Mandatory National Service Is a Morally Bankrupt Idea
Frederick Douglass compared compelled labor to slavery. That objection still stands.
Big Government
Supersizing the IRS Will Hurt the Working Rich, Not Fat-Cat Tax Evaders
And it also won't help us recover from the recession we're definitely not in.
The G Word Begs Americans To Fall Back in Love with Uncle Sam
Adam Conover and President Barack Obama want to unruin the federal government. But they’re not really willing to truly consider that it’s too big and too wasteful.
Why Everything About Politics Sucks, in 1 Chart
Only 6 percent of Americans say the federal government is extremely "careful with taxpayer money," yet those same Americans consistently report that they want the government to do more.
Biden Still Wants Government Interfering in All Areas of Life
Inspiring support for Ukrainian freedom is undermined by the remainder of the president’s agenda.
Some People Love a State of Crisis
Why do so many people seem eager to fret and impose emergency measures even as COVID-19 becomes endemic and restrictions take a growing toll?
Imposing Virtue by Government Edict Is Impossible
If you want to abstain from drinking or observe the Sabbath, then abstain from drinking and observe the Sabbath.
The Independents Strike Back
If you make the government feel too dangerous, a corrective bloc of voters will pour cold water on your face.
Before Promising To Solve the World's Big Problems, Politicians Should Aim To Fix Potholes
The lonely crusade against government hubris.
The Lockdown Showdown
Alarmed by unilateral COVID-19 restrictions, states are imposing new limits on executive authority.
Goodbye and Good Riddance to Bill de Blasio, a Terrible Mayor on Every Issue He Tripped Over
The best thing you could say about Bill de Blasio was that he was good for a laugh.
Elon Musk: Government Is 'the Biggest Corporation, With a Monopoly on Violence, Where You Have No Recourse'
Musk's finally ready to admit that government subsidies distort markets and that government actors are terrible at capital allocation.
Why Does Bernie Sanders Think Billionaires Should Get Out of Space?
Today's highly successful space race "is not something for two billionaires to be directing," says Sanders, who favors the government spending taxpayer money to do the same damn thing (but more slowly).
The TSA's 20th Birthday Should Be Its Last
Plus: A dispatch from the National Conservatism Conference, a progressive FCC nominee gets a surprising backer, and more...
Austria Orders the Unvaccinated Back Into Lockdown
Plus: Myanmar releases imprisoned U.S. journalist Danny Fenster, another budding San Francisco small business is strangled by red tape, and more...
Your Next Car May Refuse To Start if It Thinks You've Had a Drink
Get ready to pay for new nanny-state technology and for bypassing the unwelcome intervention.
Texas' Costly 'Operation Lone Star' Leaves Alleged Illegal Immigrants Trapped in Jail with No Due Process
Gov. Greg Abbott’s crusade is costing the state huge sums just to try to prosecute thousands of misdemeanor trespassing cases.
After Paid Leave Plan Gets Chopped, Biden Promises Revamped Spending Proposal
Plus: Six Flags arbitrage, Tom Cotton misleads about qualified immunity, and more...
The PATRIOT Act's Poisoned Tree
Two decades after 9/11, the government's appetite for spying has only grown.
Americans Now Prefer Smaller Government, But May Not Get It
No matter what the public wants, crises typically leave the state more powerful.
Biden's Support Among Independents Has Crashed
As Democrats wrangle over his domestic agenda, and anti-Trump conservatives agonize over political strategy, both should pay more attention to the 27-point drop in presidential approval among self-described independents.
Immigration Activists Sever Conversations With White House Over Return of Trump-Era Border Policy
Plus: Maine cracks down on vulgar license plates, Nashville cracks down on mobile hot tubs, and more...
Two Big New Ways the Biden Administration Plans To Overstep Its Pandemic Authority
Plus: The vaccine and abortion debates, a promising jobs report, and more...
The U.S. Has Strayed Far From Its Founding Ideals
Governments at the state, local, and federal levels can obstruct our pursuit of happiness and at times even jeopardize our safety.
How Big Business Uses Big Government To Kill Competition
Corporations can afford robots. Their competitors often cannot.
Government Pandemic Loans Plagued by Potential $260 Billion in Fraud
The hasty work behind the PPP and other relief loans shows the limits of big government.
Janet Yellen Sells Big Business on Big Government
The treasury secretary told the Chamber of Commerce that an activist government funded by higher corporate taxes would be a boon for business too.
Biden Claims 5 Past Fed Chairs Back His Jobs Plan, but 2 Are Dead and 2 More Have Been Quiet About It
Plus: Boomer electoral power dwindling, U.S. migration patterns appear linked to pandemic restrictions, and more...
The Era of Small Government Is Over
Is there any hope to check the growth of the state?
Gavin Newsom's Idiotic Case Against the Recall: It Costs Too Much!
California Democrats and journalists are suddenly concerned about expensive government.
Without a World War, We Have an Unaffordable War-Sized Government
Americans distract themselves with freak-show headlines while political institutions escape their control.
How a Socialist Candidate Plans To Destroy Ecuador's Currency
Will Ecuador make the same mistake Venezuela already suffered through with dedollarization?
Biden's Orders Continue the Presidency's Slide Toward Elective Monarchy
If the refusal of lawmakers to enact a president's policies is justification for unilateral executive action, then a slide toward elective monarchy is inevitable.
To Avoid More Political Violence, Allow Americans To Escape Each Other's Control
Let people join with the like-minded to reject officials and laws that don’t suit them and to construct systems that do.
In 2021, Politics Needs a 'Leave Us Alone' Coalition
Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. It is force. We could use a little less of that, please.
The Truth About the Free Market Family
Maxine Eichner's The Free-Market Family laments the bad public policy that makes it hard for parents to juggle work and child care, but often arrives at the wrong solutions.
British Culture Minister Threatens a 'Health Warning' on Netflix's The Crown
The show takes plenty of creative license, but viewers are smart enough to distinguish drama from documentary.
German-Style Internet Censorship Catches On Around the World
Inspired by Germany's notorious hate-speech law, more countries seek to impose steep penalties on platforms that don't comply with their censorship whims.
Who Watches the Government's Watchdogs?
Expansive and expensive government programs represent irresistible temptations for sticky-fingered crooks.
Where's Republican Federalism During Trump's Urban Invasions?
A president from a party supposedly committed to restraining the federal government is now sending enforcers to cities over local objections.
The Pandemic Is a Lucrative Revenue Opportunity for Incompetent Politicians
If there's one thing at which governments have excelled during this crisis, it's been collecting fines from anybody who steps out of line.
All Enforcers Are Cops
Real police reform requires backing off efforts to force people to do things they don’t want to do.
Post-Pandemic Americans May Be Done With Taking Orders
Governments overplayed their hands with mandates that they are losing the ability to enforce.
Police Reform Should Match the Needs of Different Communities
Leave people room to experiment with approaches to protecting life, liberty, and property.
In Future Crises, Let People Make Their Own Decisions
Top-down, one-size-fits-few mandates are recipes for conflict.
Trump's Illegal, Impossible Plan to Teach Twitter a Lesson
Plus: unrest in Minneapolis, Twitter labels Trump tweet, and more...
The President and Governors Alike Botched the Pandemic Response
Competent responses to the crisis have come from people and organizations voluntarily helping each other and themselves.
