Topic: Government

Economic Education, Free Markets, Government, Regulation

Material Benefits Are Not Merely Material

– September 1, 2020

“Had this material wealth been produced in less abundance, the range of higher goals that ordinary Americans would today be able to pursue would be narrower. And this material wealth would indeed have been produced in less abundance had Americans been saddled with more of the tariffs, subsidies, and other government interventions for which Oren Cass tirelessly pleads.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Government

Unmasking Masks

– September 1, 2020

“As the sundry shelter-in-place orders inevitably gave way, the same government officials who bade our faces to go bare in March and April replaced them with mask mandates. Although less detrimental to the economy than lockdowns, masking may turn out to be even more deadly.” ~ Robert E. Wright

Crisis, Economic Education, Free Markets, Government

Trump’s “American Greatness” Also Political Paternalism

– August 31, 2020

“Regardless of each citizen’s decision on how they may or may not vote in the coming November election, the real battle for the future of America is in this longer-term conflict of ideas, and the courage and willingness to not be despondent but, instead, shoulder some part of the effort to make that liberal Utopia an ideal wanted by a growing number of our fellow Americans.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Crisis, Education, Government

A Technological Revolution in Education

– August 31, 2020

“EdTech is by no means the answer to every challenge faced by educators globally, but it has the potential to make a much greater difference than we have seen in the last twenty years. The COVID pandemic is a global tragedy, but necessity is the mother of invention. As we have seen elsewhere, technology is the solution to a wide array of today’s challenges.” ~ Colin Lloyd

Crisis, Free Markets, Government

The Danger of Our Left-Right Political Divide

– August 30, 2020

“A free and open society requires the round rejection of both left and right flavors of failed twentieth-century authoritarianism, the restoration of the classical liberal ideas that transformed the world and yet were never given their due.” ~ David S. D’Amato

Classical Liberalism, Government, History

Quartering and its Importance to the American Revolution

– August 29, 2020

“Quartering imposed a serious burden on local populations, especially laborers and poorer households. Its incidence is harder to measure than that of stamp, sugar and tea taxes. However, it is probably one of the most underappreciated major causal factors of the American Revolution.” ~ Vincent Geloso

Classical Liberalism, Crisis, Government

Faceless Nation

– August 29, 2020

“With one of the two major presidential tickets joined in demanding a mandatory mask rule through Election Day and beyond, this election has become a test of the face of a nation.” ~ George Gilder

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Economic Education, Government

Biden’s “Passion and Purpose” is More Political Paternalism

– August 25, 2020

“It is so essential for those who value and understand the classical liberal meaning of personal liberty, economic freedom, voluntary association, impartial rule of law, and the importance and role of a constitutionally limited government, to explain to and persuade our fellow citizens that what the Democrats and the Republicans are currently offering us is not the path to a promised ‘social justice’ heaven on earth, or a way for people or a country to be ‘great.’ But, rather, they lead to paternalistic tyrannies that once fully in place will be extremely difficult from which to extricate ourselves.” ~ Richard M. Ebeling

Crisis, Economic Education, Government

Opposed to Government Intervention, Crisis or Not

– August 25, 2020

“No matter what legislators do, even when they’re incredibly well-intentioned, the machine within which the decisions are made is by nature political and, hence, subject to special-interest influences, knowledge limitations, and path dependencies.” ~ Veronique de Rugy

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Free Markets, Government

This Is Not Australia

– August 20, 2020

“Our leadership must acknowledge the suffering of countless thousands of Australian citizens affected by measures taken to ‘defeat’ the virus. We need a collective plan that restores our civil and human rights and returns us to a liveable, albeit new normality. If we ever want to sing that inspiring Seekers song together again, then it’s time for all Australians to start thinking and acting collectively for the good of us all and for the future of this ‘lucky country.’” ~ Tania de Jong

Economic Education, Free Markets, Government

Intellectuals, Politicians, and Pot Commitment

– August 20, 2020

“When a politician or another figure of authority lies, or changes their story without conceding previous error, it is important to remember that theirs is, ultimately, an edifice of assumed credibility. Honesty, unfortunately, would only erode it. Perhaps replacing attorneys with poker players would improve the climate of strategic courage in our state houses and Washington, D.C.” ~ Peter C. Earle

Capitalism, Economic Education, Government

On “You Didn’t Build That”

– August 7, 2020

“Unethical redistribution occurs to the extent that the taxes an individual pays are paid without his or her consent, for such ‘payment’ implies that the value of the benefits gotten from government by this taxpayer are less than the cost this taxpayer is forced to pay. Yet these complexities do nothing to justify the claim that provision by government of some goods and services creates among citizens indebtedness to the state.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux