The Deadly Precedent of the Waco Whitewash by James Bovard January 1, 2021 The easiest way to achieve sainthood in Washington is to cover up a federal atrocity. Thus, it is no surprise that former senator John Danforth continues to be treated by the Washington Post as a visionary statesman. The Post showcased Danforth’s attack on Donald Trump in October after Trump derided the Commission on Presidential Debates. Danforth, a permanent member ...
Non-Issues in the 2020 Election by Laurence M. Vance January 1, 2021 In one of his trenchant commentaries written about a month before the election, Future of Freedom Foundation president Jacob G. Hornberger asked the question, “Where Are Open Borders in the Presidential Race?” He then made these observations: Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, immigration is not a big burning issue in the presidential race. There is a simple reason for that: Both ...
The Case for Freedom in Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, and Ayn Rand by Richard M. Ebeling January 1, 2021 Three names are widely associated with the cause of human freedom and economic liberty in the twentieth century: Friedrich A. Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, and Ayn Rand. Indeed, it can be argued that Hayek’s Road to Serfdom (1944) and Constitution of Liberty (1960), Mises’s Socialism (1936) and Human Action (1949), and Rand’s novels The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged ...
End Subway Socialism in New York City by Gregory Bresiger January 1, 2021 The misery will continue for New York subway riders, who don’t understand how previous subway reforms have failed. State and city officials concede things will worsen. “There is no question our subways are in crisis after decades of underinvestment and inaction,” wrote New York City Comptroller Scott Stinger in a recent report. “The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA),” writes New York State ...
Business Regulations by Laurence M. Vance December 29, 2020 Business regulations are of two kinds: government-imposed regulations on businesses and business-imposed regulations on employees and customers. From the standpoint of liberty and property, the first kind of regulation is always bad and the second kind of regulation is always good, even when the regulations are bad. Let me explain. First of all, there are government-imposed regulations on businesses. These can ...
Help Us Light the Darkness by Jacob G. Hornberger December 29, 2020 There is one light shining through the darkness of the ever-increasing tyranny under which we live. That light is libertarianism. We must continue doing everything we can not only to keep that light lit, but also to increase its intensity and brightness. That’s what we ...
Private Charity versus the Political Grinches by Richard M. Ebeling December 28, 2020 Christmas is a time of good cheer, gift-giving, and hopes for the New Year. This year, 2020, has been a hard and disturbing one for virtually all of us due to the coronavirus and, especially, the government’s heavy-handed shutdown and lockdown responses. What Christmas time also represents is a time of benevolence and generosity to family, friends, and others ...
What If the Christ Child Had Been Born in the American Police State? by John W. Whitehead December 23, 2020 “When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace ...
Unhinged…..And Then Some! by David Stockman December 21, 2020 Jerome Powell puts you in mind of the boy who killed both of his parents and then threw himself on the mercy of the court on the grounds that he was an orphan! That’s what JayPo essentially did in his presser yesterday while trying to explain that the most hideous equity market bubble in history is actually not that at ...
Opponents of Liberty Remain Misguided Sore Winners by Richard M. Ebeling December 18, 2020 The 2020 presidential election has been the most divisive in many people’s living memory. Not only has there been the anger and fury over whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden should occupy the White House come January 20, 2021, there have been concerns and controversy about whether democracy itself is under attack in America. One indication of people’s concerns about ...
Carl Watner, RIP by Wendy McElroy December 16, 2020 It is with deep sorrow that I announce the death of Carl Watner, who was the primary hand in founding the modern Voluntaryist movement in the early 1980s. He worked tirelessly and without complaint, day in and day out for decades, expressing his principles through his prolific writing, his character, and his actions. I will never meet his like ...
Another Conservative Social Security Reform Plan by Laurence M. Vance December 15, 2020 Just reading the title is enough to make a libertarian cringe. “How Social Security Reform Could Make a Popular Federal Program Better,” by Rachel Greszler and Ilana Blumsack, was published last month by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that, for almost fifty years, claims to have “advanced the principles of free enterprise, limited government, ...