Topic: Regulation

Economic Education, Environmentalism, Property Rights, Regulation

Is the Amazon Really a Market Failure?

– August 27, 2020

“A government strong enough to assign and enforce private property rights in remote areas wouldn’t have a problem with (excessive) deforestation in the first place. A government weak enough – or uninterested enough – that it’s unable to do so, couldn’t credibly abstain from chopping down trees, or promise that its citizens won’t do so either.” ~ Joakim Book

Crisis, Regulation

Small Signs of Hope that Lockdowns Could Soon End

– August 27, 2020

“How does all of this get resolved? Probably not through contrition much less restitution for all the damage they’ve caused. It’s just an intuition for now, but I am guessing that there are many politicians at home and abroad who are already planning their next career moves, out of the public spotlight and the heat of a furious public for whom it is becoming increasingly obvious that these policies created a catastrophe.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Economic Education, Regulation

When the Minimum Wage Rises, A Million More Fall Below Minimum

– August 26, 2020

“Past increases in the federal minimum wage always resulted in many more people pushed into jobs paying below minimum and usually losing whatever benefits they previously enjoyed. Far from being an effective and humane way to raise the lowest incomes the unintended consequence of increasing the federal minimum wage has, in fact, been to force hundreds of thousands more Americans into substandard jobs and make the poorest workers poorer.” ~ Alan Reynolds

Crisis, Regulation

Lockdowns are Cruel and Regressive, says Oxford University’s Professor Sunetra Gupta

– August 26, 2020

Oxford University Professor Sunetra Gupta has been an outspoken voice for calm, science, and rationality in dealing with this virus. In the interview below, she explains the basics of immunology, the high costs of mandated closures and restrictions, an …

Crisis, History, Regulation

The Politicization of the Post Office was Inevitable

– August 23, 2020

“The origins of the Post Office are political. No doubt about it. Why should we be surprised that, given these origins, the USPS is still a tool for politicking today?” ~ Vincent Geloso

Economic Education, Free Markets, Regulation

Ride Sharing and the Absurdity of “Protecting” Workers Out of a Job

– August 21, 2020

“Government regulation unnecessarily pushes up transaction costs. In this case, by mandating unwanted benefits, those transaction costs are so high that Uber/Lyft are choosing not to transact at all in California. This is a huge loss for Uber, Lyft, its drivers, and their thousands of customers.” ~ Raymond C. Niles

Economic Education, Free Markets, Regulation

A Three-Item Post-Pandemic Regulatory Wishlist

– August 19, 2020

“It is easy to say ‘this is what the government should do;’ however, it is a lot harder to actually make the government do it. Progress toward a permissive, innovation-embracing political and cultural constitution would be just that: progress.” ~ Art Carden

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Regulation

Consequences of Lockdowns: The Case of Maine

– August 13, 2020

“The evidence available in March suggested the vast majority of people would not suffer severe illness from the virus. This should have led state leaders to focus limited resources on protecting the most vulnerable in society. However Gov. Mills opted to shut down the entire state.” ~ AIER Staff

Authoritarianism, Economic Education, Regulation

The Art of the Shakedown

– August 13, 2020

“Looking ahead to a more authoritarian future, will old-fashioned lobbying be enough to secure a measure of business freedom any more? What new steps will businesses need to take in the future to protect themselves from presidents who, instead of the Art of the Deal, prefer the Art of the Shakedown?” ~ Raymond C. Niles

Authoritarianism, Crisis, Healthcare, Regulation

How Government “Cures” Drive Out Real Cures

– August 11, 2020

“A government that suppresses debate and wants to funnel billions towards politically connected firms will discredit all challengers to their favored solutions. In the name of what they define as ‘the science,’ the discovery process of real science is suppressed. Science suppressors are part of an illiberal movement whose members, in the words of Jeffrey Tucker, are ‘enemies of freedom and human rights.'”

Crisis, Regulation

We Need a Principled Anti-Lockdown Movement

– August 9, 2020

“This movement, whether it is called anti-lockdown or just plain liberalism, must reject the wickedness and compulsion of this current moment in American life. It needs to counter the brutalism of lockdowns. It needs to speak and act with humane understanding and high regard for social functioning under freedom, and the hope for the future that comes with it.” ~ Jeffrey Tucker

Authoritarianism, Free Markets, Regulation

The Mugging Of TikTok Should Embarrass Every Sentient American

– August 6, 2020

“A Chinese company innovated, met the needs of people around the world, and President Trump responded by threatening a ban of the company before brokering a potential forced sale of the company to an American company. The whole world is watching, Americans. We deserve neither TikTok nor the very Chinese people who, if we’re honest, are trying to be like Americans used to be.” ~ John Tamny