Jacob Sullum: You Say 'Ponzi Scheme,' I Say Fraud

A distinction without a difference. At the Republican presidential debate in Tampa on Monday night, Mitt Romney said Rick Perry has needlessly "scared seniors" by calling Social Security "a Ponzi scheme." Romney, more sensitive to the anxieties of retirees, prefers to say "the American people have been effectively defrauded out of their    ... MORE

Jon N Hall: Inequality -- It's A Good Thing

The conflict between liberty and equality. Equality is the highest value of the American political left. So the left is always on the lookout for any trace of inequality. And of course they find it -- everywhere. That's because equality doesn't exist in this world, except when we get down on the micro level. On the micro level of quarks, electrons, photons, and such, equality reigns ... MORE

Gary Johnson: The Invisible Man Running For President

Why does the media shut him out? The 2012 race for the GOP nomination has been raging lately.  With the entrance of Rick Perry, many media outlets are becoming increasingly excited over the novelty of a new candidate.  What about the novelty of unique ideas? Governor Gary Johnson has been running for President since April 21st.  He was in the first Republican debate on  ... MORE

VIDEO: Ron Paul On The Welfare State

Walter E Williams: Too Much Higher Education

Just think about it. Too much of anything is just as much a misallocation of resources as it is too little, and that applies to higher education just as it applies to everything else. A recent study from The Center for College Affordability and Productivity titled "From Wall Street to Wal-Mart," by Richard Vedder, Christopher Denhart, Matthew Denhart, Christopher     ... MORE

Ira Stoll: The Poverty Of Nations

Politics of hope are better than its reality. On September 13 at 10 a.m., the Census Bureau will release its annual report for 2010 on “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States,” and, to judge by the way the bureau is handling the announcement, it’s going to be less than smashingly good news. “There will be no physical event,” the bureau’s advisory to  ... MORE

Chad Stafko: The Great Obama Welfare State

Government dependence is at an all-time high. Much has changed in America since Barack Obama was sworn into office as the 44th president of the United States on January 20, 2009.  In less than 1,000 days as chief executive of the U.S., President Obama's failed policies and initiatives have resulted in a dizzying array of dismal economic statistics.  As it stands now, Obama ... MORE

VIDEO: Andrew Napolitano - Commerce Clause Gone Wild

A. Barton Hinkle: Obama's Crony Capitalism

What Solyndra reveals about Obama's economic policy.  The president's address on jobs last night included some soaring phrases, but it left out one crucial word that epitomizes his approach to economics: Solyndra. Fourteen months ago, the president was using his sonorous baritone to deliver soaring rhetoric about how his policies helped launch that  ... MORE

Peter Hannaford: California's Nanny State Gone Wild

Busybodies destroying the babysitting industry. California is still a land of political surprises--outlandish, foolish, and mischievous ones. Consider the latest: The state legislature is about to pass a bill (AB 889) requiring that adult babysitters (age 18 and up) be paid the minimum wage, overtime pay and worker's compensation insurance. In addition, they must have a ... MORE

Boston Herald: Same Old Barack Obama

Contends problems solved by more government spending. So that was it? That was President Barack Obama’s really big jobs speech? The one that required a joint session of Congress to be both window dressing and whipping boy? The one that after his nearly three years in office is going to set things right? Honestly? “There should be nothing controversial about this piece of  ... MORE

VIDEO: Walter E Williams - States' Rights and Nullification

Damon W. Root: The Era Of Big Government Is Not Over

More government control = less individual control. President Barack Obama’s big jobs speech last night was long on rhetoric and short on useful specifics. But then who expected anything different? Despite lofty pledges to “stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy,” this is still the same president whose administration has prosecuted, harassed  ... MORE