James V. DeLong: America's Crisis Of Political Legitimacy

Finding the road back to consent and stability.   The Founders were right to posit that a breakdown of the limits of government would cause a breakdown of consent. Only 22 percent of likely voters say the current government has the consent of the governed. Across many decades, my mind’s eye sees Professor Samuel Beer pacing the   ... MORE

Daniel Greenfield: Why You Will Never Buy A Car Again

Obama cars are coming. If you’ve been waiting around to buy a new car, better hurry up. If Obama gets his way, the only car you will be able to buy will be a small hybrid cube and will cost more than you can afford. The Obama administration has finalized new fuel economy rules that will require the fleet-wide average of new cars and trucks sold in ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - Airport Security Screenings

Thomas Sowell: Entitlement Reform

The young, not the elderly, should be alarmed.  For those of us who like to believe that human beings are rational, trying to explain what happens in politics can be a real challenge. For example, that segment of the population that has the least to fear from a reform of Medicare or Social Security is the most fearful — namely, those already receiving    ... MORE

Stephen Mauzy: Why Free Markets

The best political economy imaginable.    To exchange for greater benefit is as natural to humans as any innate bodily function.  Exchange needn't be taught or explicated.  No inculcation need occur.  It just happens.  A kindergartener exchanges his juice box for another kindergartener's cupcake.  Because of inequality of wants --      ... MORE

VIDEO: Introduction to the CAFR

Jennifer Alexander: Why The Feds Won't Reschedule Pot

International treaty trumps national self-interest.   Activists have been working for years to reform state and local marijuana laws throughout the nation through decriminalization, implementation of medical marijuana laws and, most recently, attempts at legalizing marijuana. Many opponents, and even some activists, argue      ... MORE

Russell Hasan: Prostitution And Coercion

Economic pressure is not coercion. I was recently thinking about why prostitution is illegal. As a libertarian I think that it should be legal, as an extension of people’s absolute right to own their own bodies. But many Americans disagree. If there is a rational, persuasive argument against the legalization of prostitutes (or “sex workers,” as they should be   ... MORE

Omar Ghate: Ayn Rand's Appeal

The real question is why her appeal isn't greater.   Paul Ryan is Romney’s pick for Vice President and now Ayn Rand’s name is on everyone’s lips. Many on the left are pillorying Ryan as an unrealistic “ideologue” because of his Rand connection. Many on the right accede, quickly trying to set aside Ryan’s admiration for "Atlas Shrugged" as youthful     ... MORE

Walter E Williams: The Rich Don't Pay Enough?

Obama exploits ignorance on taxes.    If you listen to America's political hacks, mainstream media talking heads and their socialist allies, you can't help but reach the conclusion that the nation's tax burden is borne by the poor and middleclass while the rich get off scot-free. Stephen Moore, senior economics writer for The Wall     ... MORE

VIDEO: Murray Rothbard On The Origins Of Regulation

Steve Chapman: Truth About Obama & Welfare Reform

Detaching work mandates from welfare checks. The old line is that there's a simple way to know a politician is lying: His lips are moving. Odds are good that any lurid charge leveled against a candidate is largely fraudulent. So it was no surprise that when Mitt Romney accused Barack Obama of gutting welfare work requirements, fact checkers   ... MORE

Barry Farber: Who Can Blame Democratic Defectors?

Party faithful jump off a sinking ship.  The deli restaurant in Miami Beach where I busboyed one college summer was Dubrow’s, on the south side of Lincoln Road. Our competitor, Wolfie’s, across the street leapt into the lead. About the only customers we ever got were when Wolfie’s was full. One night the boss came in and caught Jimmy,     ... MORE

VIDEO: When I Grow Up, I Want To Be A Crony

Ronald Bailey: Someone's Watching

You can't escape the intrusive state. Privacy encompasses the real and virtual spaces where you can think your most heretical thoughts without the fear of social and political consequences and where you can seal the bonds of love and friendship. In Privacy, Garret Keizer grapples with the meaning and importance of maintaining places where   ... MORE

Gary Owen: Housing Crisis Redux

New wave of subprime loans demanded by government.    The 2008 melt down of the economy was a lesson.  The government learned well and is doing it better this time. A new wave of subprime mortgages is here, more powerful than the  tsunami that washed away the worlds economy with the Community  Reinvestment Act.  William Tucker informs us     ... MORE

James E. Miller: Law Enforcement Is Not Your Friend

Police arrogance and abuse have become commonplace.   Across the West, instances of abuse of authority by domestic police forces are becoming more prevalent.  Two weeks ago, two police officers in my hometown accosted my brother as he walked back to his car after purchasing a six pack of beer.  The officers, who thought my brother was up     ... MORE

Daniel Halper: U.S. On Track For $20 Trillion Debt In 2016

Obama budget adds $4.4 trillion in next four years.  By the end of this year, the federal debt is expected to be $16.2 trillion, which is $6.2 trillion more than when President Obama first came into office four years ago. Moreover, new analysis by the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee finds that, over the next 4 years, if      ... MORE

VIDEO: Obamanomics: A Legacy of Wasteful Spending

How The Smokey Bear Effect Led To Raging Wildfires

by Christopher Joyce. The history of fire in the American Southwest is buried in a catacomb of rooms under the bleachers of the football stadium at the University of Arizona. Here rules Professor Thomas Swetnam, tree ring expert. You want to read a tree ring? You go to Tom. He's a big, burly guy with a beard and a true love for trees. Tree sections are       ... MORE

Paul Miller: Obama Or Romney? Libertarians Must Choose

It’s depressing to be a libertarian.  We usually spend election night with our few friends in a watering hole or in our parents’ basement listening to Rush albums. Libertarians are smarter than voters who blindly vote Democrat or support the Republicans who do more preaching about limited government than actually practicing it — that’s what we tell     ... MORE