Topic: Government

Defining Despotism Down

– October 27, 2020

“The failure of iron fist policies should be the storyline of the 2020 election but instead Biden and much of the media want to double down on repression. Can the votes that are cast in the coming week close the authoritarian Pandora’s Boxes that have opened across the nation? Or will conniving invocations of ‘data and science’ suffice to blight Americans’ rights and liberties in perpetuity?” ~ James Bovard

Crisis, Government, Science

Why So Gullible About Government in the Face of Covid-19?

– October 27, 2020

“Tamping down the Covid hysteria by making available accurate information about this disease is what well-informed and public-spirited governments would do. Yet such governments are largely mythical. Real-world governments behave quite differently.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Who Deserves Your Trust in the COVID Debate?

– October 26, 2020

“Ask yourself, who deserves your trust? I would argue that anti-lockdowners are today’s abolitionists — people willing to take up an unpopular cause at incredible risk. Lockdowners may currently be ‘popular,’ but they are on the wrong side of history.” ~ Stacey Rudin

Authoritarianism, Government, Regulation

Minority Rights

– October 26, 2020

“With ballots no longer secret (and hence again alienable) in many states, the Electoral College under siege, and the independence of the Supreme Court threatened, minorities tremble with trepidation. Barring disunion or a return to states rights, the only real question now is, who shall be the next minority? Besides our heroic Covid-19 survivors that is.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Government, Policy

Biden’s “Bipartisan Commission on Judicial Reform”

– October 26, 2020

“Although reforming the Supreme Court is certainly permitted, politicians must be incredibly conscious of the role and purpose of the Court. Short-term political agendas are not worth potentially compromising the integrity of our legal system for all of posterity.” ~ Ethan Yang

Economic Education, Government, Regulation

The Trustbuster’s Fatal Conceit

– October 24, 2020

“It is important to remember that while tech is today’s poster child for antitrust reform, the proposed antitrust overhaul will reach far beyond the technology sector. All American companies will be forced to play by the new rules and the stifling effects of stricter enforcement will affect the entire U.S. economy.” ~ Wayne T. Brough

Currency, Fiscal Policy, Government

Two Types of Postal Banking

– October 24, 2020

“It is possible that these prepaid card providers aren’t competing very hard, and thus unbanked households face abnormally high fees. If so, the unbanked population could benefit by having the USPS enter the market. On the other hand, if the market for prepaid cards is already competitive, a USPS card may have problems gaining a foothold, in which case it may not even be worth the effort.” ~ J.P. Koning

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

“Choose Your Liar” Democracy

– October 22, 2020

“In the short run, the political game is rigged so that winners capture far more power than many, if not most, Americans would willingly cede to them and vastly more than the Constitution permits. But citizens can reduce the hazards they face by remembering that winning votes never redeemed a rascal. The winner of next month’s presidential election will be a clear and present danger to Americans’ rights and liberties regardless of his margin of victory.” ~ James Bovard

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Economic Education, Government

Mindlessness Fuels Tyranny

– October 21, 2020

“The Great Barrington Declaration demonstrates a willingness to consider new information and broaden the context for setting policy. Those who want to sell us centralized ‘hatchet’ solutions prefer a public lulled to mindlessness by one narrative. The mindless will follow instructions. If many people continue to look towards one perspective only, without broadening the context, the natural consequence is that experts and politicians on ‘automatic pilot’ will lead us further down the road to tyranny.” ~ Barry Brownstein

Crisis, Government, Regulation

Government Policies Have Worsened the Coronavirus Crisis

– October 21, 2020

“The great lesson that the coronavirus crisis of 2020 should teach us is that government’s intervening and controlling hand prevents the far more effective and efficient means of mitigating and solving the problems surrounding a crisis that open and competitive markets offer and make possible.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Economic Education, Free Markets, Government

The Economic Way of Thinking Brings Clarity

– October 20, 2020

“Nancy Pelosi presides over a chamber of politicians who vote on taxing and spending bills that transfer money from some Americans to other Americans – a fact that (inexplicably!) propels Ms. Pelosi to boast that she and her colleagues, not taxpayers such as Mr. Blitzer, feed poor Americans. On top of this appalling pretension, Ms. Pelosi expects CNN’s audience to believe that she and her Congressional colleagues ‘know’ poor Americans in a way that non-politicians don’t.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Crisis, Government, History

Through the Pinhole, Clearly

– October 20, 2020

“The problem isn’t that healthcare professionals and sundry medical scientists see the entire world unclearly, or that they sense only part of the proverbial elephant in the room, it is that they see the world very clearly indeed, but only through their own little pinhole view of it.” ~ Robert E. Wright