Daily Articles

The Libertarian Angle: April 22, 2013

by Future of Freedom Foundation April 22, 2013

The Libertarian Angle features FFF vice president Sheldon Richman and president Jacob Hornberger. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly.

TGIF: Government Should Stop Its Own Violence First

by Sheldon Richman April 19, 2013

The horrific bombings at the Boston Marathon have left us all stunned. We still don’t know the perpetrators’ motive, but there are some things we do know. The bombers chose the most closely monitored location in all of Boston. They could have chosen a different site, knowing that all eyes were on the marathon route. But no. They chose the ...

Ending Social Security

by Laurence M. Vance April 19, 2013

All is not well with the Social Security system. According to the annual report of the Board of Trustees of Social Security, “The 2012 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds,” (PDF) Social Security’s expenditures have exceeded its noninterest income since 2010. Although the Social Security ...

A Century of Economic Servitude

by Gregory Bresiger April 18, 2013

Americans pay taxes all year round — sales taxes, tolls, investment taxes, user fees, estimated taxes, et cetera. And most of them were paying more on April 15 one way or the other. That’s because at the tax-filing deadline, a slight majority of Americans owed more, according to the annual Capital One Tax and Savings Survey. Some 51 percent of ...

Gun-Control Demagogy

by Sheldon Richman April 17, 2013

Demagogues offend us because they try to bypass our rational faculty with appeals to gut emotion. That pretty well sums up what gun controllers have done since the Newtown tragedy. Note how politicians, led by President Obama, and organizations pushing new restrictions on gun ownership — which would not have prevented the massacre — shamelessly exploit the relatives of the ...

The FFF Southwest Tour

by Future of Freedom Foundation April 16, 2013

The Future of Freedom Foundation will be visiting three cities in the southwest on April 30, May 1, and May 2. Starting in Yuma, Arizona on April 30, FFF president Jacob Hornberger will be participating in The Freedom Library Annual Awards Forum. His talk will be on "Economic Solutions Past and Present." More information can be found here. The next ...

The Libertarian Angle: April 15, 2013

by Future of Freedom Foundation April 15, 2013

The Libertarian Angle features FFF vice president Sheldon Richman and president Jacob Hornberger. The Libertarian Angle airs weekly.

TGIF: The Market Is a Beautiful Thing

by Sheldon Richman April 12, 2013

Market advocates tend to respect the intellect of their fellow human beings. You can tell by their reliance on philosophical, moral, economic, and historical arguments when trying to persuade others. But what if most people’s aversion to the market isn’t founded in philosophy, morality, economics, or history? What if their objection is aesthetic? More and more I’ve come to think ...

Can We Have a Discussion about Releasing the Majority of the Guantánamo Prisoners?

by Andy Worthington April 12, 2013

With the prisonwide hunger strike at Guantánamo now entering its third month, conditions at the prison have come under sustained scrutiny for the first time in many years, and media outlets, both domestic and international, have learned, or have been reminded, that 166 men remain at the prison. They remain imprisoned despite Barack Obama’s promise to close Guantánamo, ...

Saber Rattling in Korea: Cui Bono?

by Tim Kelly April 11, 2013

North Korea has announced plans to restart a nuclear reactor that will enable production of weapons-grade plutonium. The announcement coincides with Pyongyang ratcheting up its rhetoric, issuing threats to wage atomic war against South Korea and Japan, and even to target American cities with long-range nuclear missiles it does not yet possess. For decades, North Korea has used its ramshackle ...

The Absurdity of “Universal” Background Checks

by Sheldon Richman April 10, 2013

Those who favor “universal” background checks on gun buyers make some ridiculous arguments. For example, opponents correctly point out that gun buyers with criminal intent will always find channels that require no background check. Gunrunning is among the oldest professions, and the black market will always be with us. Thus the promise of universal background checks — even if ...

Decriminalization, Legalization, or Freedom?

by Laurence M. Vance April 9, 2013

In between drug prohibition and drug freedom are two concepts that are often confused. Drug prohibition is the criminalization of the production, distribution, and possession of drugs as currently exists in the United States on the federal level and in most of the 50 states. Drug freedom is the complete absence of federal and state laws and regulations concerning drugs ...