Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Rent Control, Arizona Alt Fuel, Ballot Access (Vol. 8)
Good intentions, bad results.
Economics
Did Joe Manchin Just Sink Biden's 'Build Back Better' Plan Again?
Plus: Why government responses to risk can create more harm than good, why Denver will no longer block illegal immigrants from starting businesses, and more...
A Global Tax Cartel Is Floundering. Good.
Just as you don't attract bees with vinegar, you don't attract corporations by promising to tax them heavily.
The Progressive Case for Cost-Benefit Analysis (But Not As Conducted in the Trump Administration)
My review of Reviving Rationality:Saving Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Sake of the Environment and Our Health by Michael Livermore and Richard Revesz.
Crony Capitalism Is Apparently Business-Friendly
North Carolina wins "America's Top State for Business" by picking winners and losers.
How Georgia's Outlandish Ballot Access Law Is Protecting Marjorie Taylor Greene (and the Two-Party System)
A ballot access law meant to block Communists has become an obstacle to third-party politics.
Inflation Hits 9.1 Percent, Highest Level in 41 Years
Inflation picked up speed in June, rather than slowing.
A California Law Regulating Ride-Share Apps Leaves Truckers in Limbo
The state's trucking industry fears drivers will quit or work out of state.
Biden's Policies Have Increased, Not Reduced, Future Budget Deficits
Dissecting the president's misleading claims about falling deficits
Economic Liberalization on Israeli Kibbutzim Increases Support for Markets
Even socialist kibbutzniks can come to appreciate the benefits of markets when given a chance to directly compare them to socialism.
Is South Florida's Housing Market Too Hot?
Zoning laws, a limited housing stock, and inflation have created a major housing shortage in the bubble-prone region.
Democrats Are Trying To Push Through Another 'Build Back Better' Bill. It Would Only Make Inflation Worse.
Here's hoping we don't wind up with more of the spending and favoritism that's become so common.
FDA Finally Admits It Caused the Baby Formula Shortage
The agency is now taking small steps to allow foreign formula manufacturers to import their goods into the U.S.
Biden Celebrates $90 Billion Bailout of Private Union Pension Plans
Plus: Don't cry for the failure of Homeland Security's disinformation board, states discover supply-side solutions to labor shortages, and more...
The Quest for a Libertarian Island Paradise
Raymond B. Craib's new book recounts how Michael Oliver repeatedly tried to create a new country with a government funded entirely by voluntary contributions.
Revised Version of My New Article on "Immigration and the Economic Liberty of Natives"
The article is now up on SSRN. It explains how migration restrictions have massive negative effects on both "negative" and "positive" economic liberty of residents of destination countries.
Democrats Want To Fight Inflation With Obamacare Subsidies That Would Make Inflation Worse
The political class still hasn't come to grips with the idea that subsidies don't fight inflation.
Modest Tax Relief Comes to California's Cannabis Growers
Unfortunately, so do more regulations and potential fines.
Sorry, Biden, Gas Stations Can't Just 'Bring Down the Price'
The average gas station owner makes pennies per gallon of gas sold.
Chicago Area Fourth of July Shooting Leaves 6 Dead, Dozens Wounded
Plus: Inflation eats up Americans' savings, copyright officials want to protect your fireworks photos, and more...
America's Founders Raged Against Qualified Immunity, Trade Restrictions, and Anti-Immigrant Policies
Hey, we're still mad about those things today!
The FDA's War on Juul Will Kill People
Bureaucrats say they want to save lives. But they're moving to block a tool that is proven to help smokers quit entirely.
California Accidentally Leaked the Personal Data of Thousands of Licensed Gun Owners
Plus: America's falling murder clearance rate, the Fed wrestles with inflation, and more...
The Dirty Pictures That Revolutionized Art
Brian Doherty's history of underground comix chronicles how Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, and others challenged censorship and increased free speech.
Marijuana Banking Legalization Gets Scrapped Again
Members of Congress keep saying they want to allow state-legal pot businesses to have access to the banking system, but they keep refusing to actually do it.
California Fights Inflation by Sending People Free Money
Plus: A New Hampshire distiller fights invasive species by turning them into whiskey, a New York City law letting non-citizens vote is overturned, and more...
Biden Ignores His Own Role in Inflation
Stimulus checks, government spending, and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine are only part of the problem.
Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Era of Cultural Stagflation
On streaming and the big screen, we're paying more for less, even as new ideas seem few and far between.
'Green' Germany Prepares To Fire Up the Coal Furnaces
Strongly held wishes and pixie dust won’t deliver a green utopia.
Blame Congress for Pandemic Fraud
The inconvenient truth behind all the COVID-19 relief fraud and waste is that these government programs never should have been designed as they were.
Boycotts Aren't Protected Speech, Rules Appeals Court
Plus: Employers sue over Florida's Stop WOKE Act, how inflation erodes financial privacy, and more...
Biden's Gas Tax Holiday Plan Already Running on Empty
Prominent Democrats including Joe Manchin oppose a bad idea whose time has seemingly not yet come.
After $6 Trillion in COVID Spending, Team Biden Is Still Complaining About a Lack of Pandemic Funds
Democrats passed trillions in pandemic relief but continue to cry poor.
Federal COVID Aid to States and Localities Cost $855,000 Per Job Saved
A new paper reveals that the state and local bailout was not only unnecessary but incredibly wasteful.
Biden Falls Off the Metaphorical Bike
Plus: The editors unveil their wish list for a hypothetical Libertarian president.
The Defense Production Act Has Become a License for Central Planning
If home insulation is a "critical technology item essential to the national defense," then what isn't?
How Socialism Leads to More Domination of Workers than Free Markets
Political philosopher Chris Freiman makes the case.
Congress and Biden Probably Just Made the Shipping Problem Worse
The Ocean Shipping Reform Act fulfills the political need to do something but probably won’t help.
Sanctions on Syria Aren't Punishing Assad. They're Hurting Syrians.
Piling on sanctions and blocking other countries' reconstruction efforts will only punish the Syrian people.
Fixing Our Economic Woes Is as Easy as Looking to the Past
The economy is spinning, but we’ve proven there are viable ways to slow it down to more bearable levels.
Blame High Gas Prices on Red Tape
Oil companies won’t invest in facilities to produce gasoline until they know they’ll be allowed a future.
A Wonky Evisceration of Biden's Bad Deficit Math
Interest rates and servicing costs could push us into worrisome territory sooner than we think.
Bitcoin Crashes to $21,000, Coinbase Lays Off 18 Percent of Work Force
Is crypto winter here?
Recession 'Virtual Certainty' as Interest Rates Spike
Plus: Libertarian Party drama, how rent control hurts renters, and more...
Robert Breedlove: 'Just Follow the Energy' on Bitcoin, Not the Price
The self-described freedom maximalist explains why he isn't put off bitcoin by its decline since last November.
Instead of Helping Americans Battle Rising Prices, Biden Escalates 'Big Oil' Blame Game
Removing tariffs could save American households $800 this year. What is the White House waiting for?
