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Unintended Consequences

Photo of the relief from Rome's Arch of Titus | Paolo Villa

Unintended Consequences

The Dreadful Policies Halting Archeological Discoveries

Italy is full of treasures from the ancient world, but its government is discouraging their discovery.

Stevie Miller | 6.6.2025 11:12 AM

Great Moments vol 18 with images of an HOV sign, gun with money, and scratch and sniff sticker | ReasonTV

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Printed Guns, Scratch and Sniff, Jakarta Traffic (Vol. 18)

Good intentions, bad results.

John Carter, Meredith Bragg, and Austin Bragg | 3.17.2025 12:10 PM

Unintended consequences logo with skull, meat, and traffic light | reasontv

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Fossils, Price Controls, and Traffic Lights (Vol. 17)

Good intentions, bad results.

Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg, and John Carter | 9.6.2024 11:45 AM

Unintended Consequences with a parrot AI robot, French wikipedia, and a pizza box with a Doordash logo | ReasonTV

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: DoorDash, Google AI, and French Wikipedia (Vol. 16)

Good intentions, bad results.

Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg, and John Carter | 7.12.2024 10:20 AM

John Stossel is seen next to a picture of California and  | Stossel TV

Minimum Wage

California's $20 Fast Food Minimum Wage Law Is Already Having Disastrous Unintended Consequences

Many have seen their hours reduced—or have lost their jobs entirely.

John Stossel | 5.29.2024 12:30 AM

Unintended Consequences with San Francisco contract, Edmonton noise level display, and a cartoon of Gov. Pennypacker as a parrot. | Reason TV

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Road Noise Meters, San Francisco Red State Boycott, and Pennsylvania's Political Cartoon Ban (Vol. 15)

Good intentions, bad results.

Meredith Bragg, Austin Bragg, and John Carter | 3.8.2024 10:30 AM

UC14_IMAGE_v5 | Reason TV

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Dollar Coins, Fertilizer Ban, and the Hawaiian Mongoose (Vol. 14)

Good intentions, bad results.

Meredith Bragg, Austin Bragg, and John Carter | 1.19.2024 10:25 AM

a globe in front of a black and white backdrop | Illustration: Lex Villena

Economics

3 Economic Myths That Need To Die

As we step into 2024, it's crucial to adopt a more informed perspective on these dubious claims.

Veronique de Rugy | 1.4.2024 12:30 PM

Unintended Consequences with images of a gun with a price tag, poppies, and a small yellow car next to a gas pump | Reason TV

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences (Vol. 13): Gun Buybacks, Poppy Payday, CAFE Standards

Good intentions, bad results

Meredith Bragg, Austin Bragg, and John Carter | 11.10.2023 10:40 AM

topicsdrugs | Photo: NexGen Animal Health

Drugs

Prohibition Gave Us Tranq-Laced Fentanyl

Mixing other drugs with xylazine is driven by the economics of prohibition.

Jacob Sullum | 8.8.2023 6:00 AM

FDA commissioner: No one 'envisioned' the consequences of new sesame seed labeling rule | Photo by Tetiana SHYSHKINA on Unsplash

Food

FDA Commissioner: No One 'Envisioned' the Consequences of New Sesame Seed Labeling Rule

No one could have considered this possibility, except perhaps the many food-processing facilities that immediately did exactly that.

Eric Boehm | 7.28.2023 12:15 PM

Good intentions, bad results: Venomous bugs, warning labels, carbon credit scheme.

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Venomous Bugs, Warning Labels, Carbon Credit Scheme (Vol. 12)

Good intentions, bad results.

Meredith Bragg, Austin Bragg, and John Carter | 7.14.2023 11:10 AM

pills | Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/es/@dulhiier?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Nastya Dulhiier</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/g8AZXNVkbq0?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

War on Drugs

Drug Busts Are Linked to More Overdoses and Deaths

Plus: Government appeals social media order, Amsterdam attempts to move prostitution out of red-light district, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 7.6.2023 9:35 AM

topicslifestyle | Photo: Jan-Otto/iStock

Energy Subsidies

The Morally Funky Math of Homeowner Handouts

The rich are getting richer under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Mike Riggs | 4.3.2023 6:00 AM

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences - Volume 11

Comedy

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Subsidized Trees, Day Care Late Fees, New York Alcohol Ban (Vol. 11)

Good intentions, bad results.

Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg, and John Carter | 3.17.2023 10:40 AM

great-political-liars-8218348_2 | Lex Villena

Joe Biden

The Political Lies That Really Matter

From George Santos to Joe Biden, résumé padding is unacceptable. But it's all the lies about legislation we can't afford.

Nick Gillespie and Justin Zuckerman | 1.18.2023 1:00 PM

Unintended Consequences Vol. 10

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Barbara Streisand, Sesame Seeds, Golden Goal (Vol. 10)

Good intentions, bad results

Austin Bragg and Meredith Bragg | 1.13.2023 10:55 AM

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences (vol. 9)

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Antwerp Siege, Hearth Taxes, Cash for Clunkers (Vol. 9)

Good intentions, bad results.

Austin Bragg and Meredith Bragg | 11.18.2022 11:33 AM

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences (Vol. 8) | Meredith Bragg

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Rent Control, Arizona Alt Fuel, Ballot Access (Vol. 8)

Good intentions, bad results.

Austin Bragg and Meredith Bragg | 7.15.2022 11:10 AM

Angela Pence versus Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene | Illustration: Lex Villena; Gage Skidmore, Serdar Duran

Politics

How Georgia's Outlandish Ballot Access Law Is Protecting Marjorie Taylor Greene (and the Two-Party System)

A ballot access law meant to block Communists has become an obstacle to third-party politics. 

Eric Boehm | 7.13.2022 1:45 PM

UC final image_v2

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Texas Road Signs, Water Bottle Ban, Bachelor Tax (Vol. 7)

Good intentions, bad results

Meredith Bragg and Austin Bragg | 5.4.2022 10:00 AM

reason-stpaul | Cupertino10/Dreamstime.com

Rent control

Study: St. Paul's Rent Control Law Primarily Provides Benefits for High-Income Renters

A new paper finds that lower income property owners are seeing the biggest falls in property values while high-income renters will get the biggest discounts on rent.

Christian Britschgi | 4.13.2022 2:25 PM

UCVol6 16x9

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Driving Days, Boat Taxes, Ghost Flights (Vol. 6)

Good intentions, bad results

Austin Bragg and Meredith Bragg | 3.9.2022 10:30 AM

Vol5_YT

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Transcontinental Railroad, Cash for Ash, Cobra Problem (Vol. 5)

Good intentions, bad results.

Austin Bragg | 1.14.2022 10:30 AM

topicslifestyle | Photo: SDI Productions/iStock

Education

Closing Schools To Protect Kids Made Them Sick

Children forced to Zoom into school ended up with suboptimal immune systems—the opposite of herd immunity.

Pamela J. Hobart | 1.10.2022 6:00 AM

Homelessness

When Lawyers Make Things Worse - Housing Edition

A study suggests that "right-to-counsel" in eviction cases actually leads to greater homelessness.

Jonathan H. Adler |The Volokh Conspiracy | 11.29.2021 1:29 PM

8122797

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Black Liquor Fuel, Billboard Bans, Gender Pay Gap (Vol. 4)

Good intentions, bad results.

Austin Bragg | 7.2.2021 10:00 AM

reason-price | Andrii Yalanskyi/Dreamstime.com

Housing Policy

California Politicians Craft Nifty New Idea To Increase Housing Costs

Lawmakers are proposing to create a "California Dream Fund" that would subsidize up to 45 percent of the costs of a new home.

Christian Britschgi | 6.4.2021 3:10 PM

UC_v3_YTube

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences: Window Tax, Canadian Strip Clubs, Hero Pay (Vol. 3)

Good intentions, bad results.

Austin Bragg and Meredith Bragg | 5.7.2021 12:30 PM

topicsfuture | Illustration: grafart/iStock

Future

When Politics Makes It Impossible To Plan

For more than a decade, politicians have moved toward seizing short-term wins through any mechanism available to them.

Katherine Mangu-Ward | 5.3.2021 6:00 AM

UC_YTube_v11

Unintended Consequences

Great Moments in Unintended Consequences (Vol. 2)

Good intentions, bad results.

Austin Bragg and Meredith Bragg | 2.9.2021 1:30 PM

VirusDownKonstantinosADreamstime | Konstantinos A/Dreamstime

Coronavirus

How Many COVID-19 Infections and Deaths Did Lockdowns Avert?

Two new studies create counterfactual pandemic scenarios seeking to answer that question.

Ronald Bailey | 6.9.2020 4:30 PM

reason-baltimore | Jon Bilous/Dreamstime.com

Housing Policy

When Mandating Affordable Housing Makes Housing Less Affordable

A new study of inclusionary zoning policies in the D.C. and Baltimore metro areas finds that the policy ends up raising rents.

Christian Britschgi | 10.7.2019 11:45 AM

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