Daily Articles

The Antitrust Absurdity

by Sheldon Richman June 1, 1998

The Federal Trade Commission has aimed its antitrust cannon at Intel Corp., maker of the microprocessor used in 90 percent of personal computers. The FTC charges Intel with refusing to provide information about its chips to certain computer makers with which it has legal disputes. At first, it ...

Endangered: Property Rights

by James Bovard June 1, 1998

The rights of hundreds of thousands of Americans have been shredded by federal proclamations of the sanctity of species such as the Soccorro isopod, the Texas wild-rice plant, the fringe-toed lizard, the kanab ambersnail, and fairy shrimp. At the time the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted in 1973, most congressmen and most Americans believed that the act would ...

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

by Sheldon Richman June 1, 1998

have a great idea. Haircut insurance! Before you double up, hear me out. It's important to look good, right? It's more than important. Good hair can make the difference between success and failure in business and personal relationships. The bad-hair day is a scourge we have tolerated far too long. The value of a kempt ...

Why Not Open the Borders?

by Jacob G. Hornberger June 1, 1998

Thirty years ago, Democrats and Republicans sent 60,000 men from my generation to their deaths in an undeclared war in Southeast Asia. The rationale? To save people from the horrors of communism. Apparently communism is not so horrible anymore. Today, if Cuban citizens flee communist tyranny, the biggest danger they ...

The Antitrust Absurdity

by Sheldon Richman June 1, 1998

The Federal Trade Commission has aimed its antitrust cannon at Intel Corp., maker of the microprocessor used in 90 percent of personal computers. The FTC charges Intel with refusing to provide information about its chips to certain computer makers with which it has legal disputes. At first, it ...

The So-Called Right to Strike

by George Leef June 1, 1998

In several of the highly publicized strikes in recent years, including the strikes against Caterpillar and the Detroit newspapers, company management continued operations during the strike by hiring permanent replacement workers. Permanent replacements are hired not just for the duration of the strike but to continue on after the strike ...

One Entrepreneur Is Worth a Million Consumer Advocates

by Sheldon Richman June 1, 1998

When someone finds fault with absolutely everything you do, you might begin to wonder who's really got the problem. The same is true with an economic system. Predictably, the tired old school of carps led by Ralph Nader is condemning the mergers that have been announced recently, including CitiCorp ...

Book Review: Central Banking in Theory and Practice

by Richard M. Ebeling June 1, 1998

Central Banking in Theory and Practice by Alan S. Blinder (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1998); 92 pages; $20. In one of the most insightful passages in The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith argued: "The statesman, who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capital, would not only load himself with a most unnecessary ...

Closed Minds on Open Borders, Part 1

by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 1998

Part 1 | Part 2 The core principle of libertarianism is a simple one: the noninitiation of force by one person against another. The libertarian philosophy holds that a person should be free to do whatever he wants in life as long as his conduct is peaceful. In other words, as long as a person does not murder, rape, ...

Monetary Central Planning and the State, Part 17: Keynesian Economic Policy and Its Consequences

by Richard M. Ebeling May 1, 1998

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 ...

To Create Order, Remove the Planner

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 1998

Which came first, the chicken of economics or the egg of economic action? Did the discipline of economics precede the object of its interest? The obvious answer is no. To say yes would be like saying that astronomy preceded the planets and stars or that before Newton, apples didn't fall from trees. Yet, there are people who speak as though ...

Save the Children–from Government

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 1998

The cynical political exploitation of children continues apace in Washington. The calculated abuse of children in order to accumulate power knows no limits. But since it is the government itself that is guilty of this child abuse, there is no one to stop it. President Clinton reminded us ...