Katherine Mangu-Ward: Plastic Bags Are Good

Another thing prohibitionists get wrong.  Here is a list of things that are thicker than a typical plastic grocery bag: A strand of hair. A coat of paint. A human cornea. High-density polyethylene is a miracle of materials science. Despite weighing less than 5 grams, one bag can hold 17 pounds, well over 1,000 times its own weight. At about a penny ... MORE

Anti-Ridesharing Laws Are Stuck In The Past

by Jordan Richardson.   Times have certainly changed since Robert De Niro was driving cab around New York's boroughs in the move Taxi Driver. The 1976 film showcased a society focused on the Vietnam War and De Niro's obsession with a presidential campaign. But one thing has not changed since the 70s: The government is still trying to regulate  ... MORE

Walter E Williams: The Struggle For Economic Liberty

The war against Uber, Lyft and consumers.  Where public utility commissions decide who will have the right to go into the taxi business, a prospective entrant must apply for a "certificate of public convenience and necessity." Lawyers for the incumbent taxi owners, most often corporate owners or owner associations, appear at the hearing to argue that ... MORE

Conservative Coal Towns Are Being Destroyed

by Stephen Moore.      Here’s today’s political quiz question: what do these five states — Rhode Island, Vermont, California, Oregon and Maine — have in common. Yes they are blue states ruled by Democrats, but that’s not all. These are the states that use the least amount of coal — less than 2 percent — for electric power. In fact, almost all of the states   ... MORE

How Marijuana Taxes & Restrictions Recreate Prohibition

by J D Tucille.   Are you a government official who yearns for the good old days of marijuana prohibition? Do you feel out of place in an era of voter-approved legalization, grow clubs, and pot shops? My, how the world has changed! But you can feed your nostalgia for busts and streetcorner deals even while "respecting" the public's desire to legalize       ... MORE

Reg-Crazed Bureaucrats Continue War On Common Sense

by Thomas Novelly.   Indian restaurant fined for wanting ‘experienced Indian waiter.’ The New York City Commission on Human Rights issued a $5,000 fine to an Indian restaurant for hiring an Indian waiter, the New York Post reported Wednesday. Shalom Bombay in Midtown Manhattan posted an ad in October of 2013 on Craigslist, asking for an   ... MORE

Occupational Licensing Hurts Just About Everyone

by Elizabeth Nolan Brown.     The White House Council of Economic Advisors gets it.  Horse masseurs.  Hair braiders.  Funeral attendants. Florists. All are subject, at least in some states, to "occupational licensing," defined by the Treasury Department as "a government permit allowing workers to legally practice." Since the 1950s, the     ... MORE

J. Wilson: Regulation Growth Strangles The Economy

Whenever liberals complain about deregulation, show em this. One of the biggest arguments against conservatives and libertarians is the belief that evil deregulation is what caused the economic collapse in 2008 and the current income inequality. Politicians like Elizabeth Warren have built their careers around this false argument. They want to   ... MORE

EPA Power Grab Incites States To Consider Nullification

by Kyle Maichle.     Resisting a claim to every last drop of water in the nation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has in recent years imposed numerous new regulatory rules strangling the freedoms of businesses and property owners. Latching on to every possible excuse for regulating economic activities by citing microscopic effects on  ... MORE

Mimi Walters: A Fix To California's Man-Made Drought

Politicians can start prioritizing the people.     This year marks California’s fourth consecutive year of drought. To break it down, nearly 99 percent of California is in “moderate drought,” 71 percent is in “extreme drought,” and approximately 47 percent is in “exceptional drought” – the most severe category. In California alone, over   ... MORE

Gustavo Arellano: Drop That Snack!

LA's war against people eating what they want.      In 1985, legendary food critic Ruth Reichl wrote an essay for the Los Angeles Times that sounded ludicrous then and just pathetic today. She was reviewing Border Grill, a nouveau Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles' ever-hip Melrose district run by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger—nowadays   ... MORE

Austin Petersen: Dead Idiot Blew His Head Off With Firework, Now His Mom Wants The Rest Of Us To Suffer

Either society or lack of warning label must be to blame.   A dead moron from Maine was killed instantly when he fired a firework off from the top of his head. Predictably, he will now be used as a prop to advocate for stricter controls thanks to a grieving parent… who ought to bear at least some of the blame. From the AP: The mother of   ... MORE

Flamin' Hot Cheetos Are The American Dream

by Katherine Mangu-Ward.     I disapprove of what you eat, but I'll defend to the death your right to eat it. The story of Flamin' Hot Cheetos is the story of America. The illegitimate offspring of a cheese puff and a Dorito, the snacks are a triumph of food science. With their finger-staining red pigment, infinite shelf life, sui generis squiggly shape,      ... MORE

The Case For Allowing U.S. Crude Oil Exports

by Blake Clayton.     Federal lawmakers should overturn the ban on exporting crude oil produced in the United States. As recently as half a decade ago, oil companies had no interest in exporting U.S. crude oil, but that has changed. Oil production has grown more in the United States over the past five years than anywhere else in the world, even as     ... MORE

VIDEO: J Stossel - Rebuilding Liberty Without Permission

David Hansnyi: The Trans Fat Ban Is Worse Than You Think

Why stop there?     The Food and Drug Administration issued a final decision this week, giving the food industry three years to phase out bad trans fats, still used in a wide variety of products, such as Pillsbury's Ready To Bake cookies and cake frosting. Now, if you're ingesting large quantities of either, perhaps partially hydrogenated oils aren't your biggest   ... MORE

F.D.A. Sets 2018 Deadline To Rid Foods Of Trans Fats

by Sabrina Tavernise.   The option reducers are at work again. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday gave the food industry three years to eliminate artery-clogging artificial trans fats from the food supply, a long-awaited step that capped years of effort by consumer groups and is expected to save thousands of lives a year. Trans fats —   ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - First Jobs Regulated Away

Steve Chapman: San Francisco Vs Soft Drinks

Politicians want to be your conservators.  Its for your own good of course. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has something it wants to say: Fizzy sugar water can make you fat and rot your teeth. 'll pause while you pick yourself off the floor, where you landed in shock at this blinding revelation. Until now, you have probably been pouring    ... MORE

Government Closes Down Unlicensed Licensed Lemonade Stand To Save Customers From Unregulated Cold Drinks

by Scott Shackford.  Moppets meet the government boot. Technically summer doesn't begin for another couple of weeks, but southern states like Texas don't care when summer is technically supposed to start. It's warm down there, and two young sisters in Overton with the adorable, media-friendly names of Andria and Zoey Green (8 and 7 years old,   ... MORE