One way President Biden can “Build Back Better” is following the example of one of the greatest deregulators to sit in the Oval Office: Jimmy Carter. Whilst most think of Carter as a standard New Deal-Great Society liberal, deregulation was a major part of Carter’s...
Economics
Socialized Medicine Ain’t Freedom
by Sheldon Richman | Feb 7, 2022 | Blog, Economics, Justice, Libertarianism
The emergence of a pro-Enlightenment, pro-reason, anti-woke left, with its eloquent declarations in favor of freedom, is welcome indeed. But this political force still has some way to go. It is disappointing to hear the same people who effectively and properly debunk...
TGIF: Disagreement without Conflict
by Sheldon Richman | Feb 4, 2022 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
I'll admit it: I'm a natural-rights guy. I think you can get to individual rights, including the right to property, from within the ancient Greek eudaimonist (virtue ethics) and Spinozist tradition. But here's a separate point: rights-talk may not be the best way to...
Our Monetary System Is Between a Rock and a Hard Place
by Andre Marques | Feb 3, 2022 | Economics, Featured Articles
Last November, the Federal Reserve System announced tapering (a gradual reduction of the central bank’s monthly asset purchases to the point of ending the asset purchase program, which means that the Fed would stop increasing its balance sheet). In December, it...
The Dangers of a Jerome Powell Second Term
by Ron Paul | Jan 28, 2022 | Economics, Featured Articles
The U.S. Senate will soon vote on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s nomination to a second term. One of the senators opposing Powell is Elizabeth Warren. I don’t often agree with Senator Warren, but I do agree with her assessment that Powell is “dangerous.”...
What Is Mutual Altruism?
by Sheldon Richman | Jan 18, 2022 | Blog, Economics
According to Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene, theft is "selfish," while trade is "mutually altruistic." If genes and people are "selfish," as Dawkins believes, why does mutual altruism, which includes all forms of cooperation, ever happen? He replies that it...
TGIF: Utopianism May Be Hazardous to Your Health
by Sheldon Richman | Jan 14, 2022 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Beware those who claim to have a detailed blueprint for the ideal society. If such a person thinks you stand in the way, you may get run over. That's how it is with utopians. They want everything just so, and woe betide those who disagree. The repeated attempts at...
Price Inflation Hits 40 Year High; What Comes Next?
by Ryan McMaken | Jan 14, 2022 | Economics, Featured Articles
According to new data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, price inflation in December rose again to a new multidecade high, rising to the highest level recorded in nearly forty years. According to the Consumer Price Index for December, year-over-year...