The Remarkable Redneck Air Force of North Carolina
The relief effort after Hurricane Helene is powered by private citizens, and volunteers have discovered that it's better to ask forgiveness than permission.
Economics
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar: Peace In The Middle East Through Capitalism
The co-founder of Ideas Beyond Borders argues that there is "no better independence than economic independence."
Institute of Economic Affairs Paper on Immigration and the Economic Liberty of Natives
The paper explains how immigration restrictions severely undermine both the "negative" and "positive" economic liberty of receiving-country natives. It also adapts my analysis of this topic for a British audience.
Milei Shuts Down Argentina's Tax Agency
AFIP is an "unnecessary bureaucracy" that stifles economic freedom, says Milei's government.
Geothermal Power Could Produce Abundant Clean Energy, If We Let It
Geothermal projects promise nearly limitless energy, but they are being stymied by environmental policies.
Archaic Federal Law Keeps Alaskans From Using Abundant Natural Gas Reserves
The Jones Act makes the North Slope’s resources inaccessible to the state’s energy-starved residents.
The Justice Department's Proposals for Breaking Up Google's Dominance Won't Work
But consumers will pay a price.
This Libertarian Republican Is Running for Congress in Nevada
Drew Johnson wants to help define the post-Trump GOP.
Reform Social Security for Those Who Need It Most
As it stands, the program effectively redistributes money from younger and poorer people to richer people.
No Prosperity Without Economic and Political Liberty
Three American economists win Nobel Economics Prize for showing how free markets and democratic governance engender prosperity.
J.D. Vance Says 7 Million Able-Bodied Men Have Dropped Out of the Labor Force. Where Are They?
There are many explanations for the slow, long-term decline in work force participation among American men. Undocumented immigration doesn't seem to be a major factor.
Did Inflation Save Us From 'New Progressive Economics'?
Anti-market progressives dominate the Biden administration. Their policies also help discredit it.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris Keep Making Economically Illiterate Promises
These policies may sound good on paper—but they would be disastrous in reality.
Chip Mellor's Legacy Promotes a Broader Concept of Civil Liberties
For more than three decades, the Institute for Justice has shown that economic freedom and private property are essential safeguards for ordinary Americans.
Biden's Top Trade Official Just Admitted Tariffs Haven't Changed China's Behavior
Katherine Tai said tariffs were "leverage" against China, but now she admits that China hasn't made "any changes to its fundamental systemic structural policies."
William "Chip" Mellor, RIP
Mellor was cofounder and longtime president of the Institute for Justice, one of the nation's leading public-interest law firms.
Trump's Proposed Tariffs Would Add Nearly $250 to the Price of New Gaming Consoles
Similar price hikes would hit smartphones, laptops, tablets, and televisions.
Trump Panders to Auto Industry, Proposes Making Car Loan Interest Tax Deductible
The former president's increasingly lopsided economic policy proposals have the feel of throwing spaghetti at the wall.
To Get Through the Election, Smoke a Cigarette
This election is all about pursuing short-term political highs while willfully ignoring long-term problems. What could pair better with that than a cigarette?
Business and the Roberts Court Revisited
An examination of how Donald Trump's appointments to the Supreme Court have affected business interests.
Perils of Broad Presidential Power Over Tariffs
Donald Trump's plan for massive tariff increases is particularly dangerous because the White House could likely implement it without any new congressional authorization.
Biden and Harris' Record on Spending and Debt Is a Tragedy of Epic Proportion
When they entered the White House, the budget deficit was a pandemic-influenced $2.3 trillion, and it was set to fall to $905 billion by 2024. It's now twice what it was supposed to be.
Could Trump Impose More Tariffs Without Congressional Approval?
Yes. But there might be one more key opportunity to rein in presidential powers over trade.
Universal Basic Income Shows Why Giving People 'Free Money' Doesn't Work
According to recent data, people work less—and actually end up deeper in debt.
Budget Deficit Hit $1.8 Trillion After Huge Increase in Borrowing Costs
Spending increased by 10 percent last year, while tax revenue increased by 11 percent. Interest payments on the debt shot up by 34 percent.
Trump's Destructive Tariff Proposals Will Make Us All Poorer
The candidate’s protectionism offsets some otherwise positive tax ideas.
I Did Business With China, and America Won
Everyone benefited when I manufactured my invention in China, but Americans benefited more.
How Milton Friedman Can Help Us Get Through Hurricane Milton
To give storm victims the best chance at recovery, let local knowledge and markets guide decisions.
Trump's Deportation Plan Would Cost Nearly $1 Trillion
And it would wreck the economy.
New USDA Organic Rules Put Wine Importers in a Bind
Government incompetence strikes again, turning the wine industry upside down with red tape and confusion.
Federal 'Buy American' Rules Cost Over $100,000 Per Job Created
Eliminate the domestic content requirements of the Buy American Act, don't expand them.
Automate the Ports
The dockworkers' strike is over, but America's ports will be some of the least efficient in the world whether they are open or closed.
To Get Through the Election, Drink Chartreuse
A bitter election calls for a cocktail—and a lesson in the lunacy of price controls.
Contra J.D. Vance and Tim Walz, Housing Should Be a 'Commodity'
Housing is unaffordable because regulations have prevented its commodification.
J.D. Vance Is Wrong About Toasters—and Global Manufacturing
Trump's protectionist running mate comes out against “cheap, knockoff toasters” and common sense.
J.D. Vance Actually Does Understand How Costs Get Passed Along the Supply Chain
Vance says higher energy prices make building houses more costly. What, then, do tariffs on steel and lumber do?
The Cruises Will Be Spared
Plus: Israeli troops cross into Lebanon, prayer illiteracy on full display, veeps joust, and more...
Washington Worsened Hurricane Helene's Destruction
How the National Flood Insurance Program subsidizes living in high-risk flood zones.
Harris Scales Back Harmful Price Control Proposal
The narrower version put forward by her campaign is still bad, but much less so than the much broader one floated earlier.
The Government Monopoly on Donated Kidneys Is Killing Americans
Organ donations in the U.S. are controlled by a network of federally sanctioned nonprofits, and many of them are failing.
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Can Mark Cuban Make Prescriptions Affordable Again?
Special interests and government prevent the free market from working the way it should in the healthcare industry, making many Americans poorer and sicker.
How Much Would an American-Made Toaster Actually Cost?
A lot more than Oren Cass and J.D. Vance want you to think, and Americans wouldn't like the tradeoffs necessary.
Justice Department Says a Small Mississippi Town Ran a Dickensian Debtor's Prison
Federal investigators say police in Lexington, Mississippi, used illegal searches, excessive force, and kept residents in jail when they couldn't pay off old fines.
Don't Expect a Return to the Trump Economy
If the former president wins the 2024 race, the circumstances he would inherit are far more challenging, and several of his policy ideas are destructive.
Season 2, Episode 4 Podcasts
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: The Case of the 17,000 Missing Kidneys
Also: Could legalizing the sale of kidneys and other organs save lives?
Rand Paul's Plans To Balance the Budget Are a Useful Illustration of Congress' Addiction To Borrowing
The budget could be balanced by cutting just six pennies from every dollar the government spends. It used to require even less.
Robert Reich Is Wrong About Billionaires—and Almost Everything Else
His ideas would leave us poorer and less free.
Jeremy Horpedahl: Are Millennials and Gen Z Actually Worse Off Than Their Parents?
Economist Jeremy Horpedahl breaks down the economic outlook for Millennials and Gen Z and assesses how the 2024 presidential candidates' policies stack up against reality.
