The Myth of War Prosperity, Part 1 by Anthony Gregory December 1, 2006 Part 1 | Part 2 Depression, War, and Cold War: Studies in Political Economy by Robert Higgs (Oxford University Press: 2006); 240 pages; $35. During the run-up to the Iraq war, along with all the other myths circulating about U.S. foreign policy, economic misconceptions ...
Restoring Freedom and the Republic by Jacob G. Hornberger November 27, 2006 Dear Friend of FFF: I have never been more excited about a conference in my life. Next June 14, 2007, The Future of Freedom Foundation is holding one of the most important conferences in the history of the libertarian movement, Restoring the Republic: Foreign Policy and Civil Liberties. For 3 1/2 days, ...
Personal Preference and Local Tyranny by Scott McPherson November 22, 2006 Encouraged by a 13-year-old court ruling, the City of Concord, New Hampshire, two months ago banned businesses from displaying electronic signs. Already that ban has caused controversy, with a local businessman suing the city in federal court. The city bases its decision on a 1993 ruling by the state supreme court, which ...
Thank You, Milton Friedman by Sheldon Richman November 20, 2006 Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who died at 94 last week, told the economics profession and the public many things they needed to hear. After World War II, thanks to the theories of John Maynard Keynes, most economists and policymakers believed that government should manage the economy through ...
Trapped in Lies and Delusions by Jacob G. Hornberger November 20, 2006 I could, of course, be proven wrong but my hunch is that the United States will be trapped in Iraq for the indefinite future. Despite the recent election results and increasing demand among the American people for a withdrawal, I believe that there is no possibility that President Bush is going ...
Milton Friedman, R.I.P. by Jacob G. Hornberger November 17, 2006 I will leave it to others to remind people of the enormous contributions that Milton Friedman, who died yesterday, made to economics and liberty during his long life. I thought instead that I would relate three times that my life intersected with Friedman, all of which were big personal highlights ...
Misplaced Nostalgia by Sheldon Richman November 17, 2006 Before we get too nostalgic about the foreign-policy prowess of the George H.W. Bush administration, we should remind ourselves of what happened from 1989 through 1992. I understand that, compared to the bunch running things now, nearly anyone would look good. But I sense almost a giddiness about the supposed ...
The Education Debate We’re Not Having by Scott McPherson November 15, 2006 My adopted state of New Hampshire may be at a crossroads. The state supreme court has commanded the legislature to find a new way of funding public schools by next summer, or else the justices will impose a solution of their own. Many people here fear that a directive from ...
The Repudiation of Bush by Sheldon Richman November 10, 2006 Power tends to corrupt, Lord Acton famously said. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. The voters apparently agreed. Its reasonable to conclude from the election results that most voters felt the Republicans had been in power too long. The hopeless war in Iraq, the culture of corruption and incompetence, the spending binge (which includes the war), the grating social conservatism, and ...
They Deserved to Lose by Jacob G. Hornberger November 8, 2006 Having lost control over the U.S. House of Representatives and possibly also the U.S. Senate, Republicans have no one to blame but themselves. They deserved to lose. For years, Republicans have used libertarian rhetoric in their political campaigns. We favor freedom, free enterprise, limited government, and responsibility, Republican candidates have so often proclaimed. Were opposed to big government, they loved ...
The “Value” of Public Schooling by Jacob G. Hornberger November 1, 2006 There are two major values of public schooling, from the perspective of government officials. One, this institution provides the means by which government officials can slowly but surely, over a period of 12 years, mold the mindsets of children into one of conformity and obedience to authority. Second, public ...
A Real Free Market Benefits Workers by Sheldon Richman November 1, 2006 Hands are wringing over bleak reports that despite increased productivity, workers generally are losing ground: real median income — adjusted for government-caused inflation — is said to be falling. Meanwhile, corporate profits are skyrocketing, and the wealthiest are doing fine. In other words, the benefits of economic growth are said ...