The inner workings of crony capitalism.
John Carney: Regulatory Capture - Federal Reserve Edition
Regulations are written by special interests. Simon Johnson calculates that Fed board members have met with opponents of financial reform—mostly, bankers—about 10 times more than they have met with advocates. It’s actually quite stunning just how many times representatives of big banks have met with Fed officials on the Volcker Rule. Just on the ... MORE
Andrew Napolitano: What If Democracy Is Bunk?
Do Americans have a fundamental misunderstanding? What if you are only allowed to vote because it doesn't make a difference? What if no matter how you vote, the elites get to have it their way? What if "one person, one vote" is just a fiction created by the government to induce your compliance? What if democracy is dangerous to personal freedom? ... MOREScott Morgan: 5 Reasons To Never Agree To A Police Search
Even if you have nothing to hide. Do you know what your rights are when a police officer asks to search you? If you're like most people I've met in my eight years working to educate the public on this topic, then you probably don't. It's a subject that a lot of people think they understand, but too often our perception of police power is distorted by fictional TV ... MORE
David Harsanyi: Obama Gets His Way With Oil Prices
Aren't high gas prices what Democrats want? Gas prices are spiking. That's great news, right? We have to wean ourselves off the stuff. At least that's what we've been hearing for years. Oil is dirty. We import it from nations that hate our guts (like Canada!). And moreover, we're running out. Oil is "finite." Finite much in the way water is finite. So why aren't ... MOREVancouver Sun: Drug War Is A Costly Failure
U.S. group warns Canada. A high-profile group of current and former U.S. law enforcement officials has sent a letter to the Harper government with a surprising message: Take it from us, the war on drugs has been a "costly failure." The officials are urging the Canadian government to reconsider mandatory minimum sentences for "minor" marijuana ... MOREJim DeMint: ObamaCare Versus Individual Freedom
The corrosive nature of government's takeover. President Obama’s new mandate requiring all employers to purchase insurance coverage for their employees that includes abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception is an outrage, of course. But what kind of outrage is it? Most of the public outcry has understandably centered around the mandate’s .... MORERobert Poole: Fixing America's Freeways
Reinventing our expressways, one lane at a time. If you work anywhere in America outside of New York City, chances are you drive to work. That means you battle congestion twice every weekday. Rest assured that it’s not your imagination: traffic is much worse than it used to be. The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), which has been measuring the cost ... MORE
Christopher Coyne: The Creeping Militarization of America
The state gains power as individual rights diminish. Earlier this month, Congress passed House Resolution 658, the “Federal Aviation Administration Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act,” which President Obama is expected to sign. One of the over 1,000 sections of H.R. 658 authorizes domestic use of aerial spy drones ... MOREChristopher Santarelli: The Greatest Gun Salesman Of All
A bi-product of hope and change. Gun manufacturers would likely not be the first to come to mind when considering industries who have benefited the most during President Obama’s first term, but a study from Ammo.net finds that firearm sales and concealed handgun permit applications are at all-time highs since the 2008 election. Just to ... MOREGary Johnson: Time To Repeal The Patriot Act
The Patriot Act is not for patriots. Ten years ago, we learned that the fastest way to pass a bad law is to call it the ‘Patriot Act’ and force Congress to vote on it in the immediate wake of a horrible attack on the United States. The irony is that there is really very little about the Patriot Act that is patriotic. Instead, it has turned out to be yet another tool the ... MOREEd Feulner: Onerous Effects Of Overrugulation
Small business wrapped in red tape. We keep hearing that the economy is in a “jobless recovery.” What’s holding American companies back? Why aren’t they hiring more people? High taxes draw a lot of attention, and rightly so. They depress investment and discourage innovation. But escalating regulatory costs also undermine our ... MOREJohn Stossel: Politicians Fiddle While Fiscal Crisis Looms
Imagine this family budget: Last year, you earned $24,700. But you spent $37,900, incurring $13,300 in debt, and you were already $153,500 in debt. So you say, "I promise I'll spend $300 less this year!" Anyone can see that your cutback is pathetic and that you need to spend much less. Yet if you add eight zeroes, that's America's budget. The president says ... MORE
Thomas Sowell: Academic Hyprocrisy
Time for academics to start pointing the finger inward. It is fascinating to see people accusing others of things that they themselves are doing, especially when their own sins are worse. Academics love to say that businesses are not paying enough to people who work for them. But where in business are there people who are paid absolutely nothing for ... MOREArthur Caplan: Your Privacy For A Low Price
Your privacy is gone, and it’s never coming back. A report that Target accidentally disclosed a teen girl’s pregnancy to her father shows the logical extreme to which retailers can take the search for more information about their customers. This is what happens when you hand the cashier at your local drug store or grocery store any of a zillion plastic reward ... MORE
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