Why I'm Not (Yet?) Much Worried About the Civil Liberties Restrictions Flowing from the Coronavirus Response
The restrictions are less dangerous precisely because they are so broad and onerous.
Economics
Richard Epstein: 'More Probable Than Not…Total Number of Deaths at Under 50,000'
The worst-case scenarios projecting millions of deaths don't take into account adaptive behaviors.
$1 Trillion Coronavirus Stimulus Unveiled: Corporate Bailouts and Loans, Checks for All
The package seeks to curb the economic chaos caused by COVID-19.
Tyler Cowen Thinks Coronavirus Could Be This Generation's World War II
The Mercatus economist on why the private sector could provide the best response to the coronavirus, why the government should go big anyway, and how the current crisis could help America reinvent itself.
Why Price Gouging Laws Are a Bad Idea
What politicians call "gouging" is just supply and demand. Prices rise and fall all the time.
Congress and the White House Are Inching Closer to a 'Helicopter Money' Response to Coronavirus Crisis
In the past, the federal government has sent everyone checks to stimulate the economy. But paying for all the losses that come with a coronavirus-induced shutdown would require more novel policies.
Trump's Tariffs Weakened America's Hospitals. Then Coronavirus Hit.
Some of Trump's tariffs hit medical equipment and supplies from China. We need more trade, not less, to be prepared for pandemics.
Mitt Romney, Tulsi Gabbard Agree: The Federal Government Should Give Everyone $1,000—or More
Politicians across the political spectrum embrace UBI-style relief to ease the pain of the coming coronavirus-induced recession.
Biden Says High-Speed Rail Will Get Millions of Cars Off the Road. That's Malarkey.
This is what happens when you think all of America looks like the Acela corridor.
Price-Gouging Laws Will Do More Harm Than Good During the Coronavirus Pandemic
High prices for sought-after goods cause temporary pain, but not as much as government efforts to "help" frustrated consumers.
Biden Promises 'Major, Major, Major Bailouts' in Response to Coronavirus
Not to be outdone, Bernie Sanders promises that every single American will "be made whole" despite economic losses due to the outbreak. That's totally impossible.
Trump Gets What He Wants as Federal Reserve Interest Rate Target Drops to Zero
Paired with a new round of quantitative easing, the Fed takes us back to the 2008 playbook.
The Not-So-Great Society
Historian Amity Shlaes on the good intentions and bad results of LBJ's war on poverty
Coronavirus Is Going To Be Expensive. Too Bad the Government Is Already in Massive Debt.
Having failed to be fiscally responsible when it would have been relatively easier, our elected officials will now likely hike spending even further.
Federal Reserve Promises a Trillion-Plus in Short Term Loans to Banks.
Series of huge short-term loans to financial services presages a new era of "quantitative easing" and Fed balance sheet growth
Trump Administration Swears Proposed Hotel, Airline, Cruise Bailout Is Totally Not a Bailout
Actually, it's a bailout.
Why You Can't Solve a Public Health Problem With Economic Stimulus
Is a new stimulus package the right response to a pandemic?
Joe Biden Throws Support Behind Disastrous California Gig Economy Law
A.B. 5 has caused chaos in the Golden State.
Trump's Tariffs Are Hiking the Price of Your Favorite Whisky
American whisky and wine drinkers are being punished for trying to amicably trade what they have for what they want.
Expect 'Very Dramatic' Economic Intervention Due to Coronavirus, Says Trump
Plus: How Trump's payroll tax would work, Daily Show accuses Kamala Harris of "gaslighting," and more..
How Badly Could the Novel Coronavirus Epidemic Whack the U.S. Economy?
Looking at better and worse projections.
Just How Good Is Trump's Economy, Anyway?
While the 2017 tax cuts didn't deliver the results promised by Trump and his magical-thinking supporters, the administration has delivered some economic expansion, some job creation, and some investment growth.
To Avoid Charges of Price Gouging, eBay Bans Sale of Coronavirus Supplies
Attempts to impose low prices on emergency supplies often do far more harm than good.
No, Stimulus Spending Wouldn't Be an Economic Vaccine Against the Coronavirus
If it works at all (and it usually doesn't), a fiscal stimulus is meant to boost demand. The biggest potential economic problem from coronavirus has to do with supply.
California's Gig Economy Is Under Attack
"Companies can simply blacklist California writers and work with writers in other states, and that's exactly what's happening."
Losers Bloomberg and Steyer Spent Millions. Stop Freaking Out About Money in Politics.
Michael Bloomberg spent at least $500 million in his bid for a Super Tuesday blitz. He came away with...American Samoa.
CPAC Promised To Take on Socialism but Couldn't Even Take on Trump's Spending
There was a deficit of debt talk at the conservative conference.
Trump's Proposed Cuts to Farm Subsidies Don't Go Nearly Deep Enough
Instead of taking a little off the top, Trump needs to give farm subsidies a buzz cut.
The National Debt Is 'Unsustainable' and the Pentagon's Finances Are a Total Mess, Federal Audit Says
"Absent policy changes, the federal government continues to face an unsustainable long-term fiscal path," America's top auditor warns. But is anyone listening?
How Mandatory Paid Leave Hurts Low-Income Workers
Proponents always forget to figure in the costs.
Trump's War on Whisky Is a Dram Shame
Whisky has become collateral damage in a long-running spat between the U.S. and the E.U. over subsidies to airplane manufacturers.
Competing Brands of Authoritarianism Are All Trump and Democratic Candidates Offer
The real resistance is made up of those who refuse to be governed by any of the wannabe rulers.
Good Riddance to the Roman Empire
Maybe Rome needed to disintegrate before the West could grow wealthy.
Trump's Agriculture Department Just Called Bull on a Key Part of His China Trade Deal
Instead of $12.5 billion in new agriculture purchases exports to China this year, the USDA expects less than $4 billion.
Trump 0, Nerds 1
When it comes to the trade deficit, policy wonks were right and the president was wrong.
Bloomberg Disses Sanders' Socialism: 'Other Countries Tried That. It Was Called Communism and It Just Didn't Work.'
Bloomberg says "We're not going to throw out capitalism"; Sanders isn't so sure.
Trump Uses Clemency To Help Drug War Victims, Reward GOP Donors, and Spite James Comey
Plus: China boots three reporters, megacities are getting a smaller share of growth than they used to, and Dems gather to debate in Las Vegas..
Is Bloomberg vs. Sanders (vs. Trump) the 2020 Nightmare Scenario?
Plus: Virginia's assault weapon ban gets shot down, Trump's tariffs face new legal scrutiny, and why you don't want Amy Klobuchar on your bar trivia team
Is Trump's Trade War on China Good for America? A Soho Forum Debate
Stephen Moore and Gene Epstein debate whether or not President Trump's Chinese trade policy deserves broad public support.
How Much More Should Trump Be Spending on You?
Federal outlays per person have increased $1,441 since 2016, to a grand total of $14,652 per person.
Federal Judge Refuses To Grant Injunction Against California's Gig Economy Law, But Acknowledges 'Likelihood of Irreparable Harm'
Assembly Bill 5 forces many companies to reclassify contractors as employees.
Trump's Budget Follows in the Footsteps of Giant Spenders
It’s a testament to fiscal irresponsibility.
