Walter E Williams: Parting Company

Secession is really the battle for self-determination.         For decades, it has been obvious that there are irreconcilable differences between Americans who want to control the lives of others and those who wish to be left alone. Which is the more peaceful solution: Americans using the brute force of government to beat liberty-minded       ... MORE

Ronald Bailey: Why Economic Backwardness Persists

Empower the elites.  Why do some societies maintain institutions that cause economic backwardness? This is the vital question that MIT economist Daron Acemoglu and Harvard economist James Robinson asked in their seminal 2006 article, “Economic Backwardness in Political Perspective” in the American Political Science Review.         ... MORE

VIDEO: Fiscal Cliff - Raising Taxes on Mid-Income Americans

Thomas Sowell: Jensen And Flynn

Trivializing politically incorrect findings.   Anyone who has followed the decades-long controversies over the role of genes in IQ scores will recognize the names of the two leading advocates of opposite conclusions on that subject— Professor Arthur R. Jensen of the University of California at Berkeley and Professor James R. Flynn, an American expatriate   ... MORE

Robert Rector: 'Poverty' Like We've Never Seen It

The definition of poor keeps expanding.  The federal government now considers a family of four in New York City to be poor if its pre-tax income is below $37,900.Even with full medical coverage. The calculation helps explain why newly revised Census Bureau figures hike the number of poor Americans to 49 million as of last year, further widening   ... MORE

Government Regulators Have Alcohol In Their Crosshairs

Is alcohol the new soda?   Last week a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that American adults drink alcoholic beverages in moderation. Calories from alcohol, the study concludes, make up 5 percent of the total calories consumed by American adults. What's more, few Americans consume alcohol   ... MORE

Supreme Court Blocks Law Prohibiting Taping Of Police

Light allowed to shine on police activities.    The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked enforcement of an Illinois law that prohibited people from recording police officers on the job. The justices on Monday left in place a lower court ruling that found that the state's anti-eavesdropping law violates free speech rights when used against people      ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - 2012 Election Summary

Carol Roth: Insider Trading Should Be Legalized

Information makes the market efficient.   Former SAC Capital trader Mathew Martoma’s insider trading investigation is just one of a bevy of high-profile insider trading cases that have come to light in the past few years and I think spending time and effort on these cases is a farce. Should the allegations prove to be true, I am not        ... MORE

Manny Fernandez: 'Secession Fever' Hits Texas

The bumper stickers are everywhere. In the weeks since President Obama’s re-election, Republicans around the country have been wondering how to proceed. Some conservatives in Texas have been asking a far more pointed question: how to secede. Secession fever has struck parts of Texas, which Mitt Romney won by nearly 1.3 million votes.             ... MORE

VIDEO: The Truth about the Minimum Wage