Abolish the NSA and CIA
Ending these unaccountable agencies would safeguard civil liberties and improve intelligence gathering.
Federal government
Abolish the Federal Alcohol Tax and Regulation System
The states already overregulate alcohol. There's no need for a federal layer of red tape.
Abolish the Department of Education
The federal government furnishes a relatively tiny amount of K-12 funding—but the feds need relatively little money to exert power.
Abolish Obamacare
The Affordable Care Act has become a broken welfare program for people who don't need it.
Abolish the Small Business Administration
Like all government perks, SBA lending creates unseen victims.
Abolish Antitrust Law
Having a large market share may just mean that a company is really good at what it does.
Abolish FOIA
FOIA has no teeth and bureaucrats abuse its exemptions. Just redact and release every federal workers' emails instead.
Abolish Amtrak
Why should the federal government run a transportation corporation?
Abolish the EPA
Climate change is a serious environmental concern, but it is not clear how the EPA helps.
Abolish the DEA
The DEA's attempts to enforce the nation's drug laws have been a resounding failure by pretty much any measure.
Abolish the Federal Minimum Wage
There is a "virtual consensus" among economists that the minimum wage puts people out of work.
Abolish Borders
If government-drawn lines within your country don't possess some sort of moral magic that voids your rights, why would government-drawn lines between countries?
Abolish the National Park Service
Revising how America's most beautiful public lands are protected would create more ways for Americans to interact with some of the best parts of the country.
Abolish Social Security
Stop robbing poor, hard-working Peter to pay well-off, retired Paul.
Abolish Federal Student Loans
Easily accessible student loans give colleges an incentive to raise tuition.
Abolish ICE
The federal immigration agency disrupts communities and families, for no good.
Abolish the Department of Transportation
When money comes down from the DOT, it has copious strings attached to it—strings that make infrastructure more expensive and less useful.
Abolish the Army
"Standing armies are dangerous to liberty," Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 29.
Abolish the IRS—and the Income Tax Too
Americans spent an estimated $133 billion and 6.5 billion hours filing their tax returns in 2024.
Abolish FEMA
FEMA has given Americans every reason to believe it is highly politicized, a poor steward of federal resources, bad at establishing priorities, and often unable to communicate clearly to people in distress.
Trump's First Term Wasn't Fiscally Responsible. Will His Second Be Different?
Even before the pandemic spending increase, the budget deficit was approaching $1 trillion. The GOP has the chance to embrace fiscal sanity this time if they can find the political will.
Feds Approve $80 Million Budget for 'Private' Horse Racing Regulator
The government should exit the multi-million-dollar business of preventing horse doping.
FEMA's Targeting of Trump Supporters Makes the Case for Less Government
Government agencies and officials can’t be trusted, so we should give them less to do.
Workplace Raids
Plus: Land acknowledgements, New York's migrant expenditures, and more...
Feds Use 'Border Security' To Justify Social Media Surveillance
Supposedly targeted at immigrants and travelers, the program endangers everybody’s liberty.
Want To Lower the Political Temperature? Make the Presidency Less Important
Congress needs to reassert its powers and bring the imperial presidency back down to earth.
How Donald Trump and Elon Musk Could Cut $2 Trillion in Government Spending
If Musk is truly serious about fiscal discipline, he'll advise the president-elect to eschew many of the policies he promised on the campaign trail.
Good Riddance, Lina Khan
Under Khan's leadership, the Federal Trade Commission has been bad for business and bad for consumers.
The Next President Should Abolish Everything
In the Abolish Everything issue, Reason writers make the case for ending the Fed, the Army, Social Security, and everything else.
The FBI Wrongly Raided This Family's Home. A Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Wants the Supreme Court To Step In.
A federal court denied them the right to sue—despite Congress enacting a law five decades ago specifically for situations like this one.
Abolish Everything: December 2024 Puzzle
"Phrase a dishonest politician rarely says out loud"
After 100 Years, End the Open Fields Doctrine
Federal agents are allowed to search private property without a warrant under this Prohibition-era Supreme Court precedent.
The Perils of Trump's Proposed Bitcoin Strategic Reserve
In 2021 Trump called bitcoin a "scam" but he seems to have realized his political coalition includes cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
Smaller Government Can Protect Against a Vengeful President
Whether through policy or prosecution, the president's ability to punish his political enemies should be sharply constrained.
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar: Peace In The Middle East Through Capitalism
The co-founder of Ideas Beyond Borders argues that there is "no better independence than economic independence."
Archaic Federal Law Keeps Alaskans From Using Abundant Natural Gas Reserves
The Jones Act makes the North Slope’s resources inaccessible to the state’s energy-starved residents.
The Justice Department's Proposals for Breaking Up Google's Dominance Won't Work
But consumers will pay a price.
Reform Social Security for Those Who Need It Most
As it stands, the program effectively redistributes money from younger and poorer people to richer people.
What Happens When FEMA Buys Your House?
As hurricane damage mounts, the government is buying—and sometimes seizing—homes in flood-prone areas, sparking concerns over property rights and accusations of discrimination.
FEMA Should Stick to Disaster Recovery and Quit Social Engineering
Goal 1 of FEMA's strategic plan is to "instill equity as a foundation of emergency management."
Biden and Harris' Record on Spending and Debt Is a Tragedy of Epic Proportion
When they entered the White House, the budget deficit was a pandemic-influenced $2.3 trillion, and it was set to fall to $905 billion by 2024. It's now twice what it was supposed to be.
Budget Deficit Hit $1.8 Trillion After Huge Increase in Borrowing Costs
Spending increased by 10 percent last year, while tax revenue increased by 11 percent. Interest payments on the debt shot up by 34 percent.
How Milton Friedman Can Help Us Get Through Hurricane Milton
To give storm victims the best chance at recovery, let local knowledge and markets guide decisions.
Trump's Deportation Plan Would Cost Nearly $1 Trillion
And it would wreck the economy.
New USDA Organic Rules Put Wine Importers in a Bind
Government incompetence strikes again, turning the wine industry upside down with red tape and confusion.
Federal 'Buy American' Rules Cost Over $100,000 Per Job Created
Eliminate the domestic content requirements of the Buy American Act, don't expand them.
