California's Proposition 22 Would Save Jobs and Help Consumers. Legislators Won't Listen.
State lawmakers want Uber and Lyft to classify their drivers as employees. A majority of drivers disagree.
Economics
Milton Friedman's Free to Choose Proved Capitalism Is Superior to Socialism
Forty years later, the libertarian Nobel laureate's PBS series is still winning hearts and minds.
This Judge Is Wrong About Economic Liberty and the Constitution
Perhaps Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice David Wecht ought to read more history, starting with the speeches of the late Rep. John Bingham.
PPParty Time!
Turns out some of the federal government's PPP loans ended up going to people who didn't need them quite as badly.
Biden and Trump Offer Competing Tax Proposals, but Both Ignore Economic Reality
Trump plans to steal less of other people’s cash then Biden does, though neither has any serious suggestions for paying for their spending schemes.
Joe Biden's Proposal To Double the Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour Won't Help Small Businesses
President Donald Trump said he'd leave it to the states to decide if a minimum wage hike was appropriate.
Joe Biden's Economic Policies Would Cost the Economy 4.9 Million Jobs by 2030, According to a New Study
The Democratic presidential candidate has promised not to raise taxes on middle-income earners. That's not the full story.
The Republican Antitrust Suit Against Google Is a Progressive Dream
The government is going after Google not to stop consumer harm but to level the business playing field.
Bob Chitester: How Free To Choose Changed the World
Here's the inside story of Milton Friedman's path-breaking PBS series about economic and political freedom, from the man who produced it.
American Tariffs Are Bad for Booze. European Tariffs Would Be a Disaster.
The E.U. is considering levying $4 billion in new tariffs on American goods, with alcohol likely to be one of the targets.
Businesses Prepared for Natural Disasters Are Surviving COVID-19 Better Than the Competition
A government survey finds that prepping for hard times can have wide benefits.
Justice Department Files Federal Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google
Government claims Google uses its power to force users and advertisers on board. Google says that its popularity is not anticompetitive.
Wisconsin's Foxconn Boondoggle Looks Worse Than Ever
President Donald Trump and Gov. Scott Walker promised thousands of jobs in return for billions of dollars in subsidies from the state. More than two years later, there's little to show for it.
Americans Are Moving Where They Want. Will It Be a Win for Choice or Polarization?
We can increasingly live where we please while working jobs of our choice. What we do with that bonanza is up to us.
The Feds Have Doled Out Record Farm Subsidies To Save Trump's Campaign
There's an easier way to lessen the impact of retaliatory agriculture tariffs: repeal our own
How Will Bitcoin Lead to More Freedom?
The 1987 debate that foreshadowed the divide in today's cryptocurrency community
The Next COVID Stimulus Bill Could Cost Trillions of Dollars or Might Not Happen at All
There's a fox, a goose, and a bag of grain. And a hippopotamus in the middle of the river.
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.
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.
