Why Not Force People to Attend Church? by Jacob G. Hornberger January 3, 2014 There is one big fundamental difference between libertarians and advocates of the welfare state: force. Libertarians say: Leave everyone free to keep his own money and decide what to do with it. Under libertarian principles, charity is entirely voluntary. If a person chooses to help out others, he must use his own money or money that has been voluntarily donated ...
The Progressives’ Achilles’ Heel by Jacob G. Hornberger January 2, 2014 Progressives (i.e., liberals in the corrupted meaning of the term) love to portray themselves as lovers of the poor. That’s what they use to justify their never-ending, ever-growing welfare-state and regulatory programs. But as we libertarians have repeatedly shown, the welfare state and the regulated economy actually constitute an enormous attack on the freedom and well-being of the poor. Minimum-wage laws, ...
Another Attack on Libertarianism by Jacob G. Hornberger December 31, 2013 Alternet.org, a liberal (i.e., progressive) website, has published another of its periodic attacks on libertarianism, this time an article entitled “What America Would Look Like If Libertarians Got Their Way?” by R.J. Eskow. Two things struck me about Eskow’s article: one, his lack of faith in free people and, two, his lack of focus on the causes of wealth. The ...
Egypt’s National-Security State Rears Its Ugly Head by Jacob G. Hornberger December 30, 2013 Of all the ironies, the Egyptian people today are experiencing the wisdom of an American military man who served as president more than 50 years ago. That president was Dwight Eisenhower, who, before being elected president, had served as the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in World War II. In his 1961 Farewell Address, Ike delivered one of the ...
Your End-of-Year Donation to FFF by Jacob G. Hornberger December 27, 2013 https://youtu.be/OHp81qKlGyA If you haven’t already made a (tax-deductible) donation to The Future of Freedom Foundation, we hope you will do so before the end of the year. Our plans for spreading ideas on liberty depend on your end-of-year support. Ideas on liberty move the world. Your financial support funds our monthly journal, Future of Freedom, our FFF Daily email publication, ...
Should Drug-War Victims Pardon the Drug Warriors? by Jacob G. Hornberger December 26, 2013 From the Huffington Post: In the holiday spirit of forgiveness, Gov. Jerry Brown announced pardons on Tuesday for 127 people…. Most of the individuals receiving full and unconditional pardons had been convicted of drug-related offenses. Well, isn’t that nice? What a good person Jerry Brown is! Oh, he isn’t the only one. President Obama is too. He recently granted clemency ...
Is America’s Healthcare System Socialism or Not? by Jacob G. Hornberger December 24, 2013 In the healthcare-related controversy over whether President Obama is a socialist or not, it would be better to ask a more fundamental question: Is America’s overall healthcare system socialist or not. Why is that important? Three reasons. First, socialism always produces chaos and crises. Second, socialism cannot be fixed or reformed and any attempts at improving it only make the situation worse. Third, if ...
What Good Would it Do to Reform the NSA? by Jacob G. Hornberger December 23, 2013 I don’t know who Eric Weiss is. All I know about him is that he recently wrote a letter to the New York Times about the NSA surveillance scandal. But I do know that when it comes to the controversy surrounding the NSA, Weiss is one of the few people who really get it. Weiss makes two important points ...
Why Federal Spending Continues to Soar by Jacob G. Hornberger December 20, 2013 The Washington establishment, not surprisingly, is celebrating the budget deal that Republican Rep. Paul Ryan and Democrat Sen. Patty Murray have reached. They’re calling it a great example of “bipartisanship.” And why not? The deal calls for increases in federal spending, doesn’t it? What’s not to like about that, from the standpoint of the Washington establishment? Pay no mind to the ...
The Sordid Roots of the National-Security State by Jacob G. Hornberger December 19, 2013 Given that most all of us living today have been born and raised under a national-security state apparatus, we’ve all been inculcated with the notion that the enormous military empire, CIA, and NSA are a necessary and permanent part of our lives. We’ve all been taught that our very freedom and well-being depend on the existence of these agencies. ...
Make Your Choice: Freedom or the National-Security State by Jacob G. Hornberger December 18, 2013 In his July 4, 1821, address to Congress John Quincy Adams pointed out that America does not go abroad “in search of monsters to destroy.” His use of the term “monsters” encompassed brutal and tyrannical foreign dictators. While such monsters could always be found in nations all over the world, it would not be the responsibility of the U.S. ...
A Government without Spies by Jacob G. Hornberger December 17, 2013 Yesterday, a federal judge ruled that the NSA’s previously super-secret surveillance scheme over the American people violates the U.S. Constitution, which sets forth the powers and restrictions on power that we the people have established for U.S. officials. Calling the NSA’s surveillance scheme “almost Orwellian,” Judge Richard Leon’s ruling is an amazing one, especially given the long history of ...
