Politicians Say They Want To Fight Climate Change. So Why Are They Fighting China on Electric Vehicles?
Rather than posing a national security threat, the growth of China's E.V. industry is an opportunity for global innovation.
Protectionism
Season 1, Episode 6 Podcasts
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Can You Afford Tariffs on Tin Cans?
"There's nobody that says, wait, is this good for America? Is this good for the American consumer?"
Arkansas Business Owner Sues Over Government Garbage Monopoly
X-Dumpsters owner Steven Hedrick rents roll-away dumpsters to people, but now his city forces residents to contract with the county.
A New Podcast Explains Why We Can't Have Nice Things
The answer? Because special interests and government prevent the free market from working the way it should.
Season 1, Episode 3 Free Trade
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Jones Act Traffic Jam
"It's just a very classic case of everything wrong with Washington."
Eric Boehm: How Protectionist Trade Policies Screw Us All
The host of Why We Can't Have Nice Things explains how indefensible tariffs cause baby formula shortages, screw Hawaii residents, and increase traffic in the Northeast.
Season 1, Episode 2 Free Trade
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: The Ghosts of Protectionism Past
The U.S. tariff code is "quite regressive and somewhat misogynist" because the most powerful lobbyist in Washington is muscle memory.
Season 1 Free Trade
Trailer: Why We Can't Have Nice Things Season 1
A six-part podcast series on trade policy launching next week
Industrial Policy Isn't About Creating Jobs
It's a short-sighted approach that distracts us from the more important question.
Trade War Heats Up With China's Export Restrictions on Two Critical Minerals
China and the U.S. are locked in a mutually destructive economic conflict.
The Rail Safety Act Is About Union Handouts, Not Safety
The legislation—which was introduced in response to the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio—pushes pet projects and would worsen the status quo.
California Lawmakers Want To Make Tech Companies Subsidize News Media
Plus: Debt ceiling deal passes House, Congress wants to childproof the internet, lactation consultant licensing law is unconstitutional, and more...
Rejoice Georgians: You Don't Need a Government Permit To Advise Breastfeeding Moms
The state’s Supreme Court strikes down an absurd, unneeded occupational licensing demand.
Even Pennsylvanians Can Now Buy Wine in Grocery Stores, but New Yorkers Still Can't
A bill that would expand wine sales in the Empire State is meeting familiar resistance from entrenched interests.
The FTC Is Investigating Anti-Competitive Baby Formula Contracts. Bad Federal Policy Is To Blame.
If the FTC wants to know why there's such a notable lack of competition within America's baby formula market, it ought to ask other parts of the federal bureaucracy.
Do the Natcons Get Anything Right?
Plus: A listener asks if the Roundtable has given the arguments of those opposed to low-skilled immigration a fair hearing.
Conservatives Pushing 'Common Good Capitalism' Sound a Lot Like Progressives
The ideology champions the same tired policies that big government types predictably propose whenever they see something they don't like.
Is the Jones Act Unconstitutional?
An argument that the wasteful law violates the Constitution's Port Preference Clause.
Belgium Destroys Thousands of Miller High Life Cans Over 'Champagne of Beers' Slogan
Plus: No one is excited about a 2024 rematch between Biden and Trump, it's showtime for House Republicans' debt ceiling bill, and more...
Biden's 'Buy American' Electric Vehicle Tax Credits Go Into Effect
The credits may be well-intentioned, but they will distort the market and lead to a windfall for U.S. companies.
Biden's 'Buy American' Rules Are Getting in the Way of Biden's Rural Broadband Push
Industrial policy is never as simple as it seems.
Progressive Politicians Are Regulating Their Own Projects Into Oblivion
Excessive government interference in the market hurts consumers and thwarts policy goals. It also gets in the way of the government itself.
The Inflation Reduction Act Is Screwing Up the Market for Electric Vehicles
Volkswagen unveiled a cheap new electric concept car, but protectionist policies mean it's not worthwhile for the company to introduce it in the U.S.
Banning Chinese Products in the Name of 'National Security' Could Have Disastrous Consequences
It would result in shortages, decreases in productivity, and higher production costs affecting millions of American workers and nearly every consumer.
America Needs a Better Kind of Capitalism
Big corporations and entire industries constantly use their connections in Congress to get favors, no matter which party is in power.
The Government Is Subsidizing Microchip Firms—While Making It More Expensive To Produce Microchips
Politicians say they want to subsidize various industries, but they sabotage themselves by weighing the policies down with rules that have nothing to do with the plans.
The FDA Will Let the Soy Boys Have Their Milk
Plus: Google blocks news to Canadian users in advance of pending media law, Arizona considers zoning reform bill, and more...
Biden Promises To Stop Waiving His Own Terrible 'Buy American' Mandates
The president's State of the Union address re-upped a tired, old promise to spend more tax dollars on less infrastructure.
Homeland Security Wants To Protect Us From Foreign Bands
A new proposal to more than triple visa entry fees for performers will harm American audiences and culture.
Is It 'Treason' To Support Free Trade?
Shipping industry insiders floated a recommendation to charge critics of the Jones Act with treason, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Good Luck Qualifying for New Tax Credits on Electric Cars
The Inflation Reduction Act extended tax credits for buying electric vehicles, but the requirements will put them out of reach for most customers.
What 2022 Taught Us About Freeing American Alcohol Markets
Reformers had two years of unprecedented victories—and then protectionists started using scare tactics to block them
This Military Spending Bill Will Make Puerto Rico's Next Hurricane Disaster Even Worse
The maritime industry inserted some protectionism into the National Defense Authorization Act.
Big Dairy Wants Congress To Restore Huge Tariffs on Imported Baby Formula
Unless Congress takes action, those tariffs will return on January 1. And the baby formula shortage hasn't yet passed.
Nationalism, not Hostility Towards Elites, is the Main Divide Between Libertarians and the "New Right"
Despite Tyler Cowen's argument for the elite theory, the real divisions have much more to do with the New Right's nationalism.
Biden's 'Buy American' Rules Are Hamstringing Infrastructure Investments
State governments already want relief from the "Buy American" mandates included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
Europe Threatens New Tariffs Over Biden's 'Buy American' Tax Credits
Amid initial concerns about the 'Buy American' electric vehicle tax credit, the European Union is now considering further protectionist retaliation.
Republicans Need an Actual Plan To Grow the Economy
The biggest beneficiaries of economic growth are poor people. But the deepest case for economic growth is a moral one.
Buy American Falls Short on U.S. EV Production and Risks a European Trade War
The Buy American program, used to encourage the buying of American made electric vehicles, not only limits access to EVs but risks a trade war with the E.U.
Lawsuits Keep Rolling Back Unconstitutional Vegan 'Meat' Bans
No one is confused about whether Tofurky is turkey.
Free Trade Would Boost the Economy, But It's Not on the Ballot
Joe Biden adopted his predecessor’s protectionism, threatening our peace and prosperity.
To Protect Privileged Shippers From Competition, the Government Fought Jones Act Waivers
That's in addition to advocating for opponents of the law to be charged with treason.
Somebody in the Shipping Industry Wants Opponents of the Jones Act Charged with Treason
There’s nothing patriotic about a law lining the pockets of cargo companies at the expense of consumers.
Texas Roofer Arrested in Florida for Helping Hurricane Victims
He's fully licensed, but not in the right state.
New Jersey Brewery Sues State Over Outrageous Restrictions
The restrictions are clearly intended to crush breweries in order to protect restaurants.
Feds Allow Single Foreign Ship To Deliver Fuel to Hurricane-Ravaged Puerto Rico
It’s only one vessel, but the U.S. domestic shipping cartel, protected by the awful Jones Act, is screaming about it.
In the Aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, the Jones Act Is Screwing Over Puerto Rico Again
The island is begging the Biden administration to allow foreign ships to bring fuel to help restore power. But entrenched maritime interests balk at competition.
