Daily Articles

Habits of the Heart and Character of Mind

by Richard M. Ebeling October 1, 2019

In American election cycles all of the possible candidates for government office of both major political parties assure those who may vote for them in primaries and the general election that they are voices for the real or true “American values.” Voting for them is voting for what America has been, is, or should be all about. But what ...

Discrimination and Liberty

by Christine Smith October 1, 2019

Wise individuals discriminate all the time. Think about it. In today’s society, “discrimination” has become a trigger word used to vilify anyone who chooses not to associate with another because of a difference he rejects. As such, liberty is being trampled as freedom of speech, association, and even thought become prohibited. But “discrimination” is not a bad word. It is a ...

Welfare Checks Turn Deadly

by John W. Whitehead September 30, 2019

“Anyone who cares for someone with a developmental disability, as well as for disabled people themselves every day in fear that their behavior will be misconstrued as suspicious, intoxicated or hostile by law enforcement.”—Steve Silberman, The New York Times Think twice before you call the cops to carry out a welfare check on a loved ...

My Life as an Austrian Economist and a Classical Liberal

by Richard M. Ebeling September 27, 2019

I suppose I can date my interest in both classical liberalism and Austrian economics to the day I was born. The doctor grabbed me by my little feet, turned me upside down and spanked my tiny bottom. I began to cry out. That is when I realized the fundamental “Austrian” axiom that “man acts.” In addition, I appreciated that what ...

Senator Warren’s Plan Shows the True Nature of Social Security

by Laurence M. Vance September 26, 2019

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has a plan. Although her plan is about expanding Social Security, it is a strange coincidence that she released her plan on the very day she would be appearing onstage at a Democratic presidential debate alongside two other Democratic candidates near the top of the pack: the former vice president and senator Joe Biden and the ...

The Police State’s Language of Force

by John W. Whitehead September 19, 2019

Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us? The constitutional theory is that we the people are the sovereigns, the state and federal officials only our agents. We who have the final word can speak softly or angrily. We can seek to challenge and ...

Price Controls Attack the Freedom of Speech

by Richard M. Ebeling September 18, 2019

We increasingly live in a new “dark age” of economic ignorance, and even stupidity. Few things exemplify this trend as much as the call for price controls over the interactions of multitudes of people in the marketplace of supply and demand. There are few government interventionist policies as likely to disrupt, distort, and imbalance the actions of tens of millions, indeed, ...

Conservatives and the Looting of Americans

by Laurence M. Vance September 16, 2019

The ideas of Thomas Robert Malthus (1766–1834) are alive and well. Malthus was the popularizer of the bogus idea that the population was increasing beyond the means of subsistence. He wrote in his 1798 book, An Essay on the Principle of Population, “The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man” ...

The Bill of Rights Turns 230, and What Do We Have to Show for It? Nothing Good

by John W. Whitehead September 11, 2019

“That was when they suspended the Constitution. They said it would be temporary. There wasn't even any rioting in the streets. People stayed home at night, watching television, looking for some direction. There wasn't even an enemy you could put your finger on.”—Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale It’s been 230 years since James Madison drafted the Bill of Rights—the first ...

The Secret History of the Monopolization of Welfare by the State

by Richard M. Ebeling September 10, 2019

The fundamental political issue always confronting society is whether human relationships shall be based on free association and voluntary choice, or on governmental compulsion and command. Of course, in most societies there are elements of both, often called the interventionist state or the “mixed economy.” But, nonetheless, the basic institutional alternatives are liberty or coercion. This often seems difficult for ...

Americans Certainly Do Need a Payroll Tax Cut

by Laurence M. Vance September 6, 2019

For most employees in the United States there are three different federal taxes taken out of their paychecks by their employers: income tax withholding, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax. Social Security and Medicare taxes are known together as payroll taxes. Unlike the amount withheld for income tax, over which employees have some control, depending on how many allowances ...

Friends of Freedom, Do Not Despair

by Richard M. Ebeling September 5, 2019

Friends of freedom can easily become despondent when they look at what appear to be the ideological and political trends that fill the media day in and day out. Government spending keeps growing, national debts pile up, and regulations and redistributions seem to be narrowing the arenas of market and personal freedoms of choice. Anti-liberal demagogues abound, seemingly everywhere. ...