Regulation Policy & Welfare

Limit Government, Not Contributions

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 2000

"Money is property; it is not speech." Thus did U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens pithily sum up his opinion concurring in a ruling that states may impose limits on campaign contributions without violating the First Amendment to the Constitution. While Justice Stevens conceded that money can accomplish the same goals as speech, he added, "It does not follow, however, ...

The EEOC’s War on Fairness

by James Bovard May 1, 2000

Upon signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared that the purpose of the act was "to promote a more abiding commitment to freedom, a more constant pursuit of justice, and a deeper respect for human dignity." In the subsequent decades, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that was created by the Civil Rights Act has ...

What is a Conservative?

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 2000

The race for the Republican presidential nomination reflected the extent to which conservatives have abandoned their own principles. The two leading Republican contenders, George W. Bush and John McCain, waged a fierce fight over who is the true conservative and the real government reformer. But what does conservatism have to ...

Fair-Housing Flimflams

by James Bovard April 1, 2000

The welfare state advances by demonizing one private industry after another. In the end, people are taught that government alone can be trusted. Truth is no impediment for federal chieftains determined to blacken the reputation of the private sector. In recent years, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has been at the forefront of demagoging private business. We ...

No Worry about Gas Prices

by Sheldon Richman April 1, 2000

Isn't it funny that people get upset when the laws of economics operate as expected? Gasoline and crude oil prices have risen lately in response to higher demand and lower supply. So what do people do? They frantically call on the government to do something. Truckers drive ...

Government Equals Force

by James Bovard March 1, 2000

Occasionally throughout the 20th century, commentators have clearly recognized the coercive nature of government. British political scientist Harold Laski wrote in 1935: "At any critical moment in the history of a State the fact that its authority depends upon the power to coerce the opponents of the government, to break their wills, to compel them to submission, emerges as the ...

Count Me Out

by Sheldon Richman March 1, 2000

I got a letter from my friendly federal government the other day. It notified me that in about a week I will be mailed my U.S. Census 2000 form. Why they didn't just send the form instead of the notice, I can't fathom. But that's the least of it.

Lance Armstrong – Going Postal

by Max Schulz March 1, 2000

Lance Armstrong touched the hearts of people all over the world when he took his victory laps on the Champs Élysées after winning the famed Tour de France bicycle race last summer. Just three years ago, Lance was diagnosed with cancer. It looked as if he might not live. Incredibly, Lance ...

The Lynching of Microsoft

by Sheldon Richman November 1, 1999

Reading Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's findings of fact in the Microsoft case, you can't help but conclude that the software company wouldn't be in trouble if it didn't make life so easy for consumers. That, of course, is at odds with the judge's explicit conclusion that Bill Gates has stifled innovation ...

Welfare Is Welfare

by Sheldon Richman November 1, 1999

When is welfare not welfare? When it goes to the middle class. At least that's what many people want to think. A controversy in Bill Clinton's state of Arkansas illustrates the point. A few years ago President Clinton and the Republican Congress created the Children's Health Insurance Program, which ...

Has Compassion Gone Astray?

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 1999

As part of his presidential-campaign theme of "compassionate conservatism," Texas Gov. George W. Bush recently announced nearly $500,000 in state-financed grants to Christian groups in Texas. "America will be changed because people of faith and good heart are willing to help people in need," Bush said. "I believe rallying ...

Parity: Bureaucratic Tyranny by Moral Fraud

by James Bovard September 1, 1999

The word "fairness" sometimes has the same mesmerizing effect upon people's critical faculties that the phrase "divine right" had a few centuries ago. Modern morality is based on "push-button fairness": the government announces a new regulation, enforcers twist arms, and — voilà! — fairness triumphs. The vast expansion of ...