Explore Freedom

The Great Repeal Bill

by Wendy McElroy August 11, 2010

Legal and political trends in the United Kingdom often parallel or precede ones within the United States. For example, the politically correct crusades against smoking and child obesity raged in Britain prior to jumping the Atlantic. A particularly interesting trend is currently unfolding in the UK and, for once, its spread might bring welcomed change. The new coalition government is ... [click for more]

The Real Culprit in the Housing Crisis

by George Leef June 1, 2010

The Housing Boom and Bust by Thomas Sowell (Basic Books, 2009); 192 pages. Throughout Thomas Sowell’s long career, he has tried to get Americans to grasp some simple but crucial truths about economics and government policy. One of those lessons is central to this book, namely that it is a mistake to judge policy enactments on the basis of their stated, ... [click for more]

Liberalism Is the Enemy of the Poor

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 2010

I was a liberal back in my late 20s. I was practicing law in my hometown of Laredo, Texas, where I was serving on the board of trustees for the local Legal Aid Society, a government agency that provided free legal services for the poor. I also served as the local representative for the ACLU. I believed that government’s ... [click for more]

The Income Tax and the Welfare-Warfare State

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 23, 2010

On April 15, 2010, Jacob Hornberger gave the following speech at an event sponsored by the Young Americans for Liberty at Purdue University. [click for more]

The Soviet Unionization of Health Care

by David R. Henderson March 16, 2010

Few of us relish paying for health care, but when we do, amazing things happen: Strangers listen to us and try to give us what we want. Theres a simple economic rule that what we pay for, we control. Insurers, hospitals, doctors, nurses, and drug companies listen to us when their livelihood depends on it. ... [click for more]

Is Greece the Future of America?

by Sheldon Richman March 10, 2010

It may be possible to look into Americas future. How? Watch whats going on in Greece. According to the Washington Post, Greece needs to raise about 23billion in April and May to pay debts coming due. Greek officials say that either is impossible, or would require punitive interest rates making it harder to bring the budget ... [click for more]

The Liberal Assault on the Poor, Part 2

by Jacob G. Hornberger January 1, 2010

Part 1 | Part 2 When it comes to economic policy, liberals suffer from two major weaknesses. One, they believe that all that matters with respect to policy are good intentions. As long as liberals mean well, they think that the policies they implement, especially with respect to the poor, are justified. Two, they have a woeful lack of understanding of ... [click for more]

A Lesson in the (Re)distribution of Wealth

by Edmund Contoski January 1, 2010

Through the company where I worked more than 35 years ago, I had an opportunity to meet an unusual man. I had not seen him since, but his recent obituary caught my eye. His name was Wayne Field, a name I’m sure few, if any, of you will recognize. In his 87 years he accomplished a great deal. He founded ... [click for more]

Welfare Corruption in the New Deal

by Jim Powell September 1, 2009

How likely is it that a big government-spending program — Obama’s or anybody else’s — won’t be manipulated by politicians pursuing their special interests? In two of his recent New York Times columns, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman claimed that Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal was free from corruption. Consequently, he thought it was likely that Obama, too, can have an ... [click for more]

It Can Happen Here

by Scott McPherson August 11, 2009

You think you’ve private lives Think nothing of the kind There is no true escape I’m watching all the time I’m made of metal My circuits gleam I am perpetual I keep the country clean... — Judas Priest, “Electric Eye” England’s Daily Express reported on August 4 that “thousands of the worst families in England are to be put in ‘sin bins’ in ... [click for more]

Cash for Clunkers

by David Dorn August 5, 2009

As I was standing in a long line at the Post Office in Scottsdale, Arizona, at about 4:30 p.m., I said just loud enough for those around me to hear, “If you like this, wait until National Health Insurance.” There were some chuckles. But what I was really thinking about in ... [click for more]

Robbery and the Welfare State

by George Leef July 1, 2009

Stealing from Each Other: How the Welfare State Robs Americans of Money and Spirit by Edgar K. Browning (Praeger, 2008); 226 pages. In the Sherlock Holmes story “Silver Blaze,” the key to Holmes’s solution of the case rested on something that didn’t happen — the dog that didn’t bark in ... [click for more]