Economics
Coming Soon to the Supreme Court: Are Tariffs Taxes?
The correct answer is: Yes, even when they are also regulations. Whether the Court agrees could determine the future of presidential power.
Utah's New Union Law Faces a Ballot Box Battle
Lawmakers passed sweeping limits on public sector union power, but opponents have gathered record-breaking signatures to attempt to overturn it in 2026.
Javier Milei's Libertarian Experiment is in Jeopardy. Argentina's Midterm Elections Will Determine Its Fate.
The Argentine president needed a U.S. bailout, and his political adversaries are gaining ground.
Trump Erroneously Thinks Killing Suspected Smugglers Is the Key to Winning the Drug War
Until now, the president concedes, interdiction has been "totally ineffective." Blowing up drug boats won't change that reality.
How Josh Hawley Is Empowering Unions in New York and California
Some blue states are trying to set up their own versions of the NLRB, and Hawley is inadvertently (or deliberately) helping the cause.
America Second
Plus: Feminization of the workplace, no National Guard in Chicago, public transit needs to be policed, and more...
Trump's New Tariffs on Furniture Will Be Costly, and Americans Will Pay
The evidence is clear that we are paying more, U.S. firms have lower margins, and exports are collapsing in flagship industries.
Even Marjorie Taylor Greene Thinks Trump's Immigration and Trade Policies Go Too Far
“We have to do something about labor, and that needs to be a smarter plan than just rounding up every single person and deporting them,” the Georgia congresswoman said.
Sarbanes-Oxley Promised To Protect Investors. It Ended Up Freezing Them Out.
Fraud didn’t disappear after 2002. But IPOs did get rarer, private equity got bigger, and ordinary investors got pushed to the sidelines.
Trump Says Tariffs Are About National Security. Pentagon Officials Say They Need a Tariff Exemption.
It turns out that free trade is essential for the military too.
The Agony of Defeat, Not Winning, Is What Makes Sports Exciting
Plus: MLB’s labor showdown, and maybe referees really are biased for the Chiefs
Trump's Art of the Deal for Peace in the Middle East
Plus: new tariff threats escalate China trade war, federal layoffs begin amidst the government shutdown, and Democrats face a candidate-quality crisis
This Year's Nobel Winners for Economics Explained How Innovation Makes Us Rich
Joel Mokyr has long made the case against technophobia, including in the pages of Reason.
New York Doubles Down on Delivery Wage Disaster
After restaurant delivery drivers quit in droves and costs soared, the city is expanding minimum wage rules to grocery couriers.
California's Fast Food Minimum Wage Hike Cost the State 18,000 Jobs. That Shouldn't Surprise Anyone.
Lawmakers made an exception for smaller restaurant chains, implicitly acknowledging that the law would come with costs.
After All Those DOGE Cuts, Federal Spending Still Increased by $300 Billion
For the fiscal year that ended on September 30, the federal government spent more than $7 trillion and ran a $1.8 trillion deficit.
D.C. Will Arrest This CEO if His Rideshare Alternative Doesn't Shut Down by Friday
Empower CEO Joshua Sear is guilty of providing a cheap, popular alternative to Uber in the nation's capital.
What Changed Over the Past Seven Months of War in the Middle East?
The war in Gaza was already over in January. Trump let it reopen and expand. A ceasefire is good—but it should have happened much earlier.
States Are Banning Retail Sales of Dogs and Cats. It's Doing More Harm Than Good.
"By [activists'] own measurements, these bans aren't successful," says lobbyist Alyssa Miller-Hurley. "What they are successful at is fundraising."
Trump's Labor Department Admits That Trump's Immigration Crackdown Is Causing a Shortage of Farm Workers
With fewer immigrant workers available on American farms, there is a risk of "supply shock-induced food shortages," the Labor Department says.
Treasury Department Surveillance at the Southern Border Faces Fourth Amendment Challenges
A new FinCEN rule forced small money services businesses to collect personal data on nearly every customer transaction. Lawsuits claim this violates the Fourth Amendment.
The Economy Doesn't Need Federal Jobs Data To Function
There are plenty of private alternatives to the employment report put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Oregon's E-Cigarette Censorship Is Unconstitutional—and Makes No Sense
Sometimes the state's rules require stores to cover almost the entire label of products—in places that don't even admit minors.
Democrats Are Proposing a 'Robot Tax' To Save Jobs From AI. Here's Why It Won't Work.
The policy would slow innovation, reduce competitiveness, and leave American workers unprepared for the future.
Licensing Boards Are Legalized Cartels
Industry insiders dominate the boards that control who can work, using government power to shut out competitors, protect profits, and block reform.
Americans Are Turning Against Sports Betting—But It's Not Going Anywhere
Plus: World Cup ticket prices, Michael Jordan against NASCAR, and The Smashing Machine
Warrantless Searches, Tariffs, and the Unitary Executive: 3 SCOTUS Cases To Watch This Fall
In a new Supreme Court term packed with big cases, these disputes stand out.
Tennessee Alcohol Wholesalers Are Grabbing Control of the State's Hemp Market
A new law hands hemp distribution to the same powerful middlemen who dominate liquor sales and block out-of-state suppliers.
The U.S. Government Doesn't Want You To Read This Report on Israel's Business Deals
Whether or not one accepts the report's characterization of Israel's actions, the report itself is an interesting read on the economics of war.
Trump's Planned Farm Bailout Should Require Congressional Approval
The Trump administration has already claimed the power to raise taxes without congressional approval. Now it is going to spend money that way too.
Economic Freedom Begins Recovery From COVID-Era Government Meddling
Authoritarian pandemic policy made the world poorer and less free.
The White House Thinks Taking Partial Ownership of a Canadian Mining Company Will Reduce the National Debt
Trump's deal with a lithium mine in Nevada follows similar "creative deals" with Intel and U.S. Steel.
The Government Shutdown Is a Distraction—From Our $37 Trillion Debt
This time, Democrats turned the most basic government housekeeping into hostage drama.
Here's Why Trump's Plan To Tax International Films Won't Work
The president’s movie tariff proposal faces several legal and logistical challenges to implementation.
A Government Shutdown Isn't Really a Shutdown. Most Federal Employees Are Still Working and Will Get Paid.
The federal government continues paying its biggest bills during a shutdown, and hundreds of thousands of federal employees get a belatedly paid vacation.
The Formula for Making Immigration Popular With American Voters
A practical path to lasting freedom and prosperity
Shutdown Livestream: This Won't Fix Trillion-Dollar Deficits
Reason's Peter Suderman and Eric Boehm discuss the government shutdown live at 3 p.m. Eastern time today.
Michael Jordan's Lawsuit Against NASCAR Could Upend Motorsports
But crying to a federal judge is no way to negotiate.
Trump's $625 Million Coal Plan May Raise Utility Bills for Millions of Americans
One report found that forcing retiring coal plants to remain open could increase annual electricity costs by $3 billion through 2028.
Trump Is Filling the Fed with Loyalists
By installing Stephen Miran and eyeing more allies, Trump is positioning the central bank for aggressive rate cuts and a sharp break from its tradition of independence.
Assata Shakur Stood With the Oppressors
The supposed freedom fighter allied with a government known for imprisoning dissidents, curtailing civil liberties, and forging equality in the sense that people are more equally oppressed.
Two Prominent Left-Liberal Thinkers Reconsider Libertarianism
Legal scholar Cass Sunstein and economic policy commentator Noah Smith haven't become libertarians - but they take a more favorable view of that ideology than before. This evolution might prefigure a potential alliance between libertarians and "abundance" liberals.
Mamdani's Fare-Free Buses Wouldn't Be NYC's First Wasteful Public Transit Boondoggle
A previous pilot program found free access slowed down buses in New York City, which already has the slowest buses in the nation.
Why Does Cairo Have So Many Unfinished Buildings? Blame Egyptian Property Tax.
At first, Cairo looks as if someone pressed pause on the city mid-construction.
