Hornberger's Blog

Submissiveness and Conformity in America’s Business Leaders

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 6, 2012

Russian billionaire Aleksandr Lebedev is selling all his Russian assets and moving his money elsewhere. The reason? According to the New York Times, Lebedev, who has supported the opposition to President Putin’s increasingly authoritarian rule, stated that police and regulatory inspections had become overly intense. “The special services steamrolled my businesses into the pavement,” he said. “I give up.” It’s ...

Hypocrisy Central

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 3, 2012

One of the things about liberals that really fascinates me is their hypocrisy, especially when it comes to one of their favorite attacks on libertarians for opposing the welfare state. Whenever libertarians call for the abolition of the moral and economic abomination known as the welfare state, liberals have their standard knee-jerk attack: “You hate the poor! Libertarians hate ...

The Chick-Fil-A Controversy

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 2, 2012

The Chick-Fil-A controversy provides a good example of how differently statists and libertarians view the concept of freedom. By the term “statists,” I’m referring, of course, to both conservatives and liberals. The controversy arises out of statements opposing gay marriage made by Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy. The statements have caused public officials in various cities to consider denying Chick-Fil-A permits ...

Socialism for Texas Farmers

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2012

Texas farmers are suffering severe drought conditions. Thus, it should come as no surprise that Congress has decided to help them out with U.S. taxpayer dollars to the tune of around $600 million. It should also come as no surprise that Republicans are as energized about sending this welfare as Democrats are. It’s just another reflection of the socialist, ...

Social Security Nonsense

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 31, 2012

If you want to see a good example of liberal or progressive thinking on fiscal policy, read this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer entitled “Social Security Is Not Headed for Disaster” by Barbara R. Bergmann, who serves as professor emerita at American University and the University of Maryland. The thrust of Bergmann’s article is that Social Security is ...

A Philosophical Divide between Obama and Romney?

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 30, 2012

Earlier this month, the New York Times published a hilarious article. It was entitled, “Philosophic Clash Over Government’s Role Highlights Parties’ Divide” by Peter Baker. The article revolves around President Obama’s suggestion that people don’t really start their own businesses all by themselves. He pointed out that they actually have received the benefit of many other factors, for ...

Drug-War Regime Change in Venezuela

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 27, 2012

Uh, oh! While the focus is on U.S. foreign interventionism in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Libya, and elsewhere in the Middle East, could it be that the U.S. Empire is ginning up for a regime-change operation over in this part of the world, specifically Venezuela, where the Hugo Chavez administration has long been the bane of U.S. officials? What ...

More Liberal Nonsense on the Minimum Wage

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 26, 2012

It’s a shame that libertarians still have to address minimum-wage articles written by liberals. You would think by now that the fallacies of the minimum wage would be so apparent to liberals that they would have abandoned the concept. Alas, such is not the case, as reflected in an article entitled “Raise the Minimum Wage to Raise ...

Should There Be a Federal Law on Tipping?

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 25, 2012

Suppose the Franklin Roosevelt administration had enacted a law in the 1930s that required every restaurant customer in America to pay a 15 percent tip to waiters. The argument in favor of such a law would have been twofold: to help the poor and to stimulate the economy by getting more money into circulation. The argument would have dovetailed ...

If Guns Are Outlawed, Who Protects Us from Criminals and Tyrants?

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 24, 2012

In yesterday’s blog, I stated that while Colorado permits the concealed carry of guns, the Aurora movie theater where the massacre took place has a policy prohibiting guns from being carried onto the premises. There’s a new twist to the story, however, According to this article by Michael Adams, the city of Aurora has a law prohibiting concealed ...

Indifference to the Sanctity of Life

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 23, 2012

While it’s too soon to know what motivated that Aurora, Colorado, shooter to kill and maim all those people, one thing seems clear: Whatever his motive was, it wasn’t personally directed toward the victims. It seems as though he didn’t care who he shot, who he killed, who he maimed. The shooter just had no regard for the sanctity ...

The Massive Failure of the Welfare-Warfare State

by Jacob G. Hornberger July 20, 2012

Everywhere you look in both the welfare state and the warfare state, you find massive failure. Social Security? Busted, like other Ponzi schemes. There isn’t a fund, and there never has been a fund. It’s a straight welfare program. Increasing taxes to fund the program place an ever-growing burden on the young. Medicare, Medicaid, and healthcare in general? A total mess. ...