education non-profits in lieu of paying taxes. The non-profits provide scholarships to low-income students to attend private schools. This type of reform has proven to raise academic performance, in the private schools and the public classrooms, which must compete to retain students. The program saves the State money through the efficiencies of the non-profits and raises achievement levels. Schaeffer heralds that as this Florida program continues to develop, "other states will find it hard to resist enacting broad-based school choice."
Advice to the Tea Party
Cato government scholar John Samples, whose book 'The Struggle to Limit Government' was just released, gives 5 points of advice to anyone interested in truly limited the federal government. Samples describes how the current tea party momentum can be leveraged to reach real change by remembering that: 1) Republicans aren't always your friends, 2) Some tea partiers like big government, 3) Democrats aren't always your enemies, 4) Smaller government demands restraint abroad, and 5) Social issues are best left to the states.
Are you a Libertarian?
Many are confused what the term "libertarian" means, but David Boaz and David Kirby find that there may be a greater chance that you're a libertarian than you think. Their research shows that libertarians may be the true swing voters in the U.S., potentially comprising 14 to 23 percent of voters. While libertarians are concerned about social liberties, they currently appear to be more motivated by fiscal issues of exploding deficits and out-of-control government spending. Boaz and Kirby note that, "Libertarians are emerging as a force within U.S. politics," and say that with the current political climate leading up to the 2010 elections, "we could be hearing about a 'libertarian revolution.'"
Boaz and Kirby published a Policy Analysis further detailing their research, found here.
Is Foreign Aid Un-Just?
Billions of dollars of aid have flowed heavily to African nations for decades; nonetheless, most aid-receiving nations have remained poor and needy, and many celebrities have taken up the cause for “justice” to be done. Cato’s Marian Tupy, scholar of the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, comments that the persistence of poverty in Africa is, in fact, due to foreign aid and not in spite of it. Contrary to many Asian and eastern Uropean countries that have liberalized their economies, African nations, propped up by aid, have turned socialist and remained poor. In fact, aid has supported up to 40% of Africa’s militaries, which have held their own countrymen from demanding democratic and economic reforms. “The truth is that only Africans can improve their lot,” notes Tupy, adding that “The "just" thing to do is… not to give Africa more harmful aid.”
Campus Conundrum: Free Speech or Non-Discrimination?
The University of California - Hastings law school will not grant funding to the Christian Legal Society because CLS does not grant membership to those who advocate or engage in sex outside heterosexual marriage. Cato constitutional studies scholar Ilya Shapiro and center for educational freedom scholar Neal McCluskey discuss the case. Legally, CLS wins the case, as protected under the First Amendment. That a government entity could grant funding to some and deny it to others is a form of discrimination in itself; and a group that cannot restrict membership ceases to be a group. Ultimately, though, this is not ideal, as some would be forced to fund (via tax dollars) something to which they object. The only way to prevent government from violating the constitutional rights of its citizens is to get the government out of education.
3 Reasons to Legalize Pot
In this Reason.tv video, Nick Gillespie presents three reasons why marijuana should be legalized. Freeing weed would increase tax revenue and decrease law enforcement costs, allow states more sovereignty in their decisions to legislate pot use, and give people the ability to treat their own bodies how they choose. "As the United States enters its 72nd year of marijuana prohibition, it's time to consider legalizing pot once and for all," says Gillespie.
Courts Won't Hear Free Speech
While there is much value in keeping church and state separate, that cannot be cause for limiting freedom of speech. Cato scholar Nat Hentoff raises this concern as U.S. Courts have opted to remain silent on the issue of students' First Amendment rights being trodded upon by school administrations and policies. Hentoff advises that if the Constitution is going to last, its understanding must be renewed in society. Schools provide a great place to do this, and should not be used instead to undermine the Constitution.
That this debate falls on the inherent conflict of ‘free speech’ and ‘separation of church and state’ is cause to revisit the government monopoly of the education system, which is discussed much by Cato's Neal McCluskey.
Hidden Cost of IRS Compliance: $338 Billion
The tax system is a complicated nightmare that forces taxpayers to devote ever-larger amounts of time, money, energy, and other resources in hopes of complying with the internal revenue code and avoiding IRS persecution. This CF&P; Foundation video shows that this corrupt mess is the result of 97 years of social engineering and industrial policy that began almost immediately after that dark day in 1913 that the income tax was created.
2010 Friedman Prize
Akbar Ganji has been named the 2010 Milton Friedman Liberty Prize recipient. Ganji has fervently promoted liberty and democracy in his home country of Iran, writing extensively on the topics of free democracy and politically-linked killings. His work led to his arrest on the grounds of spreading propaganda against the Islamic system and "damaging national security." Though imprisoned for six years, including solitary confinement, Ganji continued to write, smuggling out his works page by page. "Akbar Ganji endured immense suffering fighting for the cause of liberty in Iran," said Edward H. Crane, president of the Cato Institute. "Considering what he went through, no one would have blamed him for giving up, but he continued to think and write about ways to make Iran a better place for his people, risking his personal freedom and safety with every word."
The Friedman Prize biennial dinner and award presentation will be held in Washington, D.C., on May 13, 2010.
VAT Attack!
Politicians have begun to more frequently toss around the concept of a VAT, or value added tax. A VAT attempts to spread the cost of the tax across the production chain, resulting in a cumulative amount close to that of a national sales tax. Cato tax scholar Dan Mitchell comments that while a VAT has some virtue, the biggest problem with the proposed policies is that they do not attempt to replace current taxes with a VAT, they simply aim to add it. The deeper problem is that politicians will likely use the additional revenue not to reduce the burden on citizens, but will allocate it to special interests in order to buy votes and stay in office. Mitchell notes, “real-world evidence shows that VATs are strongly linked with both higher overall tax burdens and more government spending.” If the goal is to simplify government and eliminate waste, a VAT is definitely not the way to go.
Free Seminars on Liberty
Join students around the world at a seminar sponsored by the Institute for Humane Studies to deepen your knowledge of individual rights and free markets and consider innovative policy solutions. Choose from 11 week-long interdisciplinary seminars held on college campuses across the US. There is no cost to attend. Apply today, as the application deadline is March 31.
Leave No Parent to Decide
In addition to the power grab of healthcare, government is increasingly laying hold of the nationalized education system by imposing across-the-board standards. Cato scholar Gene Healy explains the problem this creates, "(T)he drive for federal standards ignores the risks inherent in enforced uniformity." Several states have risen up against federal control and experimental programs (which have included such initiatives as "creative spelling"). While that is one step closer to localizing education choices, Healy sides with Cato education scholar Neal McCluskey, who documents how public schooling inescapably produces social conflict. Healy, therefore, offers a novel concept: how about letting parents decide?
The Real Health Care Debate: Who Decides?
Cato's Doug Bandow presents the case for patient control of health insurance in Investor's Business Daily. He says, "'Reform' is a question of direction. Expand government, and especially federal, control. Or increase patient choice and private options." If people decide which cars to buy, how much to spend on art, how big of a house to buy, why should the most important decisions about their health be made by somebody else, especially impersonal government? Bandow advocates for the control of health insurance to be moved out of the hands of employers, not into the hands of government but back to the individual citizens.
Police Department goes Pre-Crime
Move over Minority Report, there's a new pre-crime division in town. Reason's Radley Balko describes a situation in Medford, Oregon on March 8th when David Pyles woke up to a phone call from the police and SWAT team in his front yard. Pyles was taken to the station and given a mental evaluation on grounds that he was "disgruntled" from his job and had recently purchased several firearms (legally, and with money from his recent tax return). "Instead of being reactive, we took a proactive approach," said one officer. The problem is, the police had no warrant, had talked to no judge, and Pyles had committed no crime. After being released, Pyles commented, "If something like this can happen here, where just about everyone owns a gun, it can happen anywhere."
Six Reasons to Downsize the Federal Government
Over the past few decades, and the past year especially, Americans have seen their government taking more and more control of their personal lives, and that is limiting their economic prospects as well. Cato tax and budget scholar Chris Edwards presents the case for limiting the government, in the form of six instances where the public and the economy suffer at the hands of increased political involvement. Edwards contends that government intervention reorders the incentives in society, causing inefficiencies to emerge as regularities. Restricting government’s reach into the lives and economy of Americans is not just efficient, but harkens back to ideas put forth by the nation’s founding fathers.
Federal Education: Too Much for Too Little
In light of the ballooning costs of the federal education system and its stagnant results, Cato education scholar Neal McCluskey calls for action. McCluskey notes that education is essential, but states that "federal involvement absolutely is not," because education "works best when tailored to the unique needs of individual people and communities." In the current system, those whose livelihoods rest on the government-dominated education system are the ones in positions to expand it, while those negatively effected by it – the American people – are occupied living their lives without the knowledge that federal education is costing more while providing less. McCluskey therefore offers a solution, "Get the feds out of education."
Beware: Excessive and Unreasonable Power
In an article appearing in The Freeman, Steven Horwitz explains that Obama's revised healthcare push makes matters worse than the original bill because it "combine(s) two bad ideas: price controls and rejection of the rule of law." Price controls cause private insurers to lose incentives and leave the market, paving the way for even more government intervention. Horwitz claims that the more important problem is Obama's proposed government "oversight," because it undermines the Rule of Law, which requires that policies are predictable and applicable to all, including government. Horwitz warns, "When the State steps between buyer and seller, we get bad economic consequences along with growth in unreasonable, excessive, and discretionary government power."
Student Event: The Fight For Liberty in Latin America
The DC Forum For Freedom is hosting its second spring semester lecture at the Cato Institute on Friday, February 26th from 4-6pm. This month's speaker is Cato scholar Ian Vasquez, who will be addressing Latin America's uneven struggle for liberty over the past 30 years. Vasquez will describe those trends and inspiring work being done throughout the region to promote the fight for liberty in Latin America.
The event will be held at the Cato Institute (1000 Masssachusetts Av., NW, Washington, DC) and will be broadcast online with a live discussion board here. Please register for the event and the reception to follow, here.
Restrict Commerce Department to Boost Economy
Cato scholars Tad DeHaven and Chris Edwards comment on how to boost economic growth by scaling back the Commerce Department. They note that the Department serves several Constitutional functions, but discuss how its reach has progressively expanded to include many subsidy and regulatory programs. In fact, they note, "That sort of mission creep has occurred across the government and is one reason why the federal budget is drowning in red ink." Additionally, "By intervening in business affairs, the government often harms average families while rewarding inefficient businesses and highly paid lobbyists."
Hurtling Down the Road to Serfdom
In an article applying Hayek to our modern world, John Stossel asks, "Do we want a culture of takers or makers?" He presents the case that the "welfare state kills the creative spirit," and "changes the psychology of society" to become dependent on government provisioning. If that continues, Stossel warns, we may be in for a poorer society, high unemployment, stagnation, and complacency. If America is to continue to provide the means for higher standards of living for hundreds of millions of people - as it has for many decades - it must change its course and take the road less traveled by, the road of limited government and free markets.
Event: Guns and Natural Disasters
On Monday, February 22nd, Cato scholar Tom Palmer will be presenting at Penn State University. At 7pm, Palmer will discuss how free markets and not the government are the best way to prepare for natural disasters. There will also be a lunchtime discussion of the Second Amendment and the DC v. Heller case. For details, please see here.
Tea Partiers Should Get Serious
There is no doubt that "Tea Partiers" have impacted the political climate over the past year. But, for their impact to be more than superficial, they need to be more consistent, says Cato VP Gene Healy. Specifically, reformers need to focus on ceasing the “profoundly unconservative project of trying to socially engineer failed societies like Afghanistan into modernity,” and should adopt more ambitious healthcare goals, like Paul Ryan’s ‘Roadmap for America’s Future.’ "What this country needs is a political movement that will pressure (politicians) to change their ways,” Healy claims, adding that the Tea Partiers could do just that, "if they're serious."
Why the Slow Recovery?
In light of many current headlines on higher taxes, deficit spending and waning consumer confidence, Cato's David Boaz reflects on why the economy has been so slow to recover. This is the slowest and weakest post-war recovery on record, due much to bad government policies. Despite their record of failings, Boaz appeals to a rectifying course of action; "Let’s hope the Obama administration soon learns that higher taxes, more regulation, a larger share of GDP shifted to government, fears of Fed monetization of soaring debt... can only discourage employers, investors, and entrepreneurs."
The Personal is the Political
Activists have fought for years in an effort to get personal rights recognized on the political level. However, as Steven Horwitz from The Freeman discusses, that comes with some major trade-offs. By looking at both environmental policies and healthcare, Horwitz shows how when certain policies take precedence over others the government must step in to enforce those priorities. Concluding that, “When the personal becomes the political in that sense, the loser is human freedom.”
Economics 101: School Choice Example Shows Why Government Monopolies Are Bad
Competition promotes innovation and results in higher quality and lower costs. Government-run schools are a tragic example, by contrast, of why monopolies generate bad results. This video uses the example of school choice to explain why competition is a better approach. www.freedomandprosperity.org
Obama Takes On College Football
William L. Anderson, writing in The Freeman, discusses the Department of Justice and Obama Administration's move to challenge the legality of college football's Bowl Championship Series, on antitrust grounds. "Several lawmakers and many critics want the BCS to switch to a playoff system, rather than the ratings system it uses." However, Anderson warns, "using federal law like a hammer to pound in this nail... demonstrates the arrogance of Washington and the Obama administration." Whether or not a playoff system is desired should be determined by the private parties involved. Government authoritarians who are bold enough to get involved in civilian affairs should have us concerned. The issue at hand isn't one of sportsmanship; it's about "liberty and limits on the power of the State."
Economy Gets Smaller as Government Grows
Cato scholar and chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth Richard Rahn tackles the claim that the government has created jobs. Using several examples, Rahn demonstrates that simply putting one person to work in the government bureaucracy by taxing many others doesn't create a job, but keeps it from being created in the private sector. "History has shown time and time again that when the government sector gets bigger, economic growth slows, there is less job creation, and people become relatively poorer." Rahn says that this isn't a matter of partisan politics, but is a mathematic reality.
Essay Contest: 2010 Templeton Fellowships
The Independent Institute is holding its Sir John M. Templeton Essay Contest for junior faculty and students in higher education. Frederic Bastiat said,
Contestants must answer the following: Assuming Bastiat is correct, what ideas or reforms could be developed that would make people better aware that government wants to live at their expense?
Essay guidelines can be found here.
Lessons from the Brown Victory in Massachusetts
Cato Institute Executive Vice President David Boaz and John Samples, Director of the Cato Institute's Center for Representative Government, evaluate what Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts means for Democrats and Republicans in the near and far term. John Samples is author of the new Cato book, The Struggle to Limit Government.
Massachusetts Votes to Limit Government
David Boaz, Cato's Executive VP, reflects on the revolutionary nature of Republican Scott Brown's win in the special election for the Massachusetts Senate seat left open upon Ted Kennedy's death late last year. Boaz explains that the election demonstrates more than simply a big Red win in a Blue state. Pundits have been describing Brown's win in terms like "canary in the mine," "depth charge," "shock waves," "nuclear explosion," and "full freak-out." For Dems, this could mean that it's back to the drawing board on healthcare. But Boaz adds that they would do better to look even further, as the people of the bluest of blue states have sent quite a message: big government is not what the American people want. Is it time for some revolution?
Who's Your Daddy, America?
Cato vice president Gene Healy, author of Cult of the Presidency, notes that "While security should be important to President Obama, nobody should think of him as America's father-protector." Following terrorist attacks and looming threats, many Americans have fallen prey to placing disproportionate authority into presidents’ hands. Healy argues that approach is not only dangerous but also conflicts with America's core value of liberty. "We live in an open society of 300 million people, and you can't eliminate risk without striking at that openness." Healy reminds that we can't have cake and eat it too, nor can should we entrust the decision making of the optimal policy balance entirely to the President.
We Miss You, Bubba
Cato executive vice president David Boaz writes that while Bill Clinton was no champion of liberty, he would be welcomed back to replace President Obama. From spending, to free trade, to regulation, to welfare, Clinton's record starkly contrasts Obama's interventionist and big-government approach. Much of this was possible because of divided government, as the Republicans held Congress for six of Clinton's eight years. All of these factors led Boaz to implore, "Come back, Bill, all is forgiven. Or most, anyway. As long as you bring a Republican Congress with you."
Government: a Transfer Machine
John Stossel, writing for the Foundation for Economic Education, discusses George Bernard Shaw's quotation, “The government who robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul,” in regards to the current economic and political environment in the U.S. Approximately half of the households in America will pay income taxes this year, while the other half will pay zero or even receive money. This results in a problem, namely, "a growing number of people don’t pay but get benefits from those who do," says Stossel. If the balance tips and more people receive money than pay taxes, what will happen to the growth and standard of living in America? Since a rapid response in needed, and tax reform calls for much debate on possible alternatives, Stossel champions a first step: reduce government spending.
Are You Ready for Some Football... and Taxes?
It's college football bowl season, and with 34 games to choose from, viewers have a lot of choice. However, one choice the public does not have is who is going to pay for the games. Cato scholar Neal McCluskey reveals that college football is subsidized by taxpayers. He outlines how bowl games get direct subsidies, tax-exemption status, and how most public universities end up running deficits that are passed on to students and taxpayers. "While college-gridiron fans will tell you that many major programs make money, what they won't tell you is that they do so largely with taxpayer help. And when those programs lose money, taxpayers are hit even harder" McCluskey says, adding that "With the most exciting part of the college football season upon us, you'd better take in all the games. After all, you're paying for them."
The Senate Pulled a Fast One
An enormously broad healthcare bill barely passed in the Senate early this week, as most Americans were heading home for the holidays and not paying much attention to politics. Michael Cannon, Cato's director of health policy studies, comments that many people have been seduced by the concept of an 'individual mandate,' which is included in the bill's final form and uses the force of law to coerce people into buying insurance, whether or not they want it. The utopian ideals of the health bill distracted people, even though it "was an audacious proposal from the start, as it made their health care plan even more left-wing than the Clinton plan, which voters soundly rejected for being too statist." Now that the bill has moved one step closer to becoming law, Cannon notes, "The question now is whether the Left, the Right, and the mainstream will recognize the Senate health care bill for what it is."
Charter Schools Key to Rescuing Michigan
It's no surprise that the state of Michigan is facing looming budget deficits and cuts to programs such as education. However, Andrew Coulson, Cato's Director of the Center for Educational Freedom, explains how this situation gives the state an opportunity to turn things around through freeing education. Coulson documents how charter schools are more effective at graduating more students with better education; they also cost 20 percent less while having more teachers per student. Educational reform in Michigan is inevitable, so making it more effective and less costly sounds like a great idea, especially when we're talking about our country’s future.
Government, Putting You on a Diet
To cover enormous budget shortfalls, state governments are contemplating a tax on carbonated beverages. Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow Veronique de Rugy explains how the government is simultaneously patting itself on the back for halting childhood obesity, while hitting an already recession-ridden economy with additional taxes. De Rugy points out several evaluation agencies that have analyzed such policies. Some claim that a tax would curb consumption of calorie-packed drinks while raising revenue for states, while others doubt its effect. De Rugy notes that people are generally resourceful in getting what they want, so a tax won't do much else than get government involved in yet another area of the economy. Wouldn't it be a better idea to put big government on a diet?
Federal Salaries Explode
Cato scholar Chris Edwards decries the out-of-control pay increases in the Federal sector. While mom-and-pop stores and average Janes and Joes are taking pay cuts in the struggling economy, Uncle Sam is doling out raises. Since the economic recession began, the number of federal employees making over $150,000 has doubled. Edwards also notes that that figure doesn't even take into account the average $41,000 benefits packages of those on Uncle Sam's payroll. These figures must leave the American people asking how government could possibly make policies that benefit us, when they don't even know where we're coming from.
Obama Proposes New "Stimulus"
President Obama on Tuesday outlined new initiatives focused on new jobs, infrastructure investment, and green development. The president did not announce the cost of these new proposals. Cato scholar Chris Edwards argues, "When it comes to jobs, the Obama administration needs to take off its ideological blinders and consider that its massive deficit spending is enslaving the next generation while doing nothing for economic growth. " Adds Mark Calabria, "[Obama's] proposals are an extension of the flawed ideas that did not work in the stimulus. They are just as unlikely to be effective now."
Video: Realizing Freedom
Cato scholar Tom Palmer discusses the thesis of his new book on an old topic: how to attain liberty for all. He explains that having liberty and freedom in society relies on an established Rule of Law. Palmer acknoledges that many consider the Rule of Law a boring or stale subject, but states that it should actually be an inspiring goal because "without it, there is no freedom and there are no rights." The importance of the Rule of Law is evidenced by traditions of freedom surveyed from cultures around the world, and not simply from the West.
The Cold Heart of Obamacare
Cato fellow Nat Hentoff presents what's at stake in the current healthcare reform bills. He proposes that the biggest reform that takes place is that the current bills insert government bureaucracy between patients and their doctors. Calling this intervention "death panels" misses the point, not because it's false but because it under-exaggerates the personal intrusion of government in people's private lives. "If congressional Democrats succeed in passing their health-care "reform" measure to send to the White House for President Obama's signature, then they and he are determining your health decisions."
Unfree to Believe
Cato scholar Doug Bandow discusses an issue of human rights that is often neglected, but nonetheless vital in preserving freedom: religious liberty. Bandow provides case studies of eleven countries that heavily suppress religious freedom. While noting that promoting religious freedom cannot be a central nor defining aspect of U.S. foreign policy, Bandow states that, "religious liberty is the proverbial canary in the mine for human rights. Governments which will not protect freedom of conscience in this most basic way are unlikely to respect political or civil liberties."
Politicians Keep your Flights Delayed
'As the holiday travel rush approaches, air travelers grounded by delays should take a moment to think about why they're stuck in airports or on the tarmac. There's a good chance Washington is to blame,' says a recent Reason.tv video. The technology used in current U.S. air traffic control is basically the same system that was used decades ago. Countries like Canada have already adapted to market-based, privately organized systems. This video explains why the U.S. should follow suit.
Obamacare Is Unconstitutional
While the houses of congress have been debating Obamacare for months, one thing that has apparently been left out of the discussion is the Constitution. Gene Healy notes that, sadly, this has been the trend in American politics for some time. Legislators and the Courts often cite the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to support reaching federal hands into individuals' lives, and history bears witness to this. However, Healy contends, that is no excuse for Congress to default on their oath to protect the Constitution.
Obama In China: Reaganesque, but Misses the Point
David Boaz analyses President Obama's recent speech in China, and compares it to Reagan's in Cold War Russia. Obama rightfully addressed several key aspects of America's freedom, but fell short on referencing the importance of market freedoms. A comparison of their speeches shows many similarities, but while Reagan championed free enterprise in every arena of life “fiercely independent of the Government,” Boaz notes that Obama neglected to emphasize “the virtues of productive enterprise.” This leaves Americans and the world wondering if Obama cares for business and economic liberty.
Government: a Gang of Thieves
John Stossel echoes Frédéric Bastiat when he says that the worst part of government is not what is seen but what goes unseen. Namely, even worse than tax increases collected to pay for budget deficits is the government spending that caused and continues to cause such deficits. The public notices when more money is taken from them but they rarely see how much the government actually spends. Stossel says he hopes Americans are ready for a tax revolt, but he doesn't think that will happen until the public begins to see the government elite as "a gang of arrogant bullies that has the audacity to believe that they know how to direct our lives better than we do."
Government Stimulus Caused Unemployment
"Why did the unemployment rate rise so rapidly... to 10.2 percent in October?" asks Cato fellow Alan Reynolds. "It was clearly the administration's 'stimulus' bill." Reynolds explains that the stimulus gave more money to states to fund unemployment benefits, which gave people the incentive to continue receiving government checks and not find work. In fact, top White House economist Larry Summers wrote a paper in 1995 that stated, "Unemployment insurance lengthens unemployment spells." So why would he enact the stimulus when he knew what would happen? Now that's a question worth exploring.
Video: UPS vs. FEDEX—Ultimate Whiteboard Remix
Reason editor Nick Gillespie discusses the current dispute between FedEx and UPS. The two companies are governed by much different rules; based on differences in their business models, UPS experiences much higher labor costs than FedEx, due to government regulation. Instead of pushing for less government interference, UPS is trying to force FedEx under more costly federal labor status. Gillespie explains that UPS is "using legislation to win what they can in the market place." All of this is supported by the all-powerful, anti-business federal government.
Video: Freedom in Crisis
Cato Executive VP David Boaz presents a fact-filled account of the decades-long attack on liberty. Boaz condenses years of research and experience into a presentation filled with though-provoking and often humorous stories, which document what is going wrong in America. And he also offers some redeeming advice on how to turn things around, concluding that "freedom depends on some people not taking it lying down." This 30 minute video succinctly captures the progression of eroding freedom and what to be done to arrest it.
Why Not Allowing Guns is Bad Policy
Reason editor Jacob Sullum discusses the recent murderous attack at Fort Hood military base by a renegade soldier. Guns are restricted at the base, as is the policy at most US-based military posts. Sullum contents that this policy allowed the attack to be more deadly than it would have been if other soldiers had their weapons and if Nidal Malik Hasan, the attacker, feared he would face resistance. At many highly vulnerable locations guns are regularly restricted, such as at schools, universities and shopping malls; however, as Sullum notes, these often serve as ideal targets for violent attacks because "crazed killers tend not to follow such rules."
Government Slippery Slope Goes Vertical
Cato's David Boaz explains that the slippery slope of government power that many people are afraid of has gotten even steeper during the Obama administration. The constitutional barriers to government intervention into the private sector have been far over-reached, and the government is becoming more and more controlling - owning private companies, regulating compensation, and picking winners and losers in the market. Boaz states that, "It's time for Americans of left, right, and center to say that this is not the economic system we want."
Video: 20th Anniversary of Berlin Wall Falling
November 9th, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The Competitive Enterprise Institute has put together a brief video documenting the history of the Wall and the political impetus that led to tearing it down. The clips display original footage from the years of the Wall and speeches by both John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. The world should join in the rejoicing today, as our world is more just and prosperous because people are more free.
Report: ObamaCare Bad Deal for Young Adults
Economics professor and Cato scholar Aaron Yelowitz publishes a brief policy study on the effects of government healthcare reform on young people. He finds that they will bear a disproportionate burden of the costs, including the possibility of having their premiums doubled. Yelowitz explains the irony, "Barack Obama won the presidency with 66 percent of the vote among (young) adults... Yet his health care overhaul could impose its greatest burdens on young adults."
What's Wrong with Socialism?
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which comes at a time when many in the world are celebrating the ideals of socialism. Paul Hollander, who escaped across the Wall in 1956, writes about how many Americans do not have a clear understanding of communism, and tend focus on the "noble intentions" rather than the harsh realities. He explains that "humans motivated by lofty ideals are capable of inflicting great suffering with a clear conscience." Hollander’s words come at a pivotal time when good intentions are shaping lasting policies.
No Thanks, Net Nannies
'Net Neutrality' is a funny way to say 'government control of the internet,' but that's what regulators are calling it. Reason editor Peter Suderman explains the issue, and what's at stake. The government, along with several big businesses who would benefit from such regulation, is trying to strong-arm and mislead the public, saying that regulation is needed to protect the Internet. But Suderman asks, "Isn't it usually true that the best way of preserving a system that's almost universally agreed to be working quite well already is to leave it alone?" Time will tell how well Obama, his administrators and his big business friends get with their pursuit of control. If you thought GM was a big takeover, what about the whole Internet?!
Feds Giveth Jobs & Cars, Then Taketh Away
Cato scholar Tad DeHaven discusses the announcement that both 'jobs created' and 'economic growth' figures have been overestimated, and explains how such policies are actually limiting economic growth. Analysis shows that government has redirected employment, making jobs by taking them from elsewhere. And Cash for Clunkers simply caused people to buy cars a little sooner than they would have otherwise, causing reduced sales in the months to come. DeHaven concludes that the government policies are stifling growth due to a high degree of uncertainty among entrepreneurs and business owners; "Right now businesses and entrepreneurs are hesitant to make investments or add new workers because they're worried about what Washington's interventions could mean for their bottom lines."
Putting Private Insurance Out of Business
Cato scholar Michael Tanner talks about the argument that the government sponsored 'public option' will be competitive. While the public option may, at first, be in the same market as private plans, it will not be competitive for several reasons. Tanner says, “because the public option is ultimately supported by the taxpayers, the playing field can never be level." Also, “the program carries with it an implicit guarantee against future losses," so it will distort normal competition (we already know what happens to private banks that are deemed "too big to fail"). Tanner lists several other key reasons for the uncompetitiveness of a public option, which leaves many wondering at the real reason for such a massive extension of the public arm into private matters.
What's a "Libertarian"?
Many consider themselves "fiscally conservative and socially liberal," and find themselves with an identity crisis in the standard two-party political system. David Boaz, Executive VP of the Cato Institute, explains that those people should identify strongly with libertarianism, if only they knew what the term meant. In fact, Boaz cites a recent Gallup poll that shows libertarian sentiment has risen to its highest level in decades. If people actually understood what a Libertarian is, it could dramatically influence the nation's political climate.
Can't Read the bills? Start with Constitution.
Cato VP Gene Healy asks congress why they can't be bothered to be held to the same standards as the American public. Congressmen and bureaucrats continue to pass longer and longer legislation without reading it, to which the public is bound by law to obey. Healy comments on the Waxman-Markey (Cap and Trade) bill and the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill, 1,427 and 1,502 pages respectively. If reading the bills is too exhausting, Healy suggests congressmen start with reading the Constitution - afterall, "it's short and written in plain English."
Cognitive Dissonance on Health Care Reform
Cato health policy scholar, Michael Tanner, describes the popular contradiction in the health care reform debate. The public is increasingly resistant of government control in their lives, yet many favor a public option for government health insurance. The problem, says Tanner, is that the government doesn't play fair, and it will offer an artificially lower price tag while charging the real cost to tax payers. Tanner explains, "All of this means that the government-run plan would be significantly cheaper than private insurance, not because it would out-compete private insurance or because it was more efficient, but because it had unfair advantages."
Fighting for Economic Growth
Rising unemployment and growing deficits pose questions for the U.S. economy. Matt Harrison, from The Prometheus Institute, suggests ultimate fighting might hold the answers. Harrison contrasts the mixed martial arts industry with current American policy and government, and explains how the history of UFC has set an example U.S. policy-makers could follow. Through establishing property rights, promoting competition and gains from globalization, and self-regulating, UFC has become a powerhouse of economic growth. Harrison states that, "The key wasn't that UFC needed more rules, it was that it needed the right rules."
Video: Trillion-shmillion... who cares?!
The 2009 U.S. budget deficit reached a record $1,400,000,000,000 (that's what $1.4 trillion looks like actually written out). Reason's Nick Gillespie remarks on the deficit and makes it a bit more real by explaining how much it could buy. Oh, and if you can't get your head wrapped around such a huge figure, don't worry, because next year's budget deficit is forecast to be another $1,400,000,000,000.
Food Fight: Whole Foods on Health Care
reason.tv has produced a video documenting the debate on Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal this summer. In it Mackey claimed that the solution to health care reform is less government and more personal choice. This short video contrasts the union members trying to boycott Whole Foods and the employees who love their healthcare plans. In a clear and creative way, Reason offers some food for thought.
Obama, the Omni-President?
Gene Healy, Cato VP and author of 'Cult of the Presidency,' addresses the issue of President Obama's recent and expansive extension of executive power into practically everything, from auto companies to late night television appearances, Olympic committee hearings to reforming college football. Although not the only president to expand the bounds of the job description, Healy notes that, "Obama has forged new frontiers in triviality. He's the president of all things great and small: He calls for "a cure for cancer in our time" while also promising to stand behind the warranty on your new Ford Fusion." Considering Obama's be-everywhere tendency mixed with his recent failures and challenges, Healy warns that "a man who is everywhere, promising to do everything, may end up accomplishing very little, and he's sure to disappoint."
Forum: The Case for Radically Smaller Government
October's DC Forum for Freedom will host Cato scholar Dan Mitchell for a presentation and discussion at the Cato Institute on October 23, 2009. Government programs, spending, regulations and policies are expanding everyday - all of which drastically add to America's debt and lessens the nation's competitiveness. Dan Mitchell will present the theoretical and empirical case for a radical downsizing of the size and scope of the public sector. The forum will go from 4:00pm to approximately 6:00pm, with a reception to follow. Please register for the event at the link above. (Registration is free!)
The Value Added Tax: A Hidden New Tax to Finance Much Bigger Government
Cato scholar Dan Mitchell presents a clear and pointed analysis of the Value Added Tax, currently being proposed to increase government revenue. Mitchell discusses how the VAT is a tax that will hamper the entire process of production, causing the consumer to pay the difference passed on by producers and allowing the government to bring in more money to spend. While the VAT may be better than the current IRS code, that doesn't make it a good idea. Historically, a VAT is associated with much higher tax levels in the countries where such a policy is in place. The VAT is founded in poor economic rationale, and imposing one will only exacerbate loop-holes and special interest lobbying already plaguing in Washington.
Video: What is a Libertarian?
Cato executive VP David Boaz appears on the McCuistion show to discuss what it means to be a libertarian. They talk about the principles of libertarianism that are in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Among many other topics, they also discuss absolute free trade and the conflict between big government, the Federal Reserve and free markets. This 30 minute video provides a solid foundation of Libertarianism, for the avid free-marketer or anyone just curious.
Senate Health Regulation Bill Includes National ID Plan
Cato scholar Jim Harper notes that pushes for increased transparency in Congress have given greater access to many of the healthcare bills being proposed, and the more that he reads the more scary it gets. He notes that in all of the healthcare bills he's seen there have been provisions calling for "Eligibility Verification," and that such requirements lead to long verification lines, more bureaucracy, and ultimately, national ID cards. Harper concludes that this is an idea “all freedom-loving Americans should reject.”
Cato Institute Downsizing Government
The Cato Institute has launched a new website, www.DownsizingGovernment.org, that addresses the enormous size and scope of the US government. The site provides data, graphs, podcasts, blogs and videos, and includes a department-by-department guide to cutting the federal government's budget. The site states that, "This website is designed to help policymakers and the public understand where federal funds are being spent and how to reform each government department." Cato scholars Chris Edwards, Tad DeHaven, Dan Griswold, Sallie James, Dan Mitchell and others contribute to the site's content.
Nanny-State gets Jealous, Punishes Good-will
A Michigan woman is threatened with fines if she continues to charitably watch her neighbors’ kids as they wait for the school bus in the mornings. Cato VP David Boaz addresses this issue in a blog post. The Department of Human Services has told Lisa Snyder that she must get appropriate permits for 'child care' or face fines (even jail time), even though she receives no money and does so as a neighborly gesture to allow the kids’ parents to get to work on time. Boaz presents the case of the nanny-state getting jealous of positive social relationships, and enacting regulations accordingly.
Dan Mitchell describes a similar situation in Britain here.
Humorist: Censored Speech not a Laughing Matter
In this video post by Reason, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) documents a case where a humorist's quotation was censored on a college campus. They interview the humorist, syndicated and Pulitzer Prize winning Dave Barry, about the issue. Barry notes the historical progression of sanctioned speech, surmising that, "At some point, the right to voice your opinion got trumped - at least in the universities - by the right to not be offended." He says this should not be accepted, and offers a word of advice: "Fight it!"
Policy Forum: Taking Control of Spiraling College Costs
"Rising at a faster rate than even health care costs, the price of college is skyrocketing."
The Cato Institute will host a policy forum on the topic of Spiraling College Costs, on October 6th. Cato education scholar Neal McCluskey personally extended an invitation to CatoOnCampus visitors for this event. Join us for this event that bears more heavily on students than anyone else.
And if you can't attend the event, watch it online here.
Kids Sing Obama-Praises
'-- Hello, Mr. President we honor you today! --
-- For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say “hooray!” --'
Thus rang the words not of the Democratic party but of our nation's public school-children. Neal McCluskey, Cato education policy scholar, notes that a disturbing aspect of this issue isn't the fact that such a display took place, but what the district superintendent said, "The recording and distribution of the class activity were not authorized." McCluskey says, "Allow me to summarize: This is an outrage — who the heck let you people know what was going on in my school?"
Ron Paul Interviewed on Time: Video
Congressman Ron Paul is interviewed in a video segment by Time, addressing issues of his presidential runs, auditing the Fed (the topic of Paul's new book), income taxes, drug policy, the war, and more. Time's Michael Scherer presents questions assembled from viewers across the country. Addressing a question about conspiracy theories, Paul says, "I think there's a conspiracy of bad ideas. I'd like to participate in a conspiracy of some good ideas." Paul also notes that Obama has "quieted down the left" without making some of the real policy changes on which he ran his campaign.
Boaz to Speak in Tennessee
Cato executive VP David Boaz will be presenting on a panel discussion with Paul Kuhn and Robert Mikos at Vanderbilt University on the topic “Drug Legalization and Emerging Economic Opportunities.” The discussion will take place in the Law School's Moore Room at 5:00pm, on Tuesday, September 29th. Panelists will be addressing predominantly business and law students, though the public is welcome. Following the discussion, at 7:30pm, Boaz will be speaking to America's Future Foundation and the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. David Boaz is an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, and now speaks and writes extensively on issues of liberty at the Cato Institute.
March on 9/12 Shows the Right on the Rise
While the crowd of 75,000+ (some estimates are much higher) that descended on the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on 9/12 had many specific aims in their protests, in his weekly column in the Washington Examiner, Cato VP Gene Healy saw this common thread: that the conservative Right is not dead. He added that their message "remains a vital part of the national conversation." Although the Right has its own inconsistencies, and leaves much to be desired, they demonstrate a distrust of big government and some warmth for a libertarian's cold heart. Healy concludes, "That rising distrust of big government — of which Saturday's march was the most vivid recent example — shows this much at least: 'The death of conservatism' has been greatly exaggerated."
Obama, burnin' rubber
After businesses closed on Friday, and average Americans were relaxing and kicking off the NFL premiere weekend, President Obama was in a room signing off on a 35% tariff on Chinese tires, under the guise of protecting "fairness" of trade. The tariff - snuck in amid healthcare debates, giant protests in Washington, and announcements of forthcoming financial regulations - has already raised objections and promised retaliations from China. Warren Meyer, from Coyote Blog, offers some good insights, along with links to other good articles, including one by Irwin Stelzer. Meyer says, "Suppose the Chinese government is massively subsidizing tire exports... What should our response be?" To that question, Meyer believes the correct response is, 'Thank you.'
Cato Video: Analyzing Pres. Obama's Schoolkids Address
Cato VP Gene Healy and education scholar Neal McCluskey respond to President Obama's address to America's school children on September 8th. They question any administration that decides to take away kids' first day of school with an event meant to promote the office of the president. McCluskey notes that the speech "has robbed kids of a day that's supposed to be centered on them." They also highlight things Obama says that stretch the bounds of the presidency, and of the federal government. Healy says that it is “important for students to read and absorb presidential speeches, but they should be encouraged to think critically about what they're hearing." They conclude that the fundamental problem is that as long as government is in charge of schools, there will be political and social conflict.
The Effects Of Fiscal Stimulus: A Magical Analysis
NYU economist Mario Rizzo evaluates the results of the massive stimulus packages and bailouts passed early in the year. More than half a year later, he finds that they have had a negative result, at least by traditional measures. But not to fear, politicians these days don't seem to use "traditional" measures. Rizzo says of Obama's stimulus apologists, "They attribute to the stimulus the current state of affairs — but not anything regarding the current state of affairs, just anything that can be construed as better than something else that could have happened."
Hey, Mr. President, Leave Those Kids Alone
In his weekly Washington Examiner column, Cato VP Gene Healy calls for a back-peddling of Presidential involvement, particularly in our schools. President Obama is scheduled to address school children nationwide on September 8th to, with the help of lesson plans from the Dept. of Education, "inspire" kids to serve their fellow classmates, their future, and their elected officials - which Healy views not only as partisan, but an over-step of power. "The framers thought of the president as a mere constitutional officer, whose main job is taking care that the laws are faithfully executed. Students -- and presidents -- could stand to learn a lot more about how far we've drifted from that ideal."
Seven Lessons of Cash-for-Clunkers' Failure
In the Washington Examiner, Irwin Stelzer discusses several reasons to reconsider the "success" of the cash-for-clunkers programs, which spent $3 billion of taxpayer dollars in just over a month. His final of seven points notes the negative impact on lower-income consumers; "By mandating the destruction of trade-ins, Congress removed 700,000 cars from the used-car market, inevitably driving up prices of the cars that lower-income consumers tend to buy." Stelzer's point transitions well into the up-coming debates on Cap-and-Trade that are sure to resurface come the end of the Senate's August recess. Yet another instance where environmental hype trumps human well-being.
I Am Finally Scared of a White House Administration
Cato Senior Fellow Nat Hentoff, this week on RealClearPolitics.com, writes an article about the truly scary parts of the new healthcare plans. He discusses that the real danger in Obamacare is not just whether or not the bill passes or what's included in it, but the inevitable developments following new laws. "Whatever bill passes, hundreds of bureaucrats in the federal agencies will have years to promulgate scores of regulations to govern the details of the law," states Hentoff. He concludes with the point that whatever is not ruled out, could eventually be slipped in.
Reason Foundation's 23rd Annual Report on Privatization and Outsourcing
The Reason Foundation has long been a proponent for liberty, and has just released its Annual Privatization Report. From public-to-private parking meters in Chicago to "contract cities" in Georgia, this report studies current U.S. trends. Leonard Gilroy, the editor of the report, comments that "Interest in privatization is sky-high and rightly so. Now more than ever, policymakers need to study their priorities, re-examine what are really core government functions, and then tap the private sector's expertise in all of the areas where they can save taxpayer money and improve the quality of services."
Debunking Congress' "Fantasyland"
From clunkers to cap-and-trade to the Stimulus to Health care, Cato scholar Richard Rahn assesses the mental health of Congress and the Administration's recent initiatives, offers up a diagnosis, and proposes a list of alternatives. He postulates, "These folks are telling us that their new medical system will cover more people, will cost less, give us better care and not add to the budget deficit -- hmmm. Fantasyland!"
Tragedy of Growing Government: More Lobbying, Less Productivity
David Boaz discusses that as government gains more control, more businesses will dedicate their resources to seeking special treatment (just like Hayek said in 1944!). The downside to that transfer is that "businesses will devote their time, money, and brainpower to influencing decisions made in Washington rather than to developing better products and delivering them to consumers." And that results in losses for us all.
Doing "Something" vs. Doing "Nothing"
ABC News' 20/20 Co-Anchor John Stossel counters Vice President Joe Biden's defense of the stimulus plan, and provides an insightful graph. Stossel condludes that doing something "may have created uncertainties that brought us results worse than they predicted doing "nothing" would achieve."
Too Big to Fail, Read, Count, or Stop
Economists Adam Smith and Bruce Yandle write in Cato's Regulation magazine about the expanision of government in practically every market arena, and outline the implications of such a change. They warn that, "the ongoing entanglement between politics and the market means there will be much to fail, much to read, much to count, and little hope of stopping any of it."
Watch your mouth... and your thoughts!
Cato Legal Policy Analyst David Rittgers appears on the Glenn Beck show, discussing several attacks on key liberty issues: limiting free speech, criminalizing thought crime, imprisonment for blog posts, and reversing double-jeopardy.
Three Cheers to Swiss Government for Resisting U.S. Fiscal Imperialism
Swiss bank accounts have been made famous by their anonymity, an issue with which the US courts have recently struck a dispute. Cato scholar Dan Mitchell describes a recent development in the situation. He explains that "the Swiss government has stepped in to ensure that the bank cannot be extorted."
Globalization = Good
Professor Donald J. Boudreaux discusses trade policy through the impirical demonstration of gains from globalization. "Those who doubt the strength of the theoretical case for free trade should also consider that the empirical evidence in its favour is overwhelming. There is simply no credible evidence to support the belief that restricting trade increases the prosperity of ordinary citizens. All of the evidence points towards the benefits of free trade."
Audit the Fed
Republican Congressman and two time presidential candidate Ron Paul wants to audit the Federal Reserve. Arguing that Americans need to know more about the central bank, especially given the drastic increases in the size of the bank's balance sheet.
Washington: Too Big To Succeed
By Lawrence W. Reed: "Certain private firms are widely believed to be “too big to fail.” So we’re in the process of handing big chunks of them over to the government. Companies that lose billions are being told what to do by an outfit that loses trillions. The question we all should be asking ourselves is this: Are we trusting our economy and our lives to a government that is too big to succeed?"
No, Really, It's Not Government-Run!
By Michael D. Tanner: "If a "co-op" is run by the federal government under rules imposed by the federal government with funding provided by the federal government, it's simply government-run health insurance by another name. Opponents of a government takeover of the health care system should not be fooled."
Have We Got a Deal for You
By George F. Will: "'What we are not doing -- what I have no interest in doing -- is running GM,' says the president who, when not firing GM's CEO, purging its board of directors and picking new members, is designing new products (imposing fuel economy requirements that will control size, weight, passenger capacity and safety). The president, overcoming his professed reluctance to run GM, resembles the journalist Don Marquis when, after a month on the wagon, he ordered a double martini and exclaimed: 'I've conquered my goddam willpower.'"
Sotomayor: A Presidential Power Skeptic?
By Gene Healy: "For all her faults, it's unlikely that Sonia Sotomayor will be a pushover for any wartime president. Constitutionalists and civil libertarians should take comfort in the fact that it could have been worse."
Sachs Ironies: Why Critics are Better for Foreign Aid than Apologists
By William Easterly: "Official foreign aid agencies delivering aid to Africa are used to operating with nobody holding them accountable for aid dollars actually reaching poor people. Now that establishment is running scared with the emergence of independent African voices critical of aid, such as that of Dambisa Moyo."
Nostalgianomics: Liberal economists pine for days no liberal should want to revisit.
By Brink Lindsey: "The rise in income inequality does raise issues of legitimate public concern. And reasonable people disagree hotly about what ought to be done to ensure that our prosperity is widely shared. But the caricature of postwar history put forward by Krugman and other purveyors of nostalgianomics won’t lead us anywhere. Reactionary fantasies never do. "
Globalisation is Good - Johan Norberg on Globalization
The world is an unequal and unjust place, in which some are born into wealth and some into hunger and misery. To explore why, in this controversial Channel Four documentary the young Swedish writer [and senior fellow at Cato] Johan Norberg takes the viewers on a journey to Taiwan, Vietnam, Kenya and Brussels to see the impact of globalisation, and the consequences of its absence. It makes the case that the problem in the world is not too much capitalism, globalisation and multinationals, but too little.
The Rise of Collectivist Conservatives
Cato research fellow Will Wilkinson's latest article addresses the growing philosophical divide in the conservative movement. As he writes, "If we don't dig too deep, the fight for the soul of the conservative movement looks something like this: In the rugged individualist corner is Fox News performance artist Glenn Beck—today's most spirited and surreal public defender of the American tradition of flinty self-reliance. In the collectivist corner is heavyweight conservative columnist David Brooks, who has used his New York Times platform to wage a relentless "scientific" campaign against what he sees as the pernicious individualism of Goldwater conservatives like Beck and Rush Limbaugh."
Dick Cheney Is Becoming Obama's Enabler
In a recent op-ed, Cato Vice President Gene Healy discusses the recent tour of former Vice President Dick Cheney and writes: "Whatever you think the right policy is regarding enemy combatants, warrantless wiretapping, and "enhanced interrogation," the differences between Obama and Bush are far more stylistic than substantive."
David Boaz Speaks at Dartmouth
On Wednesday, May 13, Cato's Executive Vice President, David Boaz spoke at Dartmouth College on "the need to prevent the U.S. government from encroaching on freedoms." The event was sponsored by the Dartmouth College Libertarians.
The Dictator’s Handbook
By Paul Collier: "Why is democracy failing even as elections proliferate? A thought experiment sheds new light on why aging autocrats remain so hard to dislodge."
Hedge Fund Manager Strikes Back at Obama
"Clifford S. Asness is not afraid to defend himself against attacks from the Obama administration. The outspoken managing partner of AQR Capital Management, a $20 billion hedge fund in Greenwich, Conn., has written a scathing letter striking back at President Obama for his harsh words blaming hedge funds for Chrysler’s bankruptcy."
Don't Turn America Into Another France
Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center (and formerly with Cato) narrates a new video warning that it would be a mistake to turn America into a European-style welfare state, which is the fate of her native country.
Obama Is a Statist, Not a Socialist
By Edward H. Crane: "Pres. Barack Obama is not a socialist. He is a thoroughgoing statist, perhaps the worst in American history. And with Wilson, FDR, and LBJ, he's got some serious competition. Republicans in Congress lack the leadership to challenge the president's audacious power grabs. More important, they lack any serious philosophical basis for doing so."
Obama's Vision Deficit: After 100 days, the new president has revealed himself as an effective salesman of exhausted ideas
By Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch: "So here we are, 100 days into the great eight-year triumph of Hope over Change, a new Era of Really Good Feelings in which only one thing has become increasingly, even irrefutably, clear: President Barack Obama is about as visionary as the guy who invented Dippin' Dots, Ice Cream of the Future. Far from sketching out a truly forward-looking set of policies for the 21st century, as his supporters had hoped, Obama is instead serving up cryogenically tasteless and headache-inducing morsels from years gone by."
The Idiot's Bible
Mary Anastasia O'Grady writes in the Wall Street Journal: "Just days after Hugo Chávez gave President Barack Obama a copy of 'Open Veins of Latin America' in Trinidad last week, the English-language version of the book shot to the No. 2 slot on Amazon.com.... It is widely regarded in free-market circles as 'the idiot's bible.'"
Alex Tabarrok: How ideas trump economic crises -- a surprising lesson from 1929
"The 'dismal science' truly shines in this optimistic talk, as economist Alex Tabarrok argues free trade and globalization are shaping our once-divided world into a community of idea-sharing more healthy, happy and prosperous than anyone's predictions."
Happy Earth Day? Thank Capitalism
By Jerry Taylor: "It is businessmen — not bureaucrats or environmental activists — who deserve most of the credit for the environmental gains over the past century and who represent the best hope for a Greener tomorrow"
Our Troubling Tax System
The U.S. tax code gets more complex every year. It violates civil liberties and, left unchanged, will leave the United States at a powerful competitive disadvantage in years to come. Chris Edwards, Director of Tax Policy Studies, Senior Fellow Daniel J. Mitchell and Director of Information Policy Studies Jim Harper dissect the troubling aspects of our tax system.
The More Obama "Challenges," the More Education Will Look the Same
By Neal McCluskey: "The Obama Administration talks a mighty game about 'change' and taking politics out of decision making, but at least when it comes to education it seems to be all about playing politics."
I Smoke Pot, and I Like It
By Will Wilkinson: "If we're to begin to roll back our stupid and deadly drug war, the stigma of responsible drug use has got to end, and marijuana is the best place to start. The super-savvy Barack Obama managed to turn a buck by coming out of the cannabis (and cocaine) closet in a bestselling memoir. That's progress. But his admission came with the politicians' caveat of regret. We'll make real progress when solid, upstanding folk come out of the cannabis closet, heads held high."
Return of the Living Dead: What the U.S. Can Learn From Japan's Failed Experiment With "Zombie Businesses"
By Anthony Randazzo: "Killing zombies isn't typically the responsibility of America's president or treasury secretary. But if the country is going to get through the current financial crisis, President-elect Barack Obama and his economic team better get out their shotguns and aim for the head."
Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies
By Glenn Greenwald: "While other states in the European Union have developed various forms of de facto decriminalization — whereby substances perceived to be less serious (such as cannabis) rarely lead to criminal prosecution — Portugal remains the only EU member state with a law explicitly declaring drugs to be "decriminalized." Because more than seven years have now elapsed since enactment of Portugal's decriminalization system, there are ample data enabling its effects to be assessed."
Free Trade Petition
"In cooperation with the International Policy Network and a worldwide group of think tanks, we are circulating this petition to combat recent moves toward harmful economic nationalism. I urge you to sign it [and to encourage your professors to sign!]. It is not yet a public effort, but please do share it with your colleagues, friends, and professional contacts. The first unveiling of this petition will be April 1st before the G20 meetings in London. It is a part of a much broader campaign that will be mobilized around the world to alert the public to the dangers of attempts to block trade and to revive positive efforts toward increasing freedom of trade. We will have a series of videos on the benefits of trade, booklets, public events, and much more, available in a multitude of languages." - Dr. Tom G. Palmer
Kelo v. City of New London
Susette Kelo's legal battle with New London, Conn. brought about one of the most controversial and troubling Supreme Court rulings in many many years. But her fight also spurred a backlash among property owners and state legislatures. Susette Kelo now lives in a town across the river from New London.
Filibuster Needed Now More than Ever
By Gene Healy: "Yet just a few years ago, Senate Republicans, who then fancied themselves a permanent majority, worked doggedly to undermine the filibuster. That was a dumb, short-sighted move, and today, they ought to be very glad their efforts failed."
The Innovation Squelch: Obamanomics is bad news for American entrepreneurs.
By James Manzi: "Like the college students who stayed up late to hear Obama’s campaign speeches only to find his first significant action to be a stimulus program that will transfer about $1 trillion from them to the Baby Boomers, Silicon Valley Obama supporters may find themselves in an uncomfortable environment. A government-dominated economic era may not be an auspicious one in which to start companies that threaten big, incumbent corporations with lots of political clout."
Three Women Who Launched a Movement: Celebrating Liberty in Women's History Month
This Women's History Month, on the sixty-sixth anniversary of their monumental triple achievement, the Cato Institute pays homage to three women without whom it would not exist.
Conservatives Need a Humbler Foreign Policy
By Gene Healy: "But there's at least one aspect of conservative doctrine that desperately needs rethinking. That's the Right's embrace of the neoconservative approach to foreign affairs, which insists that America is weak, threatened on all sides, and can only be kept safe by an aggressive policy of preventive war and democratization at gunpoint."
Cato Scholars Address Obama's First Address to Congress
President Barack Obama's first address to Congress laid out a laundry list of new spending contained within the stimulus legislation and provided hints as to what will be contained in the budget - a so-called "blueprint for America's future" - he submits to the legislature. Cato Institute scholars Chris Edwards, Jim Harper, Gene Healy, Neal McCluskey, David Rittgers, John Samples and Michael D. Tanner offer their analyses of the President's non-State-of-the-Union Address.
January YouTube of the Month
Congratulations to Matt Bufton of the University of Windsor for submitting Cato on Campus' January YouTube of the Month. His video, "Health Care in Canada" provides a short discussion of how Canada's health care system actually prohibits competition, something almost no other developed country does.
Michael Cannon: "Healthy Competition: How to Free American Health Care"
Who: Michael Cannon What: Speech on "Healthy Competition: How to Free American Health Care" followed by a panel. Where: Disneyland Hotel Host: California Medical Association
Obama and Presidential Power: Change or Continuity?
What: Policy Forum Where: Cato Institute Description: Featuring Louis Fisher, Specialist on the Constitution, Law Library of Congress; and Jeffrey Rosen, Professor, The George Washington University School of Law. Moderated by Gene Healy, Vice President, Cato Institute.
Ivy League Alliance for Liberty Formed
The Ivy League Alliance for Liberty ratified its Constitution on Saturday, January 31st, forming a coalition of the student organizations dedicated to liberty within the Ivy League. Congratulations to the Brown Students for Liberty, Columbia University Libertarians, College Libertarians of Cornell University, Harvard Libertarian Forum, University of Pennsylvania Libertarian Association, and Princeton College Libertarians.
Susette Kelo Tells Her Story at the Cato Institute
No U.S. Supreme Court decision in the modern era has been so quickly and widely reviled as the infamous Kelo decision, in which the Court ruled that Susette Kelo's little pink house in New London, Connecticut, and the homes of her neighbors could be taken by the government and given over to a private developer based on the mere prospect that the new use for her property could generate more taxes or jobs.
We Need Cynics
By Will Wilkinson: "In his inaugural address, Barack Obama scorned "cynics" who fail to grasp that "the old arguments do not apply" now, in a time of crisis. Obama's presidency is living proof of hard-won progress in the struggle for racial equality, and his is a truly fresh voice in American politics. Yet it was politics as usual when the new President urged Americans to set aside cynicism, transcend their tired oppositions, and pull together behind his leadership."
Activist and Warrior Presidents Dominate Historians' Polls
By Gene Healy: "Asked how his presidency will be remembered, Bush typically insisted that "history" will be the judge. He's right — and right as well that historians may be kinder to him than his abysmal approval ratings would suggest. But that says less about Bush's success than it does about the perverse standards by which historians evaluate presidents."
Ask the Expert: Dan Mitchell on Keynesian Economics
Dan Mitchell explains why the current economic crisis is the result of government policy mistakes and why more government intervention will not end the crisis any sooner than the market.
Is Dissent Still Patriotic?
By David Harsanyi: "Some of you must still believe that politicians are meant to serve rather than be worshiped. And there must be someone out there who considers partisanship a healthy, organic reflection of our differences rather than something to be surrendered in the name of so- called unity — which is, after all, untenable, subjective and utterly counterproductive."
Exposing the Keynesian Fallacy: The Condensed Version from Cato-at-liberty
By Daniel J. Mitchell: "That mini-documentary discussed the theoretical shortcomings of Keynesianism and also reviewed the dismal results of real-world Keynesian episodes."
Nanny State Makes Poor Babysitter for Americans
Radley Balko, policy analyst for the Cato Institute, writes, "Is the "coarsening" of American culture really having all of the ill social effects conservatives say it is? The data overwhelmingly suggests not. Nearly every social indicator is trending in a direction we ought to find comforting."
Second Annual International Students For Liberty Conference
Students For Liberty will be hosting its second annual international conference at George Washington University from February 20-22, 2009. The Keynote Speaker is Yon Goicoechea, recipient of the Cato Institute's 2008 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty. 100 students from 13 countries have already applied, so make sure you apply soon.
Hollywood's Sick Love Affair with Che Guevera
Check out one of the latest products of reason.tv, Killer Chic: Hollywood's Sick Love Affair with Che Guevera.
Cato Out Loud: The Auto Bailout
In a new edition of Cato Out Loud, Daniel J. Ikenson explains why the federal government should not extend a financial bailout to the auto industry. Since November, Cato analysts have appeared on more than 50 radio and television programs discussing the bailout of "The Big Three."
What Happened? Anatomies of the Financial Crisis
In this special issue of Cato Unbound, we’ve asked four respected economists, with four very different perspectives, to supply what they think are the missing pieces of the puzzle and to tell us how they all fit together.
Tax Havens: Myths vs. Facts
Politicians from high-tax nations routinely smear tax havens as part of their efforts to undermine tax competition. Using academic research and data from international organizations, this video shows that the most common attacks made against low-tax jurisdictions are empty demagoguery.
Unsolicited Advice for Obama
By Radley Balko: "I don't agree with Obama on much (I don't agree with the current administration on much, either), so I won't make an appeal with him to compromise with the Republicans on the issues where I agree with them. Instead, here are a few recommendations - some substantive, some symbolic - of moves Obama could make that are consistent with the principles he articulated during the campaign:"
Free Political Speech in 2009?
In this video John Samples, director of Cato's Center for Representative Government, discuses the likely prospects that free political speech will encounter in the coming year.
Say No to the Auto Bailout
By Daniel J. Mitchell: "A taxpayer bailout would be a terrible mistake. It would subsidize the shoddy management practices of the corporate bureaucrats at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, and it would reward the intransigent union bosses who have made the UAW synonymous with inflexible and anti-competitive work rules."
Understanding the Financial Crisis
This video, created by AfricanLiberty.org, clarifies the basic causes and consequences of the current financial crisis.
Obama on Drugs
Although President-elect Barack Obama portrays his pot smoking and cocaine snorting as behavior he regrets, writes Senior Editor Jacob Sullum, it would be hard for him to justify harsh treatment of drug users when he himself escaped punishment for the same actions and clearly is better off than he would have been had he been arrested. But will that experience translate into more sensible drug policies?
When Corporations Hate Markets
In this month's lead essay, philosopher and libertarian theorist Roderick Long draws a sharp contrast between corporatism and libertarianism properly understood. He argues that liberals, conservatives, and even libertarians have all been guilty to some degree of obscuring this difference, and that the quality of our political discourse has suffered accordingly.
Whither Fusionism?
Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow in constitutional studies at Cato, argues that "One of the victims of the Bush presidency, along with limited government and the Republican Party, has been "fusionism," the idea that conservatives and libertarians ought to come together to oppose the forces of socialism (and The Left generally)."
A Repudiation, But of What?
By Michael D. Tanner: "To suggest that in electing Barack Obama and a Democratic congressional majority, voters were choosing big government and liberalism over small government and conservatism would imply that either the Bush administration, the current Republican congressional leadership, or, for that matter, John McCain, actually supported smaller government."
Worse than Bush?
By Ted Galen Carpenter: "If President Obama adopts a security strategy confined to defending vital American interests, he will win—and deserve—the gratitude of the American people. If, on the other hand, he embraces a nebulous crusade to secure "human dignity" all over the world through the instruments of U.S. foreign aid and military power, he will undermine his own administration and ignite yet another round of public frustration about the unwillingness of political leaders to focus on America's best interests and well-being."
A Sweeping Rejection of President Bush
By David Boaz: "Left-liberal groups are quick to declare Barack Obama’s win a broad endorsement of the “progressive” agenda, their highly inaccurate name for more taxes, more spending, more entitlements, and more regulation. After a trillion-dollar increase in federal spending during the Bush administration and the biggest expansion of entitlements since Lyndon Johnson, it hardly seems likely that what’s troubling the American economy or the American people is an insufficiency of government."
Changing Times
By Donald J. Boudreaux: "One lesson I draw from this frightening state of affairs is that even the most obvious falsehood stands a good chance of being widely believed if it is repeated often enough. The claim that the U.S. economy of late has been one of laissez faire has become a mantra. And it's now taken as fact."
The End of Jacob Weisberg
By Brink Lindsey: "We’ve just experienced a global disruption of financial markets on a scale not seen in seven decades. And we’re still in the middle of it: the ultimate extent, severity, and consequences of this crisis remain unknown. Yet Weisberg can already sum up the story in a single sentence: the libertarians did it!"
Ask the Expert: David Boaz
Executive Vice President of the Cato Institute, David Boaz, explains how far we have come in the advancement of liberty, the threats to liberty we face today, and what we may do to preserve liberty for tomorrow.
Gene Healy on Gabriel Over the White House
Gene Healy, author of The Cult of the Presidency, discusses changing American attitudes about executive authority in the early part of the 20th century. The film discussed, Gabriel Over the White House, was released in 1933 just after the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Dismantling Al Qaeda
"Because we use the shorthand phrase 'war on terrorism' to describe the U.S. response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, it is easy to believe that this war-like all previous wars-can be won simply by killing the enemy, wearing them down until they are broken and capitulate. Given that suicide terrorists are, by definition, undeterrable, it seems that we have no choice but to kill them before they kill us. But this is a different kind of war that requires a different paradigm."
Regulators Cannot Avert Next Crisis
By Johan Norberg: "As usual after a financial crisis, we hear demands for new controls and regulations to stop it from happening again. But since every crisis has led to thousands of new pages of regulation, why is it that regulation doesn't stop crises from happening again?'
Does Barack Obama Support Socialized Medicine?
Cato scholar Michael F. Cannon argues that "reasonable people can disagree over whether Obama's health plan would be good or bad. But to suggest that it is not a step toward socialized medicine is absurd."
Two Kinds of Change: Comparing the Candidates on Foreign Policy
By Justin Logan: "In the end, both candidates have significant flaws in their foreign policy ideas. Yet McCain's approach seems likely to amplify and repeat the errors of the Bush administration. A President McCain would promise more provocation, more intervention, and more strain on the military, the budget, and the country."
An Open Letter to my Friends on the Left
By Steven Horwitz: "In the last week or two, I have heard frequently from you that the current financial mess has been caused by the failures of free markets and deregulation. I have heard from you that the lust after profits, any profits, that is central to free markets is at the core of our problems. And I have heard from you that only significant government intervention into financial markets can cure these problems, perhaps once and for all. I ask of you for the next few minutes to, in the words of Oliver Cromwell, consider that you may be mistaken."
Cato Scholars on the Financial Crisis and the Bailout
In this video Cato scholars explain the causes of the financial crises as well as the consequences of further government intervention.
FIRE Sends Warning to Public Universities After Free Speech Victory
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) sent letters to administrators at twenty public colleges and universities in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania warning them to abandon their speech codes in light of the recent Third Circuit decision overturning Temple University's unconstitutional code.
The House of Death
By Radley Balko: "Three years ago, Sandalio 'Sandy' Gonzalez's 32-year career with the Drug Enforcement Agency came to an abrupt end after he blew the whistle in a horrifying case now known as the 'House of Death,' in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stand accused of looking the other way while one of their drug informants participated in torturing and murdering at least a dozen people in an abandoned house near the Texas-Mexico border."
Why Opting Out Is No "Third Way"
By Will Wilkinson: "At first blush, 'libertarian paternalism' seems a linguistic miscarriage, a self-crippling idea condemned to limp aimlessly in eternal darkness on the island of misfit creeds alongside 'humanitarian sadism' and 'color-blind racism.' But that hasn't stopped Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, law and economics superstars at the University of Chicago, from pushing the catchphrase and concept as a solution to the nation's problems for a half-decade now."
Doing Something?
By John Berlau: "But what if the bailout, as originally proposed and in its latest incarnation, would spend $700 billion of taxpayers' money and actually make the economy worse? Believe it or not, there is good evidence this may happen."
Parody Flunks Out
By Harvey Silverglate: "Political humor is no longer welcome in Academia as administrators choke the life out of parody."
A Profile in Cowardice
By Gene Healy: "In Friday's presidential debate on foreign policy (assuming the show still goes on), we can be sure that Barack Obama will hit John McCain hard for supporting what Obama has called a "dumb war" in Iraq. But in doing so, Obama has at least one major handicap to overcome: his running mate."
Gene Healy on the Presidency
In this video Cato VP Gene Healy discusses the growth of the imperial presidency.
A Little Credit History. Or, Credit where Credit Is Due
By Jason Kuznicki: "The problem wasn't capitalism. It was simply this: Capitalism for thee, but not for me. The word of the day is corporatism, and since the days of the South Sea Company, we've never really been without it. Corporations have always used their power to try to win favors from the government, while leaving all the rest of us still subject to the vicissitudes of the market. That's the essence of corporatism."
The Ultimate Resource
In this lecture, the late (and certainly great)economist Julian Simon describes his concept of "the ultimate resource." An idea that Donald Boudreaux, chairman of the GMU economics department, considers "the most profound -- and least understood -- in all of the social sciences."
Washington Brewed the Poison
By Jonah Goldberg: "Even if the bad mortgages weren't in the system, we'd still have the hangover from the end of the housing boom. But the biggest dose of poison entered the financial bloodstream through Washington."
Organic Market
By Russ Roberts: "Both presidential candidates will promise a risk-free world with high returns. But peddling that fantasy is the cause of the current crisis. We treat our children this way--we do our best to insulate them from harm and still allow them to grow. I'd like politicians to treat me as an adult, paying the price for my recklessness and reaping a reward when I am prudent."
Why Government Grows
By Richard Ebeling: "As we enter the final weeks of the election campaign, it's time for both candidates to explain their views on the proper size and role of government."
Bottoms Up!
By Will Wilkinson: "A hundred and thirty college presidents and chancellors have signed a controversial statement calling for a new debate about the legal drinking age; their notion is to lower it from 21 to 18. Alas, college presidents are politicians of a sort, so none will take the reopened debate where it needs to go. There should be no drinking age at all."
Ticking Time Bomb Explodes, Public is Shocked
By Robert Higgs: "The failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, setting in motion the biggest government bailout/takeover in U.S. history, brings a grim sense of fulfillment to competent economists. After all, what did people expect, that water would flow uphill forever?"
With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?: Aiding the World’s Worst Dictators
Christopher J. Coyne and Matt E. Ryan: "Despite rhetoric supporting liberal values and institutions, the governments of developed countries provide continued development and military assistance to the world’s worst dictators. This aid sustains the status quo and imposes significant costs on ordinary citizens."
Three Days After Klein's Response, Another Attack
By Johan Norberg: "In May I wrote a critical Cato paper on Naomi Klein's attack on economic liberalisation, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, which I claimed was hopelessly flawed on virtually every level. Now Naomi Klein has responded to some of my claims. This response is in itself an example of the methods Klein regularly uses in her works, what I have called disaster polemics."
Bailout Nation
By David Boaz: "But the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is another giant step toward government control of the economy. NPR reported this morning that the government takeover “could turn out to be a smart one.” Yes, if you think nationalization of the means of production just might work."
Responsible Drug Use
"Those who support drug prohibition often do so with the premise, implicit or explicit, that life without prohibition would be marked by vastly more irresponsibility, addiction, accidents, health problems, and death. Those who favor ending drug prohibition are forced to argue, not only for an unfamiliar policy, but also against this parade of horribles. Yet are we not able to think about and manage these substances rationally and responsibly?"
The Limits of Deterrence
By Ted Galen Carpenter: "Hawkish pundits and politicians insist that if Georgia had been a member of NATO, Russia would never have dared to use military force against it. Those confident assertions are wrong on two levels, and they underscore a dangerous flaw in U.S. foreign policy."
A President, Not a Savior
By Gene Healy: "As the conventions celebrate the anointed, it's worth exploring how our long slide away from the Founding Fathers' modest notion of presidential responsibility has left us with a dysfunctional politics and a bloated imperial presidency."
How Markets Use Knowledge
By Russ Roberts: "Economists will often say that prices steer knowledge and resources. Prices are traffic cops that signal to buyers and sellers what is scarce and what is valuable. But what does this mean exactly? How do prices achieve this?"
Creating Prosperity
By Donald J. Boudreaux: "No politician creates prosperity. It is created by countless entrepreneurs, businesses and workers competing and cooperating within markets. For government to avoid obstructing these markets is indeed desirable -- but it does not create the resulting prosperity. To insist otherwise would be no different from my insisting that I, as a driver who did not run over Ms. Jones as she walked back from the supermarket, am responsible for the tasty dinner she cooked that evening for her family."
Norberg on Open Trade
"Here's the eloquent, wise, and learned Johan Norberg -- speaking recently at the Cato Institute -- explaining some of the benefits of open markets." - Donald Boudreaux, Chairman of the Department of Economics at George Mason University
Poverty and Economy in Mugabe's Zimbabwe
A new, deeper poverty has gripped Zimbabwe and the formal economy has utterly been destroyed under the rein of Robert Mugabe. Rejoice Ngwenya, head of the Zimbabwean Coalition for Market and Liberal Solutions, discusses the realities of life in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
What Next for D.C.'s Gun Laws
By Robert A. Levy and David Kopel: "The Supreme Court ruled in June that provisions of Washington, D.C.'s gun laws are unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the city has responded with new regulations that are a flagrant attempt to circumvent the court's decision."
Keeping Our Cool: What to do About Global Warming
By Jim Manzi: "The loss of economic and technological development that would be required to eliminate literally all theorized climate change risk would cripple our ability to deal with virtually every other foreseeable and unforeseeable risk, not to mention our ability to lead productive and interesting lives in the meantime."
Seeing China Whole
By Steve Chapman: "Anyone contemplating the thuggish repression still prevalent under the Beijing government may find that hard to imagine. But if the last 30 years have taught us anything, it is not to underestimate China's capacity for positive change."
Why California Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner Charlie Lynch Was Found Guilty in Federal Court of Selling Drugs
"In this latest reason.tv video, we talk to Lynch's lawyers and the forewoman of the jury to find out precisely how Lynch got convicted and what happens next. It's a disturbing, provocative video that should make even the hardiest drug warrior wonder just what the hell we're doing locking up businessmen who play by the rules and give aid and comfort to sick people."
Banished: 'The Forsaken' by Tim Tzouliadis
Reviewed by Richard Pipes: "Most of these expatriates, not intellectuals but simple working men, were quickly disenchanted and wanted to return home, only to find that Moscow considered them Soviet citizens and barred them from leaving. Ignored by the American government, many of them ended in the gulag."
Economics Does Not Lie
By Guy Sorman: "If economics is finally a science, what, exactly, does it teach? With the help of Columbia University economist Pierre-André Chiappori, I have synthesized its findings into ten propositions. Almost all top economists—those who are recognized as such by their peers and who publish in the leading scientific journals—would endorse them (the exceptions are those like Joseph Stiglitz and Jeffrey Sachs, whose public pronouncements are more political than scientific)."
Elevator Arguments for Drug Policy Reform
By Pete Guither: "So you’ve been studying hard and you’re starting to amass an incredible amount of data supporting drug policy reform. You’re ready to make a difference.
And then opportunity presents itself. Somebody actually asks you a question about drugs... just as you get on the elevator. But here’s the problem — he’s getting off at the 12th floor and you’re going to 14. What do you do?"
Swedish Myths and Realities
"Johan Norberg, author of In Defense of Global Capitalism, sits down with reason.tv's Michael C. Moynihan to sort out the myths of the Sweden's welfare state, health services, tax rates, and its status as the 'most successful society the world has ever known.'"
Greasing the World Economy Without Doha
By Daniel J. Ikenson: "The Doha trade round died a thousand deaths long before this week. But outside the bureaucracies in Geneva, Brussels and Washington, few are grieving because the world economy has moved on."
Consenting to Be Abused
By Steve Chapman: "In a nation founded on respect for the rights of every person, these searches give all priority to the power and convenience of the government, while mocking the liberties we are supposed to have. Why would we consent to that?"
A Few Questions for Barack Obama
By Radley Balko: " In my last column, I posed questions to GOP presidential hopeful John McCain. This week, it's Democrat Barack Obama's turn."
Why Muslims Still Hate Us
By Patrick Basham: "An analysis of Muslim public opinion since 9/11 finds that, on balance, the "foreign policy trumps culture" argument is correct. This finding has important implications for the debate over U.S. Middle East policy and the broader war on terrorism."
The Grand Exaggerator
By Patrick Michaels: "OK, it's pretty much standard rhetoric in Washington to say that if you don't do as I say, there will be massive consequences. But to say, as Gore recently did: 'The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk;' and: 'The future of human civilization is at stake' — that's a bit much, even for the most faded and jaded political junkie."
District of Columbia V. Heller: What's Next?
By Robert A. Levy: "Following a victory that some thought impossible, the advocates of the right to bear arms are asking themselves where to go next. None are more qualified to answer that question than Robert A. Levy, co-counsel in District of Columbia v. Heller, the landmark case that has permanently changed the shape of gun rights jurisprudence." - Dr. Jason Kuznicki
New on Free Will: Bruce Caldwell on Hayek
"This week, I talk with Bruce Caldwell, author of Hayek’s Challenge, a wonderfully lucid, comprehensive, and penetrating account of the development of Hayek’s economic and methodological ideas. Hayek is one of my enthusiasms, so I had a great time talking to Bruce, who knows as much about Hayek as anyone." - Will Wilkinson
Crying Wolf: Are we all fascists now?
By Michael C. Moynihan: "To anyone that has attended a political demonstration, trawled a blog, or attended a Western university in the past half century, the scattershot use of 'fascist' will ring familiar. And almost as clichéd as accusing an ideological opponent of fascist sympathies is the accurate observation that such charges often demonstrate an utter lack of understanding of just what qualifies as fascist, other than 'someone I vehemently disagree with.'"
Don't Shed a Tear Over Bid for Beer
By John D. Burger: "An unsolicited bid by the Belgian-Brazilian conglomerate InBev to take over Anheuser Busch has set off a backlash among the American public. Protesters of the proposed deal are relying on patriotic slogans such as "Keep Budweiser American" in an attempt to rally the masses against the originally friendly but increasingly hostile takeover bid. I find this reaction terribly embarrassing."
Banned! Drew Carey Takes a Tour of Nanny State Nation
"Whether you love it, hate it, or have never thought about it, chances are some politician wants to ban it. 'Welcome to the Nanny State Nation,' says reason.tv host Drew Carey. 'Where the government minds your own business.'"
Munger on the Political Economy of Public Transportation
"Mike Munger and Russ Roberts deliver one of the best podcasts ever. Munger describes the way in which moving from a private bus system to a public system in Santiago Chile made essentially everyone in the city worse off. The puzzle that Roberts keeps pushing Munger to resolve is why the political incentives do not work to abolish the public system and revert to a private system." - Bryan Caplan
A Matter of Life and Death
By Karol Boudreaux: "By some estimates South Africa has taken in over three million illegal immigrants in the past year - not just people in search of better jobs, but also Zimbabweans fleeing Robert Mugabe's reign. The unfortunate byproduct of this influx of immigrants is a longstanding and mostly dormant xenophobia that has reared its head. "
The Second Amendment Goes to Court
Alan Gura, Glenn Reynolds, Randy Barnett, Brian Doherty, Sanford Levinson, Jacob Sullum, and Dave Kopel respond to D.C. v. Heller
D.C. Gun Ban Struck Down
"On Thursday, the Court rediscovered the Second Amendment. More than five years after six Washington, D.C. residents challenged the city’s 32-year-old ban on all functional firearms in the home, the Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the law is unconstitutional. Heller is merely the opening salvo in a series of litigations that will ultimately resolve what weapons and persons can be regulated and what restrictions are permissible. But because of Thursday’s decision, the prospects for reviving the original meaning of the Second Amendment are now substantially brighter." - Robert A. Levy, Co-counsel to Mr. Heller
Democrats Capitulate on FISA
By Julian Sanchez: "Democrats are trying to rationalize capitulating on surveillance and telecom immunity in the new FISA bill by calling it a compromise. It isn't."
Mexicans and Machines: Why It's Time To Lay Off NAFTA
"Like technology, trade gives us more good stuff than bad—yet Americans are likely to cheer technology and fear trade. No doubt TV talkers and White House wannabes will keep stoking our fears of foreigners until voters and viewers stop buying it—or until robots snag their jobs, too."
From Breadbasket to Basket Case
By Mary Anastasia O'Grady: "As the presidential campaign drones on, Barack Obama and the Democrats are fleshing out the promise of "change" with some specific, big-government policy proposals. Many are familiar, perhaps because they already have been tried – in Argentina."
In a Class Of Your Own
By Roger Pilon: "When the Supreme Court affirms a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, that's news, especially when nearly every other circuit has gone the other way. That's what happened last week in Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture. Unfortunately, the news would be better had the 9th Circuit gotten it right."
Commie Ball: A Journey to the End of a Revolution
By Michael Lewis: "Some of the greatest baseball players the world has never seen are in Cuba, where their talent is government property, and their only chance of turning pro is the risky boat ride to Florida. Gus Dominguez, an L.A. sports agent, has done more than anyone to help escaped players join major-league U.S. teams, but now he sits in a California jail, convicted of smuggling athletes."
Raiding California—Drew Carey on Medical Marijuana and Minors
"Should medical marijuana be kept from minors at all costs? Why is it that pharmacists can dispense amphetamines without getting busted, but legal operators who dispense medical marijuana face prison time? Why do armed federal agents persist in raiding California?"
Narcissists With Nukes
By Shawn Macomber: "Should Cato Institute Senior Editor Gene Healy's wonderfully informative, perception shifting examination of the wayward American executive, The Cult of the Presidency, receive the attention it so richly deserves, however, it may serve as a perfect literary tonic for our historical and cultural amnesia. Perhaps Healy, armed with a persuasive, good-natured outrage, will even inspire some among us toward a more narrow definition of presidential virtuousness and, by extension, broaden the conception of our own."
Government, War, and Libertarianism
By Justin Logan: "Why has the war—and post-9/11 foreign policy generally—been so controversial for libertarians? And now, more than six years after 9/11 and more than five years into the war in Iraq, what can libertarian insights tell us about how we got here and what to do next?"
In Defense of "Sweatshops"
Benjamin Powell: "Because sweatshops are better than the available alternatives, any reforms aimed at improving the lives of workers in sweatshops must not jeopardize the jobs that they already have."
McCain Talking Too Tough on Russia, China
By Malou Innocent: "There is no question that China and Russia have objectionable policies. China's deplorable human-rights record and Russia's authoritarian structure leave much to be desired. But McCain's policy prescriptions will prevent the U.S. from working with them in areas of common interest, and preclude cooperation in meeting shared threats."
Texas Supreme Court: Return the Children
By Tim Lynch: "[T]he Supreme Court of Texas ruled that Child Protective Services (CPS) abused its discretion by seizing 468 children from the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints ranch in Eldorado."
Presidential Power-Tripping
By Radley Balko: " The most important issue in this November's presidential election isn't Iraq or terrorism or the economy, though it plays into all three. The most important issue is presidential power."
Drew Carey Reports on the Tragically High Cost of Building a Border Wall
"At a time when pundits and politicians of all stripes endorse securing the border between the United States and Mexico, reason.tv travels south to see what's really going on—and what the human and monetary costs are of amping up border patrols."
Our Collectivist Candidates
By David Boaz: "The real issue is that Messrs. Obama and McCain are telling us Americans that our normal lives are not good enough, that pursuing our own happiness is "self-indulgence," that building a business is "chasing after our money culture," that working to provide a better life for our families is a 'narrow concern.'"
Caesaropapism Rampant
By George F. Will: "[R]hetorical—and related—excesses are inherent in the modern presidency. This is so for reasons brilliantly explored in the year's most pertinent and sobering public affairs book, 'The Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power,' by Gene Healy of Washington's libertarian Cato Institute."
Where Does Law Come From?
By Bruce L. Benson: "The lesson here is that law and governance are natural institutions that arise out of people’s interest in prospering through production, the division of labor, and trade. They do not depend on a central coercive authority for their genesis. States can arise when a powerful group, bent on institutionalized extortion, co-opt and alter existing customary law to serve its own particular interests."
The Cult of the Presidency
By Gene Healy: "Our system, with its unhealthy, unconstitutional concentration of power, feeds on the atavistic tendency to see the chief magistrate as our national father or mother, responsible for our economic well-being, our physical safety, and even our sense of belonging. Relimiting the presidency depends on freeing ourselves from a mind-set one century in the making."
Kidneys for Sale: Iranian Organ Donation
By Kerry Howley: "'What can Iran teach us about good governance?' is not a question often posed in Washington. But according to Benjamin Hippen, a transplant nephrologist in North Carolina, the Iranians have managed to do something American policy makers have long thought impossible: They’ve found kidneys for every single citizen in need."
Is Real ID Really Going to Happen?
By Matthew Blake: "Little about Real ID has gone as planned. All 50 states, and the District of Columbia, were given extensions by the Dept. of Homeland Security to comply with Real ID. This extension was given despite the fact that 17 states passed resolutions saying they have no intention of ever implementing the program."
Everyone in Favor, Say Yargh!
By Joanna Weiss: "Long before they made their way into the workings of modern government, the democratic tenets we hold so dear were used to great effect on pirate ships. Checks and balances. Social insurance. Freedom of expression. So Leeson, an economics professor at George Mason University, will argue in his upcoming book, The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates."
Mississippi Drug War Blues—the Case of Cory Maye
The latest Drew Carey Project video for reason.tv tells "a story about the intersection of race, the war on drugs, the disturbing increase in the militarization of police tactics, and systemic flaws in the criminal justice system. It is a tragedy in which one man is dead and another may spend his life in prison without possibility of parole."
Fairness, Idealism and Other Atrocities
By P.J. O'Rourke: "Well, here you are at your college graduation. And I know what you're thinking: 'Gimme the sheepskin and get me outta here!' But not so fast. First you have to listen to a commencement speech."
Deborah Jeane Palfrey, Hounded to Death
By David Boaz: "Faced with the prospect of years in prison, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the “D.C. Madam,” committed suicide on Thursday. Her pursuers and prosecutors should be ashamed of themselves."
Battle Over Eminent Domain Is Another Civil Rights Issue
By David T. Beito and Ilya Somin: "Few policies have done more to destroy community and opportunity for minorities than eminent domain. Some 3 to 4 million Americans, most of them ethnic minorities, have been forcibly displaced from their homes as a result of urban renewal takings since World War II."
An Elephant Never Forgets?
By Tim Lee: "Transparency is an important tool for limited government. Senior administration officials are more likely to behave themselves if they know their correspondence is subject to subpoena and will be available for the scrutiny of future historians. It’s therefore troubling that for most of the last 8 years, the Bush administration has failed to have an automated system in place for complying with the law as his predecessor did."
America on drugs
"In the Los Angeles Times, Jacob Sullum debates Cully Stimson about drug policy in a back-and-forth argument that's wraps up today."
Milton Friedman Prize Selection Committee Member Arrested
The Ugandan government has arrested Andrew Mwenda, a member of the 2008 International Selection Committee for the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, along with his fellow journalists Odobo Bichachi and John Njoroge. Andrew Mwenda is a brave journalist who tells it like he sees it. He is well known for standing up for the rights of others; his involvement in the Milton Friedman Prize is only one element of his long commitment to human rights.
Venezuelan Student Movement Leader Awarded $500,000 Milton Friedman Liberty Prize
Yon Goicoechea, leader of the pro-democracy student movement in Venezuela, has been awarded the 2008 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty. Under Goicoechea's leadership, the student movement organized mass opposition to the erosion of human and civil rights in Venezuela and played the key role in defeating Hugo Chávez's bid for a constitutional reform that would have turned the country into a dictatorship.
Employers Must Pull the Trigger
By Robert A. Levy: "The owner of the property should be able to determine — for good reasons, bad reasons, or no reason at all — whether to admit gun owners, non-gun owners, neither or both. Customers, employees and guests who object may go elsewhere. That's the controlling principle."
The Dance, Dance Revolution Will Be Televised After All
By Julian Sanchez: "The plan had been to celebrate the birth of the author of the Declaration of Independence by congregating, flashmob style, for ten minutes of quiet iPod-fueled dancing, then repair to a pub nearby. Instead, park police brought the party to an abrupt halt, arresting 28-year-old Brooke Oberwetter and leading her away in handcuffs, while chasing the rest of the group off."
The Biofuel Brew Ha-Ha
By Peter Suderman: Reason contributor Peter Suderman writes that the biofuels craze is boosting the price of beer, because farmers are shifting away from barley to biofuel crops made more lucrative by mandates and subsidies.
Inequality and Excess
By Arnold Kling: "What the American people really should feel awkward and defensive about is the level of inequality and excess of political power. Instead of asking ourselves what we can do about Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, we should be asking ourselves about what we can do about the Clintons and the Spitzers. Those who want more and more power should be our biggest concern."
Coyne on Exporting Democracy after War
"Christopher Coyne of West Virginia University and George Mason University's Mercatus Center talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his book, After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy. They talk about the successes and failures of America's attempts to export democracy after a war."
Real ID Act Has Been a Real Fiasco
"The big trouble is that there’s no evidence that this Draconian act, even if fully implemented, would be more than a minor inconvenience for a determined terrorist. But having all that information – including copies of birth certificates and Social Security cards – available in one database would make an irresistible target for identity thieves. And it would be a major inconvenience for millions of innocent Americans and a major expense for state governments – meaning taxpayers."
Don't 'Pull an Iraq' in Afghanistan
By Benjamin H. Friedman: "This week at a NATO summit in Bucharest, Romainia, American officials asked Europeans to send more troops to the war in Afghanistan. Leaders in both the Democratic and Republican Parties agree that higher troop levels and a deeper commitment to state-building are the path to victory in Afghanistan. But both sides are wrong, and Iraq shows why."
Is Taxation Voluntary?
"Jan Helfeld interviews Senator Harry Reid about government coercion. Reid maintains that taxation is voluntary despite all evidence to the contrary."
Immigration: The Beckham Factor
"As soccer superstar David Beckham kicks off the Los Angeles Galaxy's 2008 season, Drew Carey asks what this says about immigration in the U.S. in a new reason.tv video."
The Long Fall of Robert G. Mugabe
By Marian L. Tupy: "Mugabe is in this position primarily because he has turned Zimbabwe into one of the world's poorest countries--the result of his worsening political repression, frontal attack on the independence of the judiciary, confiscation of property, and evisceration of the once-thriving private sector. With health, education, and incomes in freefall, Zimbabweans are ready for change."
FISA Funny Business
By Julian Sanchez: " The terrorist attack had been as devastating as it was unexpected. Convinced that better intelligence was the key to preventing fresh attacks, the president resolved to seek legislation granting the executive branch broad new wiretapping powers. But he had a problem: The opposition party, which controlled Congress, was equally determined to block provisions that they saw as an affront to privacy."
Bridges Over Troubled Water
By Christopher Preble and Jeremy Lott: "War costs money too. Round the bill for the bridges to nowhere that so incensed McCain up to $500 million. Our occupation of Iraq, which often seems to be getting nowhere, is costing north of $10 billion a month. That sum could finance the construction of 40 superfluous bridges this month and 480 bridges in a year."
Is Health Care a Right?
In this podcast economics Professor Russell Roberts of George Mason University debates a physician who thinks health care is a right and the government should provide it.
Armed for Liberty
By Alan Gura and Robert A. Levy: "Imagine a right — intended, in part, as a deterrent to oppressive government — that can be exercised only when, where, and in the manner that government directs. "
Wiretapping's True Danger
By Julian Sanchez: "Without meaningful oversight, presidents and intelligence agencies can -- and repeatedly have -- abused their surveillance authority to spy on political enemies and dissenters."
Who Says the Surge Is Working?
By Terry Michael: "When it comes Iraq, neoconservative true believers have been allowed to set the bar of "success" below ground level. In this, they're aided by media siding with power instead of challenging it, all while congressional Democrats cower in their cloak rooms."
Peace Won't Come to Zimbabwe
By Marian L. Tupy and David Coltart: "The case against Mr. Mugabe and the ZANU-PF for crimes against humanity would be compelling. They have turned one of Africa's most prosperous and relatively free nations into an Orwellian nightmare. Since 1994, the average life expectancy in Zimbabwe has fallen to 34 from 57 for women and to 37 from 54 for men. Some 3,500 Zimbabweans die every week from the combined effects of HIV/AIDS, poverty and malnutrition."
The D.C. Gun Ban Supreme Court Case
Tom Palmer, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, talks about the DC gun ban on Reporter's Roundtable.
If I Were a Shill For Industry ...
By Donald J. Boudreaux: "A blogger recently complained that I (along with my fellow bloggers from George Mason University's Department of Economics) "seem to be shills for industry." This lazy accusation is as familiar as it is mistaken, for if I were truly a shill for industry ..."
Spitzer's Hypocrisy: Worse Than You Think
By Paul Karl Lukacs: "Libertarians are understandably of two minds about L’Affaire Spitzer. On the one hand, a dedicated public servant will probably lose his job, and may be indicted, due to consensual liaisons and payments that should be a private matter completely outside the ambit of Justice Department wiretaps. On the other hand, Spitzer’s been hoisted by the moralistic petard that he can regulate any and all sexual behavior with which he disagrees, wherever it occurs. As Barabash said Monday, 'It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.'"
The Five Dumbest Product Bans
By Eli Lehrer: "Even as the array of consumer products available to the average American expands each day, a bewildering variety of government regulations serve to limit consumer choice. From the aircraft on which Americans fly to the food they buy in the grocery store, government regulation limits product choice at every turn."
The Wire's War on the Drug War
By Ed Burns, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, David Simon: "If asked to serve on a jury deliberating a violation of state or federal drug laws, we will vote to acquit, regardless of the evidence presented. Save for a prosecution in which acts of violence or intended violence are alleged, we will — to borrow Justice Harry Blackmun's manifesto against the death penalty — no longer tinker with the machinery of the drug war. No longer can we collaborate with a government that uses nonviolent drug offenses to fill prisons with its poorest, most damaged and most desperate citizens."
McCain's Consistent Folly on Iraq
By Steve Chapman: "If so, that may not be a plus for McCain. McCain has been consistent about Iraq, in the sense of being consistently wrong. If the American people get a long look at what he's said and a clear picture of our fortunes in Iraq, he may yearn for the days when he was being pilloried for offering "amnesty" to illegal immigrants."
Health, Africa’s struggle
By Thompson Ayodele: "Foreign aid in the form of hard currency is flowing in unprecedented quantities into the ministries of health of many African countries.
"But despite this generosity things are not improving: medical staff are demoralised, access to essential medicines remains low and corruption remains a serious problem."
Learning the Right Lessons From Iraq
By Benjamin H. Friedman and Christopher Preble: "By insisting that there was a right way to remake Iraq, we ignore the limits on our power that the enterprise has exposed and risk repeating our mistake. Deposing Saddam Hussein was relatively simple, but creating a new state to rule Iraq was beyond our grasp. Maybe the United States can improve its ability to manage occupations, but the principal lesson Iraq teaches is to avoid them."
(D) All of the Above
By Daniel Ikenson: "As an advocate of free trade, I feel slightly vindicated by reports that the Obama campaign quietly assured the Canadian government that the Senator’s strident words about NAFTA in last week’s debate were merely political rhetoric. We’ve long been saying that opposition to trade is mostly an artifice of politics. But the story begs the question: Is Obama (a) economically illiterate; (b) dishonest, or; (c) naïve. The answer is (d), all of the above."
Ohio Needs More Foreign Trade
By Daniel T. Griswold: "But tinkering with a 14-year-old trade agreement [NAFTA] will not bring an industrial renaissance to Youngstown and other Rust Belt cites. The relative decline of those regions dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, when the American economy began a transition from heavy industry toward an information-based service economy."
Gun Buybacks a Noble Idea That Always Misfires
By Alex Tabarrok: "Did no one running the program think to look at the price of a new gun? In fact, the first two people in line at one of the three buyback locations were gun dealers with 60 firearms packed in the trunk of their car. One wonders why the police even bothered to buy the guns from Oakland residents. Why not buy directly from gun manufacturers?"
Orders and Organizations
By Don Boudreaux: "More generally, it seems difficult for some people to grasp the fact that society and government are not identical -- or, more precisely, to grasp the fact that civil society can and does often thrive outside of government influence and, indeed, very often (I would say most often) in spite of such influence."
Atlas Hugged
Brian Doherty: "As executive vice president of the Cato Institute, Boaz is one of the media's primary go-to guys on libertarian thought and policy. And in his new book, "The Politics of Freedom," a collection of his short-form journalism from the past 25 years, Boaz pushes an interesting and counterintuitive belief about American politics. The political spectrum, he argues, contains a lot more libertarians than the two major party's stances would lead you to believe."
Limits on Eavesdropping Need to Stay
By Timothy B. Lee and Gene Healy: "Modern computer technology makes the potential for the abuse of unfettered executive power much greater today. Judicial oversight is at least as important in the 21st century as it was in the 20th, and Congress should resist Bush's demand for unchecked spying powers."
NATO's West Bank Nightmare
By Ted Galen Carpenter: "Washington is sending up a trial balloon about stationing NATO troops as peacekeepers on the West Bank. The Jerusalem Post reports that former NATO supreme commander General James Jones, now the Bush administration's special envoy to the Middle East, is floating the idea to various European countries.
"It is a spectacularly bad idea."
No, a President Can't Do as He Pleases
By Edward H. Crane and Robert A. Levy: "For many years, we were at risk of losing important civil liberties through unchecked transgressions by the executive branch. Maybe we are still at risk. But thanks to the media, the courts and — belatedly — an energized opposition in Congress, the administration has finally resigned itself to a semblance of congressional oversight, even if judicial scrutiny remains inadequate."
Sanctimony's Turn at Bat
By Colman McCarthy: "I see steroids, and all drugs, as an issue of personal freedom. Is there a difference between fans at big-league baseball games stoned on alcohol while cheering athletes on the base paths juiced with steroids? What's the difference between scoring with Viagra and scoring with steroids? What's the difference between people freely abusing their bodies with one drug but not another, as long as no one else is harmed and the consequences are self-sustained?"
Freedom Properly Understood
By Tom G. Palmer: "Let us hold up a standard of freedom, expressed in clear and precise terms, not modified by misleading adjectives, and promote that standard to the public, in the knowledge that with freedom – because of freedom – we enjoy prosperity, peace, dignity, knowledge, health, and so many other benefits. But as we enjoy the blessings of freedom, let us not confuse those blessings with freedom itself, for on that path we are led to lose both freedom and its blessings."
The Fear Factory
By Guy Lawson: "The FBI now has more than 100 task forces devoted exclusively to fighting terrorism. But is the government manufacturing ghosts?"
Living Large: America's Middle Class
"To hear the Lou Dobbses and Bill O'Reillys of the world--not to mention politicians ranging from Ron Paul to Hillary Clinton--the middle class of America (however you define that term) has never had it so tough. Between credit squeezes, out-of-control immigration, rising costs of education and health care and everything else, it's all darkness out there for those of us who are neither millionaires nor welfare cases, right?
In 'Living Large,' Drew Carey and reason.tv examine the plight of the American middle class. What do they find? "
The AtomicTerrorist: Assessing the Likelyhood
By John Mueller: "A terrorist atomic bomb is commonly held to be the single most serious threat to the national security of the United States. Assessed in appropriate context, that could actually be seen to be a rather cheering conclusion because the likelihood that a terrorist group will come up with an atomic bomb seems to be vanishingly small. Moreover, the degree to which al-Qaeda--the chief demon group and one of the few terrorist groups to see value in striking the United States--has sought, or is capable of, obtaining such a weapon seems to have been substantially exaggerated."
Government, Bound or Unbound?
By Anthony de Jasay: "Collective choice starts where unanimity ends, and involves some deciding for all, where the “some” control the apparatus of government. It is the potential for some to benefit morally and materially at the expense of others that creates the bone of contention and that limits on government are meant to move out of reach."
The Surveillance Scam
By Timothy B. Lee: "In his State of the Union address, President Bush pressed Congress to quickly pass legislation to make permanent the sweeping spying powers that Congress granted last August. Those powers, which include the ability to eavesdrop on foreign-to-domestic communications without meaningful judicial oversight, were due to expire last week. Congress has passed a two-week extension of the law, but that barely gives Congress time to catch its breath before the White House resumes its campaign to make it permanent."
Atlas Shrugged and Public Choice: The Obvious Parallels
By Bryan Caplan: "Though there is little evidence of mutual influence, Ayn Rand and public choice converge on a strikingly similar vision of the political process. Both emphasize the contradiction between the propaganda of government intervention and the reality. Government supposedly intervenes to advance the interests of the majority. In reality, however, its goal to advance the interests of political insiders at the expense of everyone else."
The Economics of Tolerance
With Will Wilkinson: "When the economy's good, Americans tend to act better toward their fellow citizens. But commentator Will Wilkinson says in a sliding economy, we tend to slam the gates of opportunity."
Super Tuesday Winners and Losers
Michael D. Tanner: "A few thoughts in the wake of last nights elections:"
The Whys of Spies
By Jacob Sullum: "Last August, panicked at the prospect of an imminent terrorist attack that could be averted only by granting the executive branch new surveillance powers, Congress passed the Protect America Act. With the law scheduled to expire this month, the Bush administration is trying to scare Congress into making the powers permanent."
Is The Domestic Terror Threat ‘Overblown’?
By Benjamin H. Friedman: "Time and again, federal officials held press conferences to announce the break-up of a terrorist plot and vaguely described the disaster prevented. The evening news and the headlines repeated their lurid claims. Months later, the inside pages of the papers would report that the plot was not what we were told — and TV doesn’t even bother. The plans have turned out to be unfeasible or preliminary. "
Flex-Fuel Nonsense
By Jerry Taylor: "Congress can no more guarantee that fuel prices will go down from now until the end of time than it can guarantee a robust sex life for fat, balding, middle-aged men. Fuel prices are subject to supply and demand curves that do not answer to Congress — particularly in global energy markets."
Bush's Catalogue of Failure
By Steve Chapman: "Even the worst presidents prefer to focus on their successes and ignore their failures. The striking thing about President Bush's final State of the Union address is that even the successes he claims are largely fictional. Judged by his own criteria, the speech was a catalogue of failure in almost every realm."
U.S.-Imposed Border Bedlam Will Hurt Michigan
By Jim Harper: "Nobody imagined when Congress created the Department of Homeland Security that the department itself would mount the next attack on American transportation, travel and trade. But the department begins an assault this week that will do billions of dollars in damage if it is not stopped."
The False Promise of Real ID
By Jon Healey: "Thanks to the efforts of the federal government, it may soon be quite a bit harder to forge a driver's license. But that doesn't necessarily mean we'll be any less vulnerable to terrorist attacks, particularly not the kind carried out on Sept. 11, 2001."
Unintended Consequences
By Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt: "But with a government that is regularly begged for relief — these days, from mortgage woes, health-care costs and tax burdens — and with every presidential hopeful making daily promises to address these woes, it might be worth encouraging the winning candidate to think twice (or even 8 or 10 times) before rushing off to do good. Because if there is any law more powerful than the ones constructed in a place like Washington, it is the law of unintended consequences."
The Foolishness of Economic 'Stimulus'
By Donald J. Boudreaux: "The best way for policymakers to foster such growth is to avoid panicking over any current economic downswing. Instead, they should focus on getting the economic fundamentals right. Such emphasis might not make things better – or even make things appear to be better – today, but it will make our tomorrows as bright as possible."
Congress Strong-Arming Baseball? That's Foul.
By Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch: "First, Major League Baseball, along with other sports leagues and private-sector ventures, simply should not be required to submit their business plans -- much less blood and urine samples -- to Congress or any other government body."
How to 'Fix' Politics? Reduce the Power of the President
By Radley Balko: "Our goal ought to be to keep as much of America as possible within the realm of civil society, and allow as little as possible to be tainted by political society. This makes elections less important. It makes politics less important. Less is at stake when we go to the polls. And less of our lives are then subject to whoever is ambitious, underhanded, or corrupt enough to emerge from the absurdities of a political campaign least scathed by the process."
Dismal Science Sees Upbeat Future
By Alexander Tabarrok: "Forget the talk of recession. The world is about to enter a new era in which miracle drugs will conquer cancer and other killer diseases and technological and scientific advances will trigger unprecedented economic growth and global prosperity."
Redefining Success in Iraq
By Christopher Preble: "The surge was certainly successful in one sense: it took sufficient steam out of the "get out now" movement to effectively halt congressional efforts to force a troop withdrawal. It also allowed Sen. McCain to resurrect his moribund campaign. "Thank God [Iraq]'s off the front pages," the leading proponent for the war told reporters on board the Straight Talk Express."
What to Expect When You’re Free Trading
By Steven E. Landsburg: "All economists know that when American jobs are outsourced, Americans as a group are net winners. What we lose through lower wages is more than offset by what we gain through lower prices. In other words, the winners can more than afford to compensate the losers. Does that mean they ought to?"
The Real Key to Development
By Mary Anastasia O'Grady: "The Index [of Economic Freedom] also reports that the freest 20% of the world's economies have twice the per capita income of those in the second quintile and five times that of the least-free 20%. In other words, freedom and prosperity are highly correlated."
An Empirical Analysis of Street-Level Prostitution
By Steven D. Levitt and Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh: "Unlike most other crimes, prostitution is based on markets, and thus potentially of special interest to economists. It is thus surprising that amidst the burgeoning literature on the economics of crime, there is little analysis of prostitution."
The Failure of U.S. Organ Procurement Policy
By T. Randolph Beard, John D. Jackson, and David L. Kaserman: "In this article, we calculate how many lives will be lost if the United States continues in its current policy course. We do this to motivate policymakers to stop implementing one ineffectual policy action after another and attack the organ shortage with more effective weaponry in the form of financial incentives."
The Micromagic of Microcredit
By Karol Boudreaux and Tyler Cowen: "If a poor family is able to keep a child in school, send someone to a clinic, or build up more secure savings, its well-being improves, if only marginally. This is a big part of the reason why poor people are demanding greater access to microcredit loans. And microcredit, unlike many charitable services, is capable of paying for itself—which explains why the private sector is increasingly involved. The future of microcredit lies in the commercial sector, not in unsustainable aid programs."
The Terrible 'Ifs'
By Benjamin H. Friedman: "We spend vast amounts on defenses against threats unlikely to affect Americans. Experts, defense officials, and politicians justify the expenditures by saying they are necessary to protect the public from worst case dangers. Those claims ignore what is probable and what defenses cost. They exaggerate the danger our enemies pose and strip resources from more probable dangers, making us less safe."
Paths to Property
By Karol Boudreaux and Paul Aligica: "The study finds that the “easy option” of agencies entering less-developed countries and using blueprints to try to recreate institutions in Africa that work effectively in the West often fails miserably. Indeed, the failures of such approaches can give the whole privatisation and property rights process, vital for sustainable economic growth, a bad name."
Drug Use and the Candidates
By Stanton Peele: "There has been massive drug and underage alcohol use by Americans over the years -- more than 110 million Americans, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, have used illicit drugs. Yet the overwhelming majority of them -- like Messrs. Bush, Clinton and Obama -- have grown up to be productive citizens. Some believe there's no need to know about their youthful misconduct."
Raw Deal
By Sallie James: "Hollywood had better hope that a services liberalization deal reached Dec. 17 between the United States and the European Union holds. Without a successful resolution to the long-running Internet gambling dispute, American movies, music and software could be vulnerable to copyright infringement."
Regulatory Competition: A Primer
By Jennifer Smith-Bozek: "A given government jurisdiction—local, state, or federal—can provide regulatory alternatives to compete with those of another government. Regulatory competition can attract more businesses and jobs, yield regulations that are more efficient and less expensive, and thereby provide more options to consumers."
Laws Against Reason
By Jennifer Rosen: "Ever since the repeal of Prohibition, alcohol laws in this country have been a bit nutty. Take the business of bars. Some states mandate sitting, while others require standing at the bar to drink. Texans may take up to but not more than three sips of beer while standing. Some jurisdictions require the interior of public drinking establishments to be visible from the street; others specifically prohibit that."
Flunking Free Speech: The persistent threat to liberty on college campuses
By Michael C. Moynihan: "According to a dossier compiled by FIRE, incoming freshman were required to undergo "treatment" (the university's word) by residence hall apparatchiks, and forced "to adopt highly specific university-approved views on issues ranging from politics to race, sexuality, sociology, moral philosophy, and environmentalism." These young scholar-scamps in Wilmington are told solemnly that they are, according to the precepts of the university, carriers of racist original sin: '[A] racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all white people (i.e., people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality.'"
What to Be Thankful For
By David Boaz: "Not long ago a journalist asked me what freedoms we take for granted in America. Now, I spend most of my time sounding the alarm about the freedoms we're losing. But this was a good opportunity to step back and consider how America is different from much of world history -- and why immigrants still flock here."
New Handshake, Same Grip
By David Nather: "For the past seven years, George W. Bush has expanded presidential power in ways that no one could have predicted when he took office. He and Vice President Dick Cheney have worn their independence — from oversight by either lawmakers or judges — as a badge of honor, necessary to keep the nation safe from another terrorist attack and restore what they have regarded as a weakened presidency. But the cost has been a poisonous friction with Congress and a growing public perception that they simply weren’t interested in checks and balances."
Guests in the Machine
By Kerry Howley: "Guest worker programs may be the best hope many of the world's poorest people have for improving their lives."
Iraqi Allies Deserve Better than Red Tape
By Malou Innocent: "Many Iraqis, desperate to earn decent wages and bring stability to their country, support American forces by working as Arabic interpreters. "Terps" are paid a modest sum, and they enable soldiers to communicate with Iraqi civilians and track down insurgents. But working with the Americans can come at a high cost."
Government Power Grabs: 'Predicting' 2008
By Radley Balko: "As the end of the year approaches, it's time for another column of government overreach predictions for the New Year. What outrageous, beyond-parody grabs at power and erosions of civil liberties will transpire in 2008?"
Restoring Habeas
By Julian Sanchez: "No American would accept the proposition that one of our citizens, having been cleared of wrongdoing by American courts, could be abducted by a foreign power and imprisoned for years, only to have his fate determined by a kangaroo court that flouted the most elementary procedural rights. The Supreme Court should not accept it from our government either."
Politically Determined Entertainment Ratings and How to Avoid Them
By Cord Blomquist and Eli Lehrer: In this new report, published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the authors "determine that the best rating systems have three attributes: They attempt to describe, rather than prescribe, what entertainment media should contain; they are particularly suited to their particular media forms; and they were created with little or no direct input from government."
Sweet Land of Liberty?
By Donald J. Boudreaux: "In this sweet land of liberty it is surprising how readily we modern Americans let others rule us. I'm not talking about Americans letting some foreign government rule us. That won't happen anytime soon. There's no risk that, say, we will quietly surrender to an invading army sent from the likes of Moscow or Beijing. I'm talking about being ruled by homegrown politicians and petty tyrants who butt their noses into the sizes of our toilets, the amount of salt we consume and countless other provinces of our daily lives."
Cato Launches Innovative Web-based Freedom Programs for World Audience
"The Cato Institute believes that the promotion of the classical liberal ideals of liberty, free markets and peace is an essential effort. As a result, on December 12, Cato launched six innovative foreign-language web-based programs. These new programs will publish in Chinese, Portuguese, French, Persian, Kurdish, and on the continent of Africa in English and Swahili. They join our other three highly-successful programs in Spanish, Arabic and Russian."
Clinton and Giuliani Would Grab Even More Power Than Bush Did
By David Boaz: "Clinton calls herself a 'government junkie.' She says, 'There is no such thing as other people's children' and promises to work on 'redefining who we are as human beings in the post-modern age.'"
Mugabe's Apologists
By Marian Tupy: "Robert Mugabe's participation in the European Union-Africa summit in Lisbon over the weekend was a triumph of Zimbabwean diplomacy. Both African and EU leaders must share the blame for this farce. Zimbabwe's foreign ministry managed to portray the octogenarian dictator, who has presided over widespread violations of human rights and an astonishing economic collapse, as the victim of a Western conspiracy."
Free to Booze
With Brandon Arnold: "Cheers! Today is the 74th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. On December 5, 1933, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment, thereby repealing the 18th Amendment and ending our 13 years as a dry nation."
Munger on Fair Trade and Free Trade
"Mike Munger, frequent guest and longtime Econlib contributor, speaks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about fair trade coffee and free trade agreements. Does the premium for fair trade coffee end up in the hands of the grower? What economic forces might stop that from happening?"
Fed Up
By Alvaro Vargas Llosa: "All in all, financial instability has been far greater since the creation of the Federal Reserve. What did the Great Depression teach us? Essentially that even with the best of intentions, it is impossible for the authorities to manage the supply of money in accordance with the exact needs of the economy."
Carefully Plotted Course Propels Gun Case to Top
By Adam Liptak: "Robert A. Levy, a rich libertarian lawyer who has never owned a gun, helped create and single-handedly financed the case that may finally resolve the meaning of the Second Amendment."
Big Ideas Need Small Places
By Jesse Walker: "The desert republic of Molossia doesn’t appear on many maps, and it doesn’t have a seat in the United Nations. But if you drive about 18 miles northeast from Carson City, Nevada, you’ll find it."
Neoconservative Radicalism Has Reshaped Our Political Spectrum
By Glenn Greenwald: "Brooks admits what has been crystal clear for some time -- namely, that so-called "conservatives" (meaning the contemporary political "Right") no longer believe (if they ever did) that government power should be restrained in order to maximize freedom."
Is Feminism on the Wane?
Feminism has come to mean many things to many people. Carrie Lukas, Vice President of the Independent Women's Forum, argues that feminism was once a movement of equality under the law and equality of opportunity. She says it now often represents expansion of government to achieve dubious ends.
Taking Marriage Private
By Stephanie Coontz: "Why do people — gay or straight — need the state’s permission to marry? For most of Western history, they didn’t, because marriage was a private contract between two families. The parents’ agreement to the match, not the approval of church or state, was what confirmed its validity."
Kurt Loder on Technology and Freedom
"A legend for his work in Rolling Stone and at MTV, Loder is an outspoken libertarian--and a harsh critic of the nanny state in all its manifestations. In this wide-ranging conversation, Loder discusses technology, freedom, the coming collapse of traditional news media (and why that's a good thing), the misguided (and ultimately ineffective) attempt to shut down free expression, and much more."
Robert Frank's Strange Case for Taxing "The Rich"
By David R. Henderson: "At one time, critics of economic freedom justified high taxes on high-income people on the grounds of ability to pay. They at least admitted that those taxes hurt those people. But the growing availability to even the poor of goods that were only recently thought of as luxury goods has weakened that argument. Now, Robert Frank argues for higher taxes on high-income people on the grounds that it is good for them."
What if Economic Conservatives Stay Home on Election Day?
By Michael D. Tanner: "There is no doubt that religious conservatives are an important part of the Republican coalition. Yet the media, and more importantly, the candidates, seem curiously unconcerned with another discontented part of that coalition: economic, small-government conservatives."
Economics in Many Lessons: A Better Brew for Rwanda
By Donald J. & Karol C. Boudreaux: "In some parts of the long-suffering continent, good things are happening and too few people, in Africa and elsewhere, know about them."
Adam Smith - A Primer
"Despite his fame, there is still widespread ignorance about the breadth of Adam Smith’s contributions to economics, politics and philosophy. In Adam Smith – A Primer, Eamonn Butler provides an authoritative introduction to the life and work of this ‘founder of economics’. "
National City: Eminent Domain Gone Wild
Reason.tv host Drew Carey visits National City, California, where the local government is taking eminent domain abuse to new lows.
Unholster the 2nd Amendment
By Robert A. Levy: "Later this month, the Supreme Court will decide whether to review the circuit court's blockbuster opinion in Parker vs. District of Columbia, the first federal appellate opinion to overturn a gun control law on the ground that the 2nd Amendment protects the rights of individuals."
Fat on the Farm Bill
By Dr. Sallie James: The Farm Bill is the ultimate example of concentrated benefits and diffused costs. Farm subsidies are hard to justify on their merits, and even harder to justify when they go to massive corporate farms.
Free Kareem!
Dr. Tom G. Palmer, Cato's Vice President for International Programs, speaks out against the imprisonment of a young Egyptian blogger. November 9th marks the one year anniversary of Kareem's incarceration. For more information about the global effort to free Kareem, and about rallies in your area, visit www.freekareem.org .
The Legacy of Ayn Rand
Reason Magazine Senior Editor and "Radicals for Capitalism" author Brian Doherty takes the modernist measure of novelist, philosopher, and cult figure Ayn Rand.
Let Them Eat Laptops
By Daniel R. Ballon: "The '$100 laptop,' which actually costs $188, can only be purchased at a minimum quantity of 250,000. OLPC targets countries like Nigeria, where one out of three children suffer from malnutrition. There a $50 million minimum investment could instead be used to feed more than a million children for an entire year."
The Case for Restraint
By Barry R. Posen: "If more activism has not produced better policy, what is to be done? The United States should try doing less: It should pursue a grand strategy of restraint. Less is not nothing, however, meaning in essence that the United States should conceive ways to shape rather than to control international politics."
With Government Money Come Strings
By John Stossel: "f vouchers contain this potential danger, what can be done to help get kids out of dismal government schools? A better alternative is a tax credit for any parent who pays for private schooling or anyone else who helps put child through non-government schools."
Understanding Insurgency
Malou Innocent, a Foreign Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute, describes the problematic nature of insurgency and argues that fighting them is tricky, and should only be undertaken when vital national interests are at stake. The insurgency in Iraq, she argues, does not qualify.
Nanny State Playgrounds
Nanny State author David Harsanyi, who also wrote the November reason cover story "Prohibition Returns!: Teetotaling do-gooders attack your right to drink," appears on The NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams to discuss how safety mavens have taken the fun--and sharp edges--out of America's playgrounds.
What Can the United States Learn from the Nordic Model?
By Daniel J. Mitchell: "Conservative critics correctly condemn the large welfare states, but often overlook the positive results generated by laissez-faire policies in other areas. Liberals, meanwhile, exaggerate the economic performance of Nordic nations in an effort to justify welfare-state policies, while failing to acknowledge the role of freemarket policies in other areas."
Inside Track: A Troubling Interventionist Consensus
By Christopher Preble and David Rieff: "Presidential hopefuls and policy wonks debate amongst themselves how to improve America’s effectiveness as world policeman and decry any challenge to that role, as if they believed it to be somehow inscribed in our country’s DNA. We believe that the United States should adopt a fundamentally different approach."
Free Trade: America’s Opportunity
By Leland Yeager: "Want to read an economist's economist? Want an example of scholarly writing that is crystal clear? Want to understand better the case for free trade? If so, you can do no better than to read this 1954 monograph." - Dr. Donald Boudreaux, Chairman of the Economics Department of George Mason University
In Defense of Scalpers
By David Harsanyi: "In the end, I’m not sure why it’s fair to allow monopolies to sell tickets and not individuals. Turning a profit on your investment doesn’t sound like a crime to me. It sounds like America."
The Dogma of our Times
By Frank Chodorov: "Collectivism is more than an idea. In itself, an idea is nothing but a toy of speculation, a mental idol. Since, as the myth holds, the suprapersonal society is replete with possibilities, the profitable thing to do is to put the myth to work, to energize its virtue. The instrument at hand is the state, throbbing with political energy and quite willing to expend it on this glorious adventure."
What FDR Had In Common With the Other Charismatic Collectivists of the 30s
By David Boaz: "When economic crisis hit — in Italy and Germany after World War I, in the United States with the Great Depression — the anti-liberals seized the opportunity, arguing that the market had failed and that the time for bold experimentation had arrived."
The Humanitarian with the Guillotine
By Isabel Paterson: "Most of the harm in the world is done by good people, and not by accident, lapse, or omission. It is the result of their deliberate actions, long persevered in, which they hold to be motivated by high ideals toward virtuous ends."
The Grand Old Spending Party: How Republicans Became Big Spenders
By Stephen Slivinski: "Republicans could reform the budget rules that stack the deck in favor of more spending. Unfortunately, senior House Republicans are fighting the changes. The GOP establishment in Washington today has become a defender of big government."
A Dangerous Position on Darfur
By Ted Galen Carpenter and Christopher Preble: "The suffering in Darfur cries out for action, but it is not clear that it calls for military action, much less that U.S. troops should lead the effort. There are dozens of countries that have far greater tangible interests at stake in Darfur than does America, and many of these countries also possess the capacity to deploy forces there."
China's Legacy: The Thoughts of Lao Tzu
By James Dorn: "China's present leaders are calling for a "harmonious society", but this is impossible without widespread freedom and a rule of law that limits the power of government to the protection of people and property. "
Economic Freedom Breeds Prosperity
By James Dorn: "The key lesson from Hong Kong's "small government, big market" model of development is that economic freedom is the best path toward sustainable development, understood as increasing the range of choices open to people. "
Taiwan's Defense Budget: How Taipei's Free Riding Risks War
By Justin Logan & Ted Galen Carpenter: "It would be dubious enough for the United States to risk war with an emerging great power like China to defend a small client state, even if that state were making a serious effort to provide for its own defense. It would be even worse to incur that risk on behalf of a client state that is not willing to make a robust defense effort."
Petraeus, the Surge & History
"Many have repeated the claim that Iraq is Vietnam all over again. History never repeats itself exactly, so no example is perfect. But the American surge in Iraq bears a striking and little-noted resemblance to the Germans' ill-fated offensive in the last year of World War I."
Peace on earth? Try free trade among men
"Much of the political violence that remains in the world today is concentrated in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa -- the two regions of the world that are the least integrated into the global economy. Efforts to bring peace to those regions must include lowering their high barriers to trade, foreign investment, and domestic entrepreneurship."
Libertarianism in the Crosshairs
In this essay, Tom Palmer, Cato Vice President for Student Programs, discusses several critiques on libertarianism, addressing popular as well as academic works.
South Park Libertarians
Reason Magazine interviews Trey Parker and Matt Stone, co-creators of South Park, the highly controversial and massively successful TV show South Park, now in its 10th season on Comedy Central.
The Rise of Government and The Decline of Morality
By James Dorn: "One cannot blame government for all of society’s ills, but there is no doubt that economic and social legislation over the past 50 years has had a negative impact on virtue. Individuals lose their moral bearing when they become dependent on welfare, when they are rewarded for having children out of wedlock, and when they are not held accountable for their actions. The internal moral compass that normally guides individual behavior will no longer function when the state undermines incentives for moral conduct and blurs the distinction between right and wrong."
The Disregard of Reality
By Peter Bauer: "The tendency to disregard simple realities has undermined the poise, self-assurance, and stance of the West in the international arena. It has also underpinned the uncritical acceptance of ideas and policies damaging to the West, and much more so to the peoples of the Third World. This is not surprising. Polities and societies bent on disregarding reality must be vulnerable to adversity, and also to threats from within and without."
A Reading List on the Principles of Liberty
Looking to understand the basics of libertarianism? This reading list offers books and articles that are central to the libertarian movement. Learn about the aims and contributions of libertarian thought in modern political life.
A Constitution for Liberty
Prof. Kenneth Minogue interviews contemporary authors in his investigation on the principles that can constitute a free society.
The Institution of Property
David Schmidtz discusses the institutional history of property as the right to exclude others from using one's possession.
The Nanny State
"Today, conservatives on the right tend to want to pass laws regarding which drugs we ingest, what we do in our bedrooms, which pictures we look at, which movies we watch, and which music we listen to. At the same time, modern liberal public health advocates on the left want to heavily regulate what we eat; how food is grown, manufactured, marketed, and sold; our alcohol intake; which prescription drugs we should have access to; and what products are safe enough for us to use. Neither side has much respect for the idea that most Americans are capable of making these kinds of decisions for themselves."
Two Kinds of Order
John Marks suggests "that the fundamental differences between liberal and socialist societies arise because liberal societies depend primarily on evolutionary rationalism and spontaneous order, whereas the structures of socialist societies take constructive rationalism and designated order as their model."