Daily Articles

The Real Surplus

by Sheldon Richman September 1, 2000

Gov. George W. Bush has a presidential campaign slogan that says: "The surplus isn't the government's money. It's the people's money." What about the other nearly $2 trillion the government takes from productive American citizens? Judging from the governor's campaign, that must be the government's money because the people aren't ...

Bright Days Ahead for the Second Amendment?

by Sheldon Richman September 1, 2000

THE SICKENING spectacle of hoodlum gangs molesting women in New York City’s Central Park in broad daylight while the police stood by has elicited volumes of criticism. But two key facts have been left out of the commentary: First, the police have no legal duty to come to any particular person’s ...

How the State Became Immaculate, Part 2

by James Bovard September 1, 2000

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Hegel's deified state doctrine found vigorous proponents in Britain. According to Oxford professor T.H. Green, It is not supreme coercive power, simply as such, but supreme coercive power exercised in a certain way and for certain ends, that makes a State, viz., exercised according to law, written or customary, and ...

Rooting Out the Trade in Human Misery

by Andy Falkof September 1, 2000

WHEN DEATH is the result of smuggling immigrants across borders, is the root of the problem the smugglers or the laws that make immigration and human transport crimes? British customs officers recently stumbled upon a poorly ventilated Dutch truck containing the bodies of 58 suffocated Chinese immigrants who had tried to enter England illegally. People all over the world condemned ...

Strategies from the Past: Boycott, Part 1

by Wendy McElroy September 1, 2000

Part 1 | Part 2 The current disillusionment with politicians — which may be Clinton’s true legacy — will be positive only if it becomes disillusionment with the political means itself. Otherwise, people will continue to look primarily to the “state” for solutions instead of to “society.” State vs. society The German sociologist Franz Oppenheimer explained the difference between these two ...

Morals and the Welfare State, Part 1

by F.A. Harper September 1, 2000

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 TO MANY PERSONS, the welfare state has become a symbol of morality and righteousness. This makes those who favor the welfare state appear to be the true architects of a better world; those who oppose it, immoral rascals who might be expected to rob banks, or ...

Ten Thousand Czars

by James Bovard September 1, 2000

The Founding Fathers sought to build a government that was constrained both by law and by the Bill of Rights. Modern legislators and bureaucrats have completely forgotten the reasons coercive power must be confined in narrow boundaries to avoid becoming a public curse. Instead of the rule of law, we have one new government czar and petty dictator after ...

Abolish NHTSA

by Sheldon Richman September 1, 2000

Purely for the sake of discussion, let’s assume the worst about Firestone and Ford: that someone’s gross negligence led to the production of tires that endangered drivers of Ford Explorers. The common law tort process should be allowed to take its course. If there’s evidence of ...

Economic Crimes and Cuban Cigars

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 1, 2000

Two years ago, a prominent New Yorker restaurant owner who had never been in trouble with the law was arrested and charged with a federal felony. What was the man’s crime? Selling cigars at his restaurants. Well, not just any cigars. Cuban cigars. You know, Cohibas and Montecristos. The good stuff! Why is ...

Is Mexico Asking the Right Questions?

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 1, 2000

In order to solve a problem, it is necessary to ask the right questions. During his recent visit to Washington, Mexican President-elect Vicente Fox asked the wrong questions: "How can we narrow the gap in income on both sides of the border?" and "How can we put together a fund for development?" The ...

Book Review: Power and Prosperity

by Richard M. Ebeling September 1, 2000

Power and Prosperity: Outgrowing Communist and Capitalist Dictatorships by Mancur Olson (New York: Basic Books, 2000); 233 pages; $28. MANCUR OLSON, who died in 1998 at the age of 62, was one of the most insightful economic analysts of the political process. His most original and important work was The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of ...

CAPSULE COMMENTARY: “Bush and Gore Debate Our Allowance”

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 27, 2000

"The debate between presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore over income-tax cuts reflects how far Americans have plunged with respect to their understanding of individual rights. Bush calls for larger income-tax cuts (and assures us that, unlike his father, he really means it) and Gore calls for smaller ...