Topic: Government

Why “Free College” is a Terrible Idea

– October 20, 2023

“If the US were to embrace the idea that college should be an entitlement, the results would be very undesirable. More resources would be drawn into providing college education, and we’d get less educational value in return.” ~George Leef

Government, Property Rights, Regulation

Abolish Parking Minimums. Yes, All of Them

– October 15, 2023

“Zoning codes require parking based on rough estimates of demand for ‘free’ parking at the time of development, ignoring how subsequent economic changes could affect demand.” ~Jason Sorens

Government, Policy, Regulation

Oh, SNAP

– October 11, 2023

“People make food choices based on a variety of factors, including taste, convenience, and price. Simply paying people to eat more fruits and vegetables is unlikely to change these underlying factors.” ~Antony Davies

Economic Growth, Government, Property Rights, Taxation

Taxation as Social Justice

– September 24, 2023

“The goal is not to raise revenue so we can support the poor; instead, the US is pursuing the simpler goal of eliminating private concentrations of wealth.” ~Michael Munger

Government, Regulation

Of Moats and Search Engines: The DOJ’s Coercive Case against Google

– September 23, 2023

“Google is the best search engine in the world, and it paid to have its site featured as the default option for consumers. This not only benefited Google, but also Apple and Android customers.” ~Kimberlee Josephson

Authoritarianism, Economic History, Government, History

Corporatism and Convict Leasing in the American South

– September 17, 2023

“This was not a product of capitalism, it was the direct consequence of government’s colluding with business to prevent a market for labor.” ~Marcus M. Witcher and Patrick Schmucker

Books, Government, Policy

Needed: More People to Keep Asking Why

– September 13, 2023

“If you pay attention to public policy, you have probably come up with your own list of ‘not asked, much less answered’ questions that stick with you.” ~ Gary Galles

Art and Culture, Crisis, Education, Government

Child Speech Issues Are at Historic Highs in the United Kingdom, a New Report Found—and We All Know Why

– September 12, 2023

“Widespread speech development issues are just one of the countless unintended consequences of turning individual decisions over to government bureaucrats.” ~ Jon Miltimore

Free Markets, Government, Regulation

The Can Conundrum: Governments Don’t Have Coherent Goals

– September 7, 2023

“Policies enacted to fix one problem lead to still other problems, which will then require other policies to fix, and so on, until we’re crushed by a giant snowball of well-intended “solutions” and their unintended consequences.” ~ Art Carden

Economic Trends, Government, Property Rights, Taxation

State Development Incentives: Taxes, Investment, and Tullock Auctions

– September 5, 2023

“State ‘incentive’ packages do more than pay companies the difference in costs. Politicians have every reason to pay up to, and beyond, the entire economic benefit to the state, because their calculus counts costs as benefits.” ~ Michael Munger

Books, Environmentalism, Government, Socialism

A Book to Remind Us of the Evils of Socialism

– September 3, 2023

“Americans who have read that they’re quite good (the Cuban regime still gets mostly favorable press) will be dismayed to read that living conditions are in fact bad and getting worse.” ~ George Leef

Environmentalism, Government, Policy

Blame, Trade-Offs, and the Maui Wildfires

– August 31, 2023

“Making big and simple promises is the easy part of politics. Telling constituencies that there may be difficult and painful trade-offs is difficult.” ~ Anthony Gill