San Francisco Will Pay Artists $1,000 a Month in Universal Basic Income
The pilot program intended to assist the city's arts community during the pandemic is drawing both interest and criticism from proponents of unconditional cash transfers.
Economics
Big Tech Is Just the Beginning: House Dems Seek Major Changes to Antitrust Law
Enforcement is supposed to be about protecting "consumer welfare." Overturning that goal would be bad for all of us.
Debt Reckoning
After years of federal fiscal recklessness, is Washington's bill finally coming due?
Mike Pence Says Joe Biden Will Repeal Trump's Tariffs. That's a Good Idea!
Too bad Biden's position isn't as good as Pence makes it sound.
$75 Billion in Band-Aids Won't Cure Ailing Airlines
The grants and loans Congress has approved for the airline industry aren't about saving jobs.
The Case Against Trump: Donald Trump Is an Enemy of Freedom
When it comes to limiting the size and scope of government and protecting individual liberties, America's 45th president has been actively malign.
As Airlines Begin Layoffs, Nancy Pelosi Promises Bailout
House Democrats are working to extend another round of emergency aid to airlines in a stand-alone bill after the passage of a larger coronavirus relief package stalled in the Senate.
California Is a Cautionary Tale for America
California bounds from one crisis to another; most of them being self-imposed.
Lockdowns Intended To Preserve Our Health Are Making Us Poorer and Angrier
Even as the economy recovers, pain from the COVID-19 lockdowns still lingers.
Will These Lawsuits End Trump's Tariffs? More Than 3,500 U.S. Companies Hope So.
The lawsuits have been filed over the past two weeks by several major American companies, including retailers Target and Home Depot, car manufacturers Tesla and Ford, and several major manufacturing firms.
The #FinCENFiles Shine a Spotlight on How Banks Are Ordered to Snoop on You
Why does media coverage conclude the problem is that the government hasn’t done a good enough job of spying?
Trump's Visa Ban Will Slow America's Recovery
The net result of turning away foreign labor is greater unemployment—and lower wages—for native-born workers.
Department of Labor Proposes New Rule Protecting the Right To Be a Gig Worker
In a reaction to California's Assembly Bill 5, the Department of Labor's new proposed rule will make it harder for gig workers to be defined as employees
Newsom Attempts To Mandate Full Transition to Electric Cars by 2035
Maybe California will figure out how to keep the lights on by then.
Hope for Free Market Reform in Uruguay
President Luis Lacalle Pou's defense of free market capitalism—extremely rare in Latin America—is no coronavirus fluke.
Congress Continues to Spend Delusional Amounts of Money
Even without further spending increases, the Congressional Budget Office projects that the national debt will hit 107 percent of GDP in 2023.
Federal Payments to Farmers Have Tripled Since 2017, and Trump Just Promised Even More
Trump's farm bailouts have cost taxpayers more than $28 billion already, and he just announced another $14 billion in payments as part of his reelection pitch to farm-heavy states.
America's Debt Will be Twice the Size of the Economy by 2050
The Congressional Budget Office warns that higher levels of debt will slow economic growth significantly in the years ahead.
After the Stimulus Binge, Brace for a Crash
Skyrocketing debt, higher borrowing costs, and a hobbled economy are predicted in the latest Congressional Budget Office report.
End the War on Drugs
Drug prohibition turns police officers into enemies to be feared rather than allies to be welcomed.
A Second Round of Airline Bailouts Would be Bad for the Industry and Consumers
Passenger airlines are demanding another $25 billion in taxpayer support to prevent mass layoffs.
Trump Wants More Stimulus Spending. Biden Wants a National Mask Mandate. Both Are Wrong.
Is it too much to ask for a presidential candidate who cares about America's fiscal health and respects the limits of his office?
U.S. Withdraws Foolish Threat of New Tariffs on Canadian Aluminum
First the Trump administration told us aluminum imported from Canada was a national security threat. Then it suddenly decided it's not a big deal.
Joe Biden's Proposed Budget Would Hike Spending, Raise Taxes, and Further Inflate the National Debt
Biden is proposing about $3 trillion in new taxes, mostly on the rich, to pay for up to $11 trillion in new spending. That's a recipe for even bigger budget deficits.
The World Is Doing Better Than Ever. Here's Why You Never Hear About It.
Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know documents progress and explains why it happens.
The Messy TikTok Sale Is What Happens When Governments Get Involved in Social Media
Plus: More red states may get legal weed, antitrust action against Google expected this week, the Cuties controversy, and more...
Airlines Are Asking for a Second Bailout. Congress Should Say No.
The federal government has already made $32 billion available to distressed airlines. The industry wants another $25 billion.
Ronald Bailey: The World Is Getting Cleaner, Richer, and Safer
Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know documents the immense, ongoing progress that politicians and media refuse to acknowledge.
Trump's Struggle To Win the Gary Johnson Vote
Sadly for the president, 2016 Libertarians are not "all Republican voters." Sadly for us, his opposition to "endless wars" doesn't translate into ending them.
California's Job-Killing A.B. 5 Scaled Back, but Only for Some Professions
Rideshare drivers and delivery people are still going to have to beg voters to let them work.
This Labor Day, Police and Teachers Unions Are Making a Bad Year Worse
Americans are being forced to confront the downsides of powerful organized labor in an already miserable year.
America's National Debt Will Be Larger Than the Economy Next Year
The Congressional Budget Office says the deficit will hit $3.3 trillion this year. The national debt will exceed the size of America's gross domestic product for the first time since the end of World War II.
Both Biden and Trump Plan to Spend Well Beyond the Government's Means
Whether Biden or Trump wins this November, we're in for big, unaffordable government. How much bigger and how unaffordable are the only real questions.
More Money Does Buy More Happiness
Researchers and economists have been debating this idea for decades, and a new study in the journal Emotion sheds more light on the role money plays in increasing happiness levels.
The Republican Convention's Defense of Trump's Trade War Fell Flat
A Wisconsin business owner who spoke about losing business to China ended up inadvertently undermining the administration's argument for protectionism.
Voters Will Have a Chance To Save Ride-Sharing and Delivery Services From California's Regulators
In November, California voters will decide on Proposition 22, a measure would carve out a contracting exemption for independent drivers.
Trump's Attacks on Free Trade Have Actually Made It More Popular With Voters
Thanks to a paradoxical Trump bump, nearly 90 percent of both Democrats and Republicans now say they support international trade.
Want To Boost Economic Growth? Tell Government To Spend Less
Research suggests reducing spending will boost consumption in the short- and long-run.
In Convention Speech, Mike Pence Said Joe Biden Will Repeal Trump's Tariffs. If Only That Were True.
Unfortunately, Biden has carefully avoided committing to changing much of anything about Trump's trade policies.
Trump's War on Economic Freedom
In the president’s mind, trade is not a right to be respected but a process to be managed by politicians.
Mike Godwin, the Creator of Godwin's Law, Is Suing Trump Over His TikTok Executive Order
"I know what moral panics look like; they look kind of like this."
Trump Promises Manned Moon Base, Mission to Mars During Second Term
The Trump administration has expanded a bipartisan drive to commercialize more of NASA's space operations.
The Fed Sees Lingering Economic Pain From the Pandemic and the Lockdowns
The danger of the virus can’t be considered to the exclusion of the need for jobs and prosperity.
Did Joe Biden and the Democratic National Convention Forget About Trump's Tariffs?
The last time an incumbent president was defeated, the fact that he'd raised taxes on Americans played a major role. Trump's done the same thing, but the DNC didn't talk about it.
Lyft, Uber Get Last-Minute Reprieve Before They Would Have Canceled Services in California
Lawmakers and courts are trying to force them to put drivers on their payrolls. They're threatening to take a freeway out of the state entirely.
Wealth Taxes Make Us Poorer
A new study finds that taxes on wealth reduce long-run GDP by 2.7 percent.
Cato Unbound Symposium on the 50th Anniversary of Albert Hirschman's Classic Book "Exit, Voice, and Loyalty" [Updated]
The symposium includes contributions by Adam Thierer, Mikayla Novak, Max Borders, and myself. The relationship between exit and voice is as important an issue as ever.
