Topic: Government

Stop Bringing Politics Into the Supreme Court

– October 19, 2020

“The confirmation hearings of the last three nominees have been the subject of national scrutiny and excitement. This fundamentally misses the mark on what the Court is supposed to be and suggests an ominous politicization of the Court that could wreck the country.” ~ Ethan Yang

Authoritarianism, Classical Liberalism, Crisis, Government

Will Things Ever Go Back To Normal?

– October 18, 2020

“Fast forward ten or twenty years and everyone forgets that the invasive powers we transferred to the state were ever temporary in the first place. Higgs is the intellectual champion we don’t deserve, but so desperately need. Let’s just hope that I am wrong, and that progress wins out in the end.” ~ Joakim Book

Classical Liberalism, Economic History, Government

The American Tradition of Ordered Liberty

– October 16, 2020

“Regardless of what we think of these traditions and practices, we cannot comprehend the history and development of American institutions without reference to them. To understand money, we must understand the entire institutional chain: from money to banking and finance, to law and politics, to the ultimate sources of social authority. The story of money in America is itself a chapter in the story of ordered liberty in America.” ~ Alexander W. Salter

Government, Healthcare, Science

Matt Hancock is Wrong about Herd Immunity

– October 15, 2020

“The Great Barrington Declaration proposes a solution for how we may proceed in the face of such uncertainty. It suggests that we exploit the feature of this virus that does not cause much harm to the large majority of the population to allow them to resume their normal lives, while shielding those who are vulnerable to severe disease and death.” ~ Dr. Sunetra Gupta

Economic Education, Government, Regulation

Reaping What Big Government Sowed

– October 14, 2020

“Future generations, if there are any, will look back at 2020 and wonder why anyone thought themselves a member of a ‘democratic society’ simply because they could cast a ballot every now and again. The people (demos) do not rule, self-interested government officials do. Only by returning to limited government, voluntary association, and self-reliance can Americans reject this dystopian year and return to, not utopia, but happiness, which the nation’s Founders understood as prosperity mixed promiscuously with liberty.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Economic Education, Government, Policy

Trump Mania: Why Do We Care So Much About Politics?

– October 14, 2020

“This isn’t a binary world: it was never ‘Trump or nothing,’ or ‘Trump or Utopia.’ What can be reasonably ascribed to Trump is the minor difference between him and the next guy (who, in the grand scheme of things agrees with him on 95% of issues) – deflated by the sum of changes in technology, markets, finance, trends, fashion and even societal beliefs.” ~ Joakim Book

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Coronavirus Counterfactual: A True Enemy Would Have Alerted Us In 2019

– October 13, 2020

“Needless to say, the high survivability rate for the virus doesn’t square with some of the anger directed at China. The anger contradicts the survivability number, plus it excuses politicians, experts and pundits for their role in what’s easily the biggest unforced error of the 21st century; one that has hundreds of millions rushing toward starvation. All for what?” ~ John Tamny

Authoritarianism, Economic Education, Government

The Political Circus and the Court

– October 13, 2020

“Rather than wondering on what rationale political candidates such as Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, or Joe Biden and Donald Trump can have the audacity to offer themselves for any election consideration, since they insist that they need our votes so they can then lord over us according to their political prerogatives and caprices, we, instead, express our chagrin that Biden and Harris won’t say if they will pack the court if and when they are elected, and we show focused amusement that a fly takes a rest in Pence’s hair even as he reassures us that Trump is in planful control of our lives in the trying times of a pandemic.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Crisis, Government, International

Lockdowns Have Killed What’s Left of the United Nations’ Credibility

– October 12, 2020

“Long a failing institution, inaction during global lockdowns should be the final nail in the United Nation’s coffin.” ~ Peter C. Earle

Crisis, Economic Education, Government

The Devastating Economic Impact of Covid-19 Shutdowns

– October 10, 2020

“U.S. states with brief or no lockdown measures (e.g. South Dakota and Nebraska) experienced the smallest degrees of economic damage. And predictably, in industries that are most sensitive to lockdown – small firms generally, where most job creation takes place; service industries, which now dominate the US economy; and more broadly any company with jobs that don’t readily convert to a work-from-home basis – the result is wanton destruction and loss.” ~ Peter C. Earle & Amelia Janaskie

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Two Types of Terror in Michigan

– October 9, 2020

“Will the Michigan plot be touted by the media to valorize every government official who placed any American under house arrest in response to the pandemic? It is possible to heartily condemn both nitwit conspirators and oppressive politicians. Unfortunately, the media will likely pay far more attention to the bluster of boneheads than to actual devastation produced by unjustified shutdowns.” ~ James Bovard

Economic Education, Government, Regulation

With Facebook, Antitrust Officials Advertise Astonishing Ignorance

– October 9, 2020

“If Facebook is to remain dominant and relevant, readers can rest assured that it will remain on top precisely because Instagram will eventually be yesterday’s news within Facebook; the photo and video-sharing juggernaut of the moment eclipsed by business lines or apps that market participants are presently dismissive of, undervaluing, or both.” ~ John Tamny