Seattle's Delivery Minimum Wage Failed Drivers and Raised Costs
Increased hourly rates corresponded with lower tips and fewer orders to share between drivers, leaving gig workers no better off than they were before the law passed.
Economics
Trump's Designation of Fentanyl As a 'Weapon of Mass Destruction' Is a Drug-Fueled Delusion
The executive order does not accomplish much in practical terms, but it jibes with the president's conflation of drug trafficking with violent aggression.
More Republican Socialism
The Trump administration has not made a convincing case for why it is buying stakes in these companies—and why these companies in particular, rather than others.
Can't Afford To Visit New York City for Christmas? Blame the City Government.
The city has removed tens of thousands of rooms from the stock of short-term housing available to tourists while making it significantly harder to build and expand hotels.
Is It Time To Break Up Big Tech?
Matt Stoller and Geoffrey A. Manne debate antitrust law and Big Tech.
Trump Claims He's Turning America Around. He's Really Doubling Down on Executive Overreach.
From immigration crackdowns to trade policy, the Trump administration is increasingly centralizing power in Washington, D.C.
Trump Blames Illegal Immigrants for High Housing Prices. Blame Zoning Instead.
Low-skilled immigrants would expand the supply of housing more than they increase demand, if local governments would just allow new construction.
The Teamsters Want To Keep Transportation Costs Higher
The union isn't pro-growth or pro-consumer. It's a lobby for workers.
Hottest Country
Plus: Karoline Leavitt's injection sites, Dan Bongino leaves FBI, Tesla trapped, and more...
'Now We're the Hottest Country Anywhere in the World': Trump's Blessedly Pointless National Address
Trump announced neither stimulus checks nor war in Venezuela.
Bernie Sanders Wants To Pause New Data Centers To Stop the Economy From Growing Too Much
The socialist senator wants a moratorium on new data centers to slow the AI and robotics industries down.
Trump Said His Tariffs Would Reduce the Trade Deficit and Bring Back Manufacturing. Here's What the Data Show.
These metrics are bad proxies for prosperity, but they reveal just how flawed the president's arguments have been.
Governments Are Pushing Digital IDs. Are You Ready To Be Tracked?
Proponents say such IDs will make life easier and protect kids from dangerous content. But opponents worry they will make you much easier to target.
Thanks to Antitrust Officials, iRobot Will Be Acquired by a Chinese Robotics Firm Instead of Amazon
The only thing the Federal Trade Commission and European Commission succeeded in doing was transferring ownership of iRobot from an American company to a Chinese one.
Can't Buy Our Love
Plus: Child care affordability, Venezuela blockade, Israel's plans, and more...
The Federal Government Has Shed 271,000 Jobs This Year. That's Great.
It's also not the whole story. Federal spending isn't falling and the private sector job market is stagnant.
17 Ways Politicians Can Make Things Cheaper, Starting With Food, Health Care, and Appliances
A real affordability agenda would unleash free markets, not constrain them.
Funding College Sports With Private Equity Is Way Better Than Hitting Students With Higher Fees
Plus: Fix the NBA Cup by blowing it up, World Cup ticket prices or lotteries, and more.
When Originalism Undermines Trump
From birthright citizenship to tariffs, many of the president’s key policies run counter to the Constitution’s original meaning.
Poland's Beer and Food Tell the Story of the Country's Extraordinary Rise From Communism
Not even 35 years after escaping Soviet-style central planning, Poland has become a capitalist success story.
Trump Says Tariffs Have Brought in $18 Trillion. That's Impossible.
The tariffs have generated less than $300 billion in new tax revenue, and other claimed investments don't come close to the president's tally.
Photo: A Furloughed Federal Worker Opens a Hot Dog Cart
The stand has been so successful that IRS lawyer Isaac Stein intends to continue his hot dog hustle on weekends.
Almost a Year After It Launched, DOGE's Legacy Is Mixed
Has the Department of Government Efficiency delivered on promises to downsize federal employment, cut regulations, and reduce federal spending?
Reflections on Lecturing in Mexico
My first-ever visit to Mexico gave me some perspective on America's crucial neighbor.
LA Metro Is a Dangerous, Costly Mess. What Would Fix It?
Almost half of riders dodge the fares.
The Bipartisan War on Prices Is Coming for Your Credit Card
The strange new alliance between democratic socialists and nationalist populists isn't a sign of political healing. It's a sign that people have lost their grip on basic economics.
A Divided Fed
Plus: Cocaine and mustard gas, U.S. seizes oil tanker, billionaires in the White House, and more...
A Judicial Solution for Presidential Overreach and Congressional Abdication
The Supreme Court should take a page from its own history.
Federal Reserve Defers to Donald Trump by Cutting Interest Rates by 25 Points
The Federal Open Market Committee lowered the federal funds rate for the third meeting in a row despite elevated inflation.
The MAHA Administration Bails Out Big Seed Oil
The Trump administration continues a long tradition of subsidizing the things it tells Americans to eat less of.
Trump Says China Didn't Buy Soybeans While Biden Was President. Here's What the Data Show.
American farmers exported more than 26 million metric tons of soybeans to China annually during Biden's term. Trump's deal with China would cover less than half that amount.
MAGA Asceticism
Plus: Social media surveillance from the CBP, SpaceX IPO, assisted dying in the Netherlands, and more...
The 2025 Libertarian Gift Guide: 28 Great Ideas for Apocalypse Preppers, Boozers, Self-Improvers—and More
Panicked about holiday shopping? Reason staffers and contributors are here to save the day.
Why Elizabeth Warren and Donald Trump Hate the Netflix Deal
Plus: Trump’s economy shows new signs of strain, Congress pushes a $900 billion defense package, and Kalshi stirs backlash over “financializing everything”
Non-Paywalled Version of My Washington Examiner Article on "Foot Voting, Housing, and Affordability"
The Cato Institute has posted one on its website.
Trump's $11 Billion Farm Bailout Is Further Proof That Tariffs Aren't Working
But don't expect the White House to think too hard about it.
The Government Wants To Punish Orgasmic Meditation Defendants for Crimes They Weren't Charged With
The prosecutors argue that sentencing based on unconvicted—or even uncharged—conduct doesn't violate due process.
Trump's Tariffs Were Supposed To Cut the Trade Deficit and Boost U.S. Manufacturing. They're Not Working.
For Trump, tariffs are a solution to every problem, and his trade war is more about the vibes than the economics.
Trump Thinks a $100,000 Visa Fee Would Make Companies Hire More Americans. It Could Do the Opposite.
Countries like Canada and Germany are lining up to welcome companies and workers priced out by the H1-B price hike.
Virginia's New Blue Trifecta Puts Right-To-Work on the Line
Democrats retook full control in Richmond and are already advancing right-to-work repeal, testing whether incoming Gov. Abigail Spanberger will stand by her campaign promise.
Warner Bros. Accepts Netflix's $83 Billion Bid, but Antitrust Threats Still Loom
If antitrust regulators allow the deal to go through, consumers stand to benefit from a less expensive Netflix–HBO Max bundle.
Reason Webathon Woodchips Through $400,000 Goal Before the Halfway Point!
And now we're announcing a new $30,000 match!
My New Washington Examiner Article on "Foot Voting, Housing, and Affordability"
We can make housing more affordable and empower people to "vote with their feet" by curbing exclusionary zoning. Left and right should support that instead of counterproductive snake oil like rent control, tariffs, and deportations.
The Cyberselfish Revival Shows Libertarianism Continues To Be Misunderstood
What's wrong with Big Tech isn't the fault of libertarianism.
The Horseshoe of Doom: Populists Left and Right Say America Is Failing. The Facts Don't.
When voters believe they're living through an economic apocalypse, they're willing to embrace the very policies that would create one.
The Trump Admin Wants Western Union and MoneyGram To Report on Immigrants
An obscure bureau of the U.S. Treasury is using USA PATRIOT Act powers to sniff out under-the-table employment.
