Storks Don't Take Orders From the State
Falling birthrates, pro-natalist policies, and the limits of population control
Welfare
Debate: Despite the Welfare State, the U.S. Should Open Its Borders
Can Americans afford to welcome the huddled masses?
Wages Are Rising for Low-Skill Workers, Driving Down Poverty and Inequality
Plus: "Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given" right, administrative state abuses, and more...
When the Government Makes Poverty Worse
A Pennsylvania survey suggests that taxes are often a major barrier to economic security, ranking ahead of credit card debt and student loans.
Charity and Capitalism Are Better Than Government
When I was young, I assumed government would lift people out of poverty. But those policies often do more harm than good.
Congress Can Reduce the Deficit by $7.7 Trillion in 10 Years
The Congressional Budget Office projects that future deficits will explode. But there's a way out.
A Lame-Duck Congress Should Reject the Extended Child Tax Credit
The policy has some bipartisan support, despite the fact that it has mostly been a failure since its inception.
There's No Good Reason To Expand Government-Funded School Lunches
It's an expensive policy with little upside.
Farm Subsidies and Food Stamps Won't Fix High Grocery Prices. Innovation Will.
With government meddling, many farmers end up doing less with more, and people end up paying more for less.
Netflix Teams Up With the Obamas To Produce Big Government Propaganda
The G Word, a new documentary, only occasionally covers serious issues. But it opts not to do honest reporting.
IRS Sent $1.1 Billion in Child Welfare Payments to the Wrong People
Possibly the federal government's most efficient pandemic spending effort.
Most Americans Say Immigrants Make the U.S. Better. So Why Don't Politicians Do Anything About It?
Democrats pander to immigrants but do little to liberalize the system. Meanwhile, Republicans' hostility to immigrants has increased.
Brett Favre Goes on Welfare
How the former NFL quarterback convinced Mississippi to spend its public assistance money on a volleyball facility.
Mitt Romney's Family Plan Isn't Great, but It May Be Better Than the Alternatives
Whether the federal government should be subsidizing families at all is another matter.
Tucker Carlson's Great Replacement Theory Is Spectacularly Wrong
Republicans have thrived since Ronald Reagan granted amnesty to 2.7 million mostly Mexican illegal immigrants in 1986.
The DHS Will Be Disinformation Dolts
Plus: perpetual "scope creep" of the welfare state
No, Palm Springs Isn't Giving a Basic Income to Transgender and Nonbinary Residents
Palm Springs officials aren't off the hook for questionable decisions, but the spending isn't what it looks like.
The Time the Federal Government Built a Flawed Housing Project and Tore It Down 20 Years Later
The government has learned nothing about affordable housing in the 50 years since Pruitt-Igoe came toppling down.
When 'Pro-Worker' Policies Hurt Workers
Both Republicans and Democrats want to address poverty with big government.
In 2022, Pay Attention to Right-Wing Authoritarianism
For decades, libertarians have focused on illiberalism coming from the political left. But authoritarianism has taken root among many conservatives across the world.
RIP Phil Harvey, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist Who Expanded Human Pleasure and Human Choice
Harvey, who died last week, dedicated his life to supporting human pleasure along with the power to manage it responsibly.
COVID Proves Andrew Yang's UBI Won't Work
Can the government really cut everyone a check without bankrupting the country and killing labor force participation?
Joe Manchin Isn't the Fiscal Conservative We Need, but He's the Best We've Got
"Spending trillions more on new and expanded government programs, when we can't even pay for the essential social programs...is the definition of fiscal insanity."
America on the Dole
Biden's American Families Plan would put most working-age American households on the dole.
When We Reject Immigrants, We Reject Trillions of Dollars in Wealth
Growing evidence confirms that barriers to immigration make us all worse off.
California Lawmakers Unanimously Approve the State's First Basic Income Program
The idea of attaching fewer strings to government assistance is gaining currency.
The Stealthy Economic Radicalism of Biden's Boring Presidency
Even the president's most entrenched political opposition cannot seem to find much to engage or enrage.
More Than 500,000 Possibly Fraudulent Unemployment Claims Have Been Filed in Maryland Since May 1
Unemployment is falling but fraudulent jobless claims are still skyrocketing in some places.
There Still Aren't Enough People Getting Back to Work
Using the process of elimination, the culprit seems clear.
The Bipartisan War on Work
Urban Democrats may be leading the charge, but Republicans, too, have enlisted.
Expanding the Child Tax Credit Will Do Very Little To Help the Poor. Here's Why.
No country gets out of poverty through redistribution of income.
Puerto Ricans Flocking To Florida Are Escaping Big Government
More Puerto Ricans live in the 50 states than on the island, and it’s not hard to see why.
The U.S. Doesn't Have a Labor Shortage. It Has an Incentive Shortage.
The government's coronavirus-related unemployment benefits are encouraging some to stay unemployed.
Stop Using the IRS To Subsidize Parenting
In response to Biden's child tax credits, Sen. Josh Hawley proposes paying parents $1,000 per month—if they're married—and $500 per month if they're single.
The Government Loves To Grab New Powers in the Name of Your Safety
From protests to the coronavirus, it thinks it can protect you from anything.
Bipartisan Support of Child Tax Credits Is Too Hasty
The jury is still out about whether broad parental subsidies improve outcomes for children
Biden's Coronavirus Relief Plan Will Probably Cost a Lot More Than $1.9 Trillion
The pandemic relief bill isn't just a one-time splurge. It's the start of a new era of federal spending.
Elon Musk, Welfare King!
The tech billionaire isn't alone among the mega-wealthy in getting piles of money from government at all levels, say the authors of Welfare for the Rich.
Have Kids? Mitt Romney and Joe Biden Want the Government To Pay You Thousands Every Year
In most circumstances, parents would be eligible to receive $3,000 per child annually, doled out in monthly checks. It could be a major overhaul of how the federal government handles welfare.
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.
Shelby Steele on the Implications of Michael Brown's Tragic Death
In a new documentary, Steele argues that the "story of victimization" was an attempt to "win power."
Shelby Steele: What Really Killed Michael Brown?
A new documentary argues that Great Society liberalism laid the foundation for 2014's police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
The Long, Dark History of Family Separations
How politicians used the drug war and the welfare state to break up black and Native American families
Hey Dems: Want to Help Immigrants? Stop Promising Universal Freebies
A Harvard study's findings show how not to fight the restrictionist disinformation campaign.
The Failure of LBJ's Great Society and What It Means for the 21st Century
Historian Amity Shlaes talks about the last time a president massively expanded the federal government to help people.
