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!
Coronavirus
Federal and State Governments Have Less Control Over Shutdowns Than They Think
Officials in six Pennsylvania counties say they will allow businesses to reopen without permission from the state government. Expect more of that.
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.
HBO Host Bill Maher Thinks Third Party Candidates Can't Win. Justin Amash Says He's Wrong.
"I think you'll find that I'm the normal guy, the regular guy," Amash told HBO's Real Time host. "These other two guys are the buffoons."
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.
To Stanch COVID-19 Meat Crisis, Let Small Farmers Sell Meat to Local Grocers
The ability of Americans to buy meat in grocery stores is at risk due to serious supply-chain issues caused by COVID-19.
Coronavirus Curfews Are Counterproductive and Un-American
Making businesses close early will not stop the spread of COVID-19.
We Don't Need a Psychiatric Diagnosis To Assess the President's Obvious Faults
No amount of psychoanalyzing can disguise the grim choice facing voters this fall.
A Pandemic Is Not a Chance To Flog Your Bad National Service Proposals
The federal government has done a terrible job managing the coronavirus. It doesn't deserve our labor.
Were the COVID-19 Lockdowns a Mistake?
Andrew I. Friedson says they flattened the curve. Lyman Stone disagrees.
Does COVID-19 Make Immigration Restrictions Necessary? A Soho Forum Debate
The Center for Immigration Studies' Mark Krikorian vs. George Mason University economist Bryan Caplan
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.
Governments Have Screwed Up Mask Purchase and Distribution. Maybe Everyone Should Be a Libertarian in a Pandemic.
The state can have all the capacity it needs and still get things badly wrong.
The New Great Depression? Unemployment Hits Levels Not Seen Since 1930s
Plus: tax revolts, Mrs. America, sex-worker comedy, reopening poll, and more...
Many COVID-19 Lockdown Rules Seem Like Arbitrary Nonsense
In a nation of edicts, we serve at the pleasure of the king.
Human Challenge Trials for Coronavirus Vaccines Are Ethical and Should Be Initiated Quickly
Volunteers would earn cash for the risks they take on our behalf.
The NYPD's Violent COVID-19 Arrests Show It Hasn't Learned Much in the 6 Years Since Eric Garner's Death
To the NYPD, everything still looks like a nail.
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.
Coronavirus Cases Pit Constitutional Rights Against Public Health Authority
The federal courts start to grapple with COVID-19 shutdown orders.
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.
She Said Anthony Fauci Sexually Assaulted Her. Now She Says Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman Paid Her to Lie.
After failing to frame Robert Mueller, Elizabeth Warren, and others for sexual misconduct, the infamous Trumpster hoaxers tried to go after Fauci. But the woman they hired to play the victim had second thoughts.
Trump's Coronavirus Blame Game
The president is pushing the same protectionist policies he has always favored.
Alberta Cops Handcuffed a Woman in a Star Wars Costume Because Someone Complained About Her Fake Blaster
Considering Stormtroopers aren't known for their aim, the police had nothing to fear.
'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.
This App Protects Privacy While Tracing COVID-19 Infections
Stanford researcher Tina White and the new nonprofit Covid Watch are committed to protecting both individual rights and public health.
Stop Blue Angel Flyovers Saluting COVID-19 Responders!
Empty displays of ritual militarism are always a waste of time, money, and goodwill, but especially during a pandemic.
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.
Supreme Court Justices in Texas and Pennsylvania Emphasize That COVID-19 Lockdowns Require Judicial Scrutiny
Not everything that states do in the name of protecting public health is consistent with the Constitution.
'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.
Eisenhower's Military-Industrial Complex Speech in the Age of Coronavirus
The 1961 speech by President Dwight Eisenhower foreshadowed the current government's response to COVID-19.
Federal Red Tape Is Keeping Local Meat Processors From Helping Fix Our Supply Problem
A renewed push to pass the PRIME Act picks up steam as COVID-19 leaves us all asking “Where’s the beef?”
The Coronavirus Butterfly Effect
Global manufacturing is an intricate ecosystem of specialized players, their fates closely intertwined.
Justin Amash: 'I'm Promising to Be a President Who Will Reduce My Power'
The candidate for the Libertarian presidential nomination talks with the Fifth Column podcast about coronavirus, constitutionalism, open-carry protests in Michigan, and how his own House Freedom Caucus was corrupted.
Prohibiting Religious Services Makes the First Amendment a Coronavirus Victim
While governments are shutting down religious services and fining pastors who defy those orders.
Lawmakers Call Out Cuomo and Other Governors for Letting Prisoners Die of COVID-19
Plus: "Karenology," failing fashion brands, and more...
Plastic Bag Bans Do More Harm Than Good
Why are politicians suddenly cancelling their plastic bag bans? Because of COVID-19, of course.
When Are COVID-19 Control Measures 'Arbitrary' and 'Unreasonable'?
Courts so far have not been inclined to ask that question.
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.
The Trump Administration Is Still Charging 25 Percent Tariffs on Disinfectants Used To Combat COVID-19
"The tariff is making it more difficult for companies to supply our nation's essential workers with antiseptics and sanitizing products they need."
Masks Can Be a Symbol of Privacy and Personal Responsibility, Not Tyranny
Plus: Family Dollar guard murdered over mask enforcement, doctors see "multisystem inflammatory syndrome" in kids with COVID-19, and more...
Well, at Least He's My Accused Sexual Assaulter!
Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and double standards, as discussed on the Reason Roundtable podcast.
A New York Cop Beat Someone Up Over Social Distancing. Will NYPD Policing Finally Change Now?
The same weekend, the NYPD tweeted pictures of its officers peacefully handing out masks.
