Daily Articles

More Power for Washington

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 1999

Federalism, the protection of liberty through the dispersion of power among different levels of government, has been close to dead for decades in the United States. But now it's a little closer, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a five-to-four decision, the Court ruled that since schools accept money under a ...

Delay the Canonization

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 1999

Let's not rush to elevate outgoing Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin to sainthood. Rubin is like a surfer who accepts credit for creating the big wave that carries him to shore. He might look good riding the board, but he's not responsible for the wave's motion. The accolades being heaped ...

Travel to Cuba to Learn about America

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 1999

In order to preserve the national security of the United States, the U.S. Congress has made it illegal for Americans to spend money in Cuba. National security, you ask? Well, what Congress actually might mean is the security of the socialistic and paternalistic state that Democrats and Republicans have constructed ...

Scamming the Poor

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 1999

One of the biggest scams in American politics is the bromide that government officials use to justify America's paternalistic welfare state and the federal income tax: "We love the poor, the needy, and the disadvantaged." The primary victims of the scam are the poor themselves. Let's look at a few examples. The ...

A Libertarian Visits Cuba, Part 1

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 1999

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Last March, I spent a week in Cuba, which turned out to be one of my most fascinating experiences. I had applied for a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury to travel to Cuba to conduct an informal study of the ...

Who Are the Real Immigration Lawbreakers?

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 1999

Who are the real immigration lawbreakers - foreign citizens who cross illegally into the United States in search of work or U.S. officials who arrest and incarcerate them? The Declaration of Independence emphasized that all men (not just Americans) are endowed by their Creator with certain fundamental and inherent ...

Scamming the Poor

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 1999

One of the biggest scams in American politics is the bromide that government officials use to justify America's paternalistic welfare state and the federal income tax: "We love the poor, the needy, and the disadvantaged." The primary victims of the scam are the poor themselves. Let's look at a few examples. The minimum-wage ...

Monetary Central Planning and the State, Part 29: The Gold Standard in the 19th Century

by Richard M. Ebeling May 1, 1999

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 ...

Tax-Cut Deceptions

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 1999

The Republican collapse on taxes is about as surprising as an elephant's fleeing a mouse, which, come to think of it, may be exactly what happened. It looked as though the congressional Republicans were going to make a 10 percent across-the-board unconditional tax-rate cut the centerpiece of their agenda. It was supposed to contrast with the Clinton administration's insistence that ...

Order by Agreements or by Iron Fists

by James Bovard May 1, 1999

In his 1651 classic, Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes warned: "To obey the King who is God's lieutenant, is the same as to obey God. We shall have no peace till we have absolute obedience." Many contemporary statists share Hobbes's assumption that near-total control is the only way to avoid near-certain destruction ...

Housing Discrimination Laws and the Continuing Erosion of Property Rights

by George Leef May 1, 1999

Not so long ago in this country, you could stay out of legal trouble by refraining from aggression against other people. The law of torts, crimes, and property was well established and under those bodies of law, you committed no offense unless you acted ...

In Whose Interest Is This War?

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 1999

It has been fascinating to watch the Clinton administration defend its war against Yugoslavia. Those folks really can't make up their minds, can they? The confusion and ambivalence reveals much about their own ethical philosophy. The need to go to war against Yugoslavia was at first presented as a selfless matter. President Clinton told the American ...