Regulation Policy & Welfare

The Ultimate in Nanny-State Paternalism

by Laurence M. Vance February 17, 2011

Aside from the air we breathe, nothing is more important than the food and drink we consume. Not healthcare, not employment, not housing — nothing. Obviously, the best healthcare, the highest-paying job, and the biggest mansion in the world can’t do anything for you if you don’t eat. For someone to dictate to someone else the food and drink ...

The Gambling Question

by Laurence M. Vance January 26, 2011

My state of Florida, like many other states, is facing a budget shortfall. Although our new Republican governor, Rick Scott, maintains that the budget gap is “nothing” compared with other large states, $3.6 billion is still a lot of money. Although some states are turning to tax increases to make up their budget deficits — like Illinois, which just raised ...

The Nanny State and Baby Cribs

by Laurence M. Vance January 19, 2011

The federal government is routinely condemned for being cruel, inept, paternalistic, evil, inefficient, and intrusive — except when it comes to the subject of child safety. Indeed, in the name of child safety the most flagrant violations of civil liberties, private property, and the Constitution are routinely accepted by those who might ordinarily have nothing but condemnation for the ...

Forget Reform

by Bart Frazier January 1, 2011

Reforming federal programs that have bestowed upon Americans a multitude of problems would seem to be a good idea, but it’s not. The problem is not only that the programs will never work no matter how much they are reformed, but also that what the programs do falls outside the legitimate functions of government. The programs need to be ...

Regulation and Union Corruption

by Jim Powell November 1, 2010

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has been a hotbed of violence and corruption ever since it started in 1903. Cornelius Shea was the Detroit-based union’s first president, and he constantly battled rivals. He was charged with graft, criminal libel, and mail fraud, and was indicted for conspiracy to restrain trade, commit violence, and prevent nonunion people from working. During ...

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

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.

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...