Topic: Government

Economic Education, Government, Regulation

Free Labor Markets vs. Biden’s Push for Compulsory Unionism

– January 26, 2021

“Joe Biden’s pro-union labor agenda, if implemented, would rob all those working for a living the liberty and latitude to do so freely and of their own choosing. They would be reduced to servants and supplicants to those controlling the unions and who possess the power to allow or prevent people from working in various walks of life, while determining the wages and conditions under which they may accept and find employment.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Economic Education, Fiscal Policy, Government

Is France Suffering from Excessive Austerity?

– January 26, 2021

“Given that the United States, with its medium-sized government, does so much better than France, with its large-sized government, how can Rokhaya Diallo reconcile those numbers with her dogmatic view that society will be better off if government is even bigger?”~ Daniel J. Mitchell

Crisis, Government, Science

What Does It Mean for a Virus to Become ‘Endemic?’

– January 25, 2021

“The sooner we recognize Covid as endemic, the sooner we can overcome this unfettered hysteria. By comparison to the previous year’s headlines, the media would no longer be able to act as a foghorn of fear-mongering. Citizens could become increasingly tolerant of the virus, and responsibility for personal risk and decisions to access medical care will once again belong to individuals.” ~ Micha Gartz

Government, Policy

That’s Disgusting!

– January 22, 2021

“If the new administration pretends to possess a mandate to implement sweeping changes that tens of millions of Americans find disgusting, like packing SCOTUS or admitting new states, the nation may be in for another disgusting year. If it follows the conciliatory stance suggested by President Biden in his inauguration speech, however, disgusting thoughts of disunion may dissipate.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Zoom Privilege: How Lockdowns Made the Rich Richer

– January 22, 2021

“While the Zoom and Netflix ‘work-from-home until the scary virus disappears’ crowd continues to demand further restrictions in the name of ‘stopping the spread,’ over 9 in 10 Americans continue to suffer under the weight of a destructive COVID-19 safety regime.” ~ Jordan Schachtel

Authoritarianism, Classical Liberalism, Government

A Soviet Dissident Explains American Censorship

– January 20, 2021

“Self-censorship manifests when reasonable minds no longer express their differences. As authoritarian roots sink deeper into American society, the consequences are dire. As Grossman warns, ‘Then life itself must suffocate.'” ~ Barry Brownstein

Crisis, Government, Public Choice and Public Policy, Science

The Empirical Case for a Mask Mandate Lacks Scientific Grounding

– January 19, 2021

“Americans rapidly adopted masks last summer and have continued to use them at consistently high rates ever since. Adding a new national mask mandate on top of this practice will bring little if any additional benefit to what voluntary adoption already achieved, though it may foster a false hope in the exaggerated claims of an obsolete and erroneous model.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

Authoritarianism, Classical Liberalism, Government

Trump’s Fall and the Rise of the Tribal Collectivists

– January 18, 2021

“Friends of liberty must gird themselves for an intellectual and ideological battle the likes of which very few of us have experienced outside of a totalitarian state and its campaign of mind-controlling propaganda.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Economic Education, Fiscal Policy, Government

CARES Act Stimulus Did Not “Replace Lost Wages”

– January 17, 2021

“Far from stimulus checks, PPP loans and jobless benefits ‘replacing lost wages,’ it was instead a swift increase in private wages during the reopening that replaced a swift withdrawal of ‘fiscal stimulus.'” ~ Alan Reynolds

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Pandemic Security Theater

– January 15, 2021

“After ten months of lockdowns and shocking degrees of economic and social carnage, millions of Americans have decided that there surely must be some rationale for all the insanity and have signed on to become enforcers themselves, even and perhaps especially when the rules make no sense at all.” ~ James Bovard

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

First Goes Law, Then Goes Democracy

– January 15, 2021

“If this agenda is indeed to be forced on us by ruse, via the exploitation of a pandemic, one must wonder if its masterminds are remotely trustworthy. Why can’t they openly explain their intentions, if they are so wonderful? Today, they implement a covert replacement for the rule of law, one that subverts our will to theirs with no right of appeal. Tomorrow, they replace democracy.” ~ Stacey Rudin

Government, Healthcare, International

In the Midst of Covid-19, Pakistan Continues Its Fight Against Polio

– January 15, 2021

“The nation’s health authorities have realized that Covid-19 mitigation is only one component of holistic public health practices. Public health must take all epidemiological factors into account. Tunnel vision only serves to create new kinds of misery, scrapping hard-earned progress.” ~ Fiona Harrigan