Free Trade & Trade Policy

Immigration Socialism versus Freedom and the Free Market

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 7, 2010

Let me begin by making a very simple, direct point: There is one — and only one — solution to the so-called immigration crisis: freedom and free markets. Every other measure, including the recently enacted immigration law in Arizona, will accomplish nothing more than continue the “crisis” and actually exacerbate it. After all, how many times have we been here ...

The Disaster of Government-Run Businesses, Part 2

by Jim Powell April 1, 2010

Part 1 | Part 2 In the 1870s, the Japanese had many government-run businesses — among them, mining, shipbuilding, railways, and silk production. According to economic historians Johannes Hirschmeier and Tsunehiko Yui, they “were a heavy burden on government finance, and on the whole were running in the red.” The government couldn’t even make money with silk production, something ...

Capitalism versus the Free Market

by Sheldon Richman March 3, 2010

On March 1, 2010, Sheldon Richman gave the following speech at The Future of Freedom Foundations Economic Liberty Lecture Series. The speech can viewed below in its entirety.

Talk With Ron Williams — 9/29/09 Hour 1 (Audio)

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 29, 2009

Talk With Ron Williams — 9/29/09 Hour 1 (Audio)

What’s More American Than an American Flag Made in China?

by Lois Kaneshiki October 1, 2007

In case you haven’t heard, many states are passing laws that make it illegal to sell American flags that were not made in the United States. I can hear the sound of labor unions cheering the deed as I write this. However, if America wishes to remain the great nation she is, she should celebrate American flags made in ...

A Century of Interventionism and Regime Change

by Anthony Gregory September 1, 2006

Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq by Stephen Kinzer (New York: Times Books, 2006); 400 pages; $27.50. Since September 11, the U.S. government has overthrown the governments of Afghanistan and Iraq. Most Americans appear to think of these actions as defensible in principle ...

The Trouble with Liberals

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 2006

The trouble with liberals is twofold: They have a horrible blind spot with respect to moral principles and they have an abysmal understanding of economic principles. Of course, I’m referring to “liberals” in the corrupted “big-government” sense of the term rather than in the classical libertarian meaning of the ...

Leaving It All on the Field (Not in the Halls of Congress)

by Adam B. Summers January 4, 2006

Congress certainly has had its plate full lately. Important things are going on in the nation and around the world. A New York Times report that President Bush signed a secret order authorizing the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without obtaining warrants has sparked controversy, Iraqis have ...

Must Our Senators Embarrass Us So?

by Sheldon Richman November 14, 2005

An open letter to the American people: Like you, I was embarrassed by those senators holding the hearing on oil-company prices and profits the other day. Hard to believe that adults could act so childishly before television cameras. Let’s face it: those senators made such fools of themselves for one ...

Who Cares about the Income Gap?

by Sheldon Richman June 29, 2005

I didn’t wake up this morning wondering whether I had shrunk the income gap between me and Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. I have never wondered about that. But that’s me. If I am to believe the New York Times and other major newspapers, lots of people are obsessed ...

Trade Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

by Sheldon Richman June 27, 2005

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ... Representatives of the Imperial President have traveled to the far eastern region to “negotiate” strict limits on exports. Although the recent surge in shipments of badly needed inexpensive clothing from traders in the region has raised the ...

Fear Not China

by Sheldon Richman June 8, 2005

China. Why has that word for so long struck fear in the hearts of Americans? During the Cold War people harbored terrible fantasies about hordes of Chinese swarming over them and imposing a virulent Oriental communism. Now the Cold War is over, and although China still has a communist-inspired ...