Is a Universal Basic Income Program Worth the Costs?
There are problems with the UBI idea.
Economics
The Panic About China Cutting Off America's COVID-19 Drug Supply Was Fake News
The Food and Drug Administration now says there is no evidence that any country attempted to cut off America's essential pharmaceuticals.
Michael Munger Says 'Price Gouging' Gives Us Information We Need
Such laws end up causing more shortages than they solve, especially during a crisis.
NASA Astronauts Hitch a Ride With Elon Musk's SpaceX
Today's Crew Dragon launch marks the first time a private company has sent humans into orbit.
Police Unions and the Problem of Police Misconduct (Updated)
The available evidence suggests that police unions are a major obstacle to holding rogue police officers accountable.
Congress' Pathetic Effort at Revoking Trump's Trade War Powers Has Failed
Sen. Chuck Grassley says it's dead because lawmakers feared upsetting the president.
In Future Crises, Let People Make Their Own Decisions
Top-down, one-size-fits-few mandates are recipes for conflict.
Trump's Executive Order on Twitter Is a Total Mess
Plus: the weird new battle lines on warrantless surveillance, more CDC incompetence, Minneapolis on fire, and more…
It's Going To Be Hard Enough To Get Kids Back to Day Care After COVID-19
The pandemic has exposed many of America’s destructive barriers to work. It’s time to eliminate them.
The Trump Administration Wants To Subsidize Domestic Drug Manufacturing. The First Contract Looks Like a $350 Million Grift.
A member of the five-month-old company's board has been touting bogus stats about America's supposed dependency on Chinese-made drugs.
Charitable Giving Helps Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19. What's Wrong With That?
Rather than criticize the charitable donations of the very rich, we should be grateful for them.
Josh Hawley Wants To Wreck America's Economy To Own the Libs
In a Senate floor speech Wednesday, Hawley outlined a half-baked plan to tear down global trade. It's aimed at winning elections, not helping America prosper.
L.P. Presidential Candidate Jacob Hornberger Wants 'To Live in a Free Society'
The longtime activist is the front-runner for the L.P. presidential nomination and has a special message to young people.
A Third Option Beyond State Bailouts and Bankruptcy
John Baker and Robert Miller identify an alternative
South America Won the U.S.-China Trade War
Two economists calculate that U.S. farms lost $14 billion because of retaliatory tariffs, while South American countries boosted their exports by $13 billion to fill the gap.
Red Bull Is Disgusting. And It Perfectly Captures Why Capitalism Is So Great.
Ludwig von Mises is “my hero,” and free markets have nothing to do with efficiency, says Ogilvy ad man Rory Sutherland.
Twitter Is Shifting to Remote Work. Will Other Firms Follow?
Will changes to how many of us work outlast the pandemic?
Ghost Kitchens Can Help Feed New Yorkers While the City Is a Ghost Town
Regulations are making it harder for restaurants in NYC to adapt to COVID-19.
It's Official: Money Printer Go Brrr
The Reason Roundtable discusses Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's 60 Minutes admission, as well as the Libertarian Party presidential race post-Justin Amash
Is the Stock Market's Response to COVID-19 Optimistic or Just Plain Nuts?
It may be a statement about the decline of the dollar, but the best-case explanation of the resilient stock market is that it is sending us a positive message about a rapid recovery of both public health and corporate profits.
Two Billionaires Demonstrate the Limits of Money in Elections
No amount of money can buy victory for candidates who fail to persuade voters.
In Zimbabwe, It's Crisis as Usual
A new round of hyperinflation was taking a heavy toll on daily life, even before the coronavirus hit.
Plans for Extended Unemployment Benefits, Wage Subsidies Risk Creating a Zombie Economy
Businesses need to be able to adjust to a world where COVID-19 remains an ongoing concern.
Restaurants Are Facing a COVID-19 Crisis. Price Controls on Food Delivery Services Won't Help.
Cities are imposing "emergency" regulations capping the fees that delivery services like Uber Eats may charge. That's a mistake.
Creativity Flourishes, Even Amid a Pandemic
Marveling at people's endless ability to love, connect, and create.
Would Gov. Cuomo Rather Have No Businesses in New York Than Businesses That Employ Fewer People?
His proposed law would require that corporations return bailout funds if they don't rehire the same number of employees.
America's Long-Term Debt Crisis Is Now a Short-Term Problem
Even in a healthy economy, rising debt and deficits posed challenges. The current crisis has magnified those problems.
When Government Programs Do More Harm Than Good
Shame on the U.S. government for making unemployment pay better than work.
Quarantine Fatigue and the Social End to the Coronavirus Pandemic
What might learning to live with COVID-19 look like?
Have We Crossed the Threshold of Doom?
The Reason Roundtable discusses eternal New Deals, multi-trillion-dollar mistakes, and sobbing face-first in the parking lot of life. Happy Monday!
Working From Home May Be a Permanent Feature of the Post-Pandemic World
That has interesting implications for where people will base themselves in the future.
Open Borders vs. COVID-19: A Soho Forum Debate
Center for Immigration Studies' Mark Krikorian debates George Mason University economist Bryan Caplan on immigration and coronavirus.
Coronavirus Curfews Are Counterproductive and Un-American
Making businesses close early will not stop the spread of COVID-19.
Anti-Porn Groups Target Websites' Ability to Accept Credit Card Payments
We've seen this before...
We Need Economists, Civil Libertarians, and Epidemiologists in the COVID-19 Discussion
The tradeoffs among considerations of health, prosperity, and liberty are catching up with us even if we don't want to acknowledge them.
Sen. Josh Hawley's Plan To Abolish the World Trade Organization Is Based on Fake Economics and False History
Hawley is charting the next path for the Trump-style anti-trade nationalism that has infected the Republican Party.
The New Great Depression? Unemployment Hits Levels Not Seen Since 1930s
Plus: tax revolts, Mrs. America, sex-worker comedy, reopening poll, and more...
Texas Will No Longer Send People to Jail for Violating Strict Social Distancing
Gov. Greg Abbott made the change after a Dallas salon owner was jailed for reopening her salon.
Andrew Cuomo's Morally Grotesque Rationale for Maintaining COVID-19 Lockdowns
Even the president is a better moral philosopher than New York's governor.
The U.S. Postal Service 'Unsustainable,' Says GAO. And That Was Before COVID-19 Hit.
The USPS has lost $78 billion since 2007, but could lose as much as $13 billion this year as the pandemic has crushed mail volume.
'This Was Avoidable': Michigan Republicans Sue Governor Over Emergency Response to Coronavirus
Some lawmakers allege that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has overstepped the bounds of her authority.
Coronavirus Has Devastated Uber and Lyft's Business. Now California Is Suing Them.
A lawsuit filed yesterday by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra accuses the companies of misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors.
New CRISPR Coronavirus Test Could Be a Pandemic 'Game-Changer'
Cheap accurate testing would enable the safe reopening of the U.S. economy.
'Feeding My Kids Isn't Selfish': Salon Owner Gets Jail Time for Reopening in Dallas
Texas salons are allowed to reopen on Friday. Shelley Luther will be sitting in jail.
The Coronavirus Butterfly Effect
Global manufacturing is an intricate ecosystem of specialized players, their fates closely intertwined.
United Airlines Received $5 Billion From Taxpayers to Protect Employees' Paychecks. Now It's Cutting Hours for 15,000 Workers.
Lawmakers who voted for the $50 billion bailout of the airline industry are just shocked at these companies' behavior.
