Trade Restrictions Show Hypocrisy by Sheldon Richman September 12, 2003 A lesson in government hypocrisy — as if one were needed these days — is to be found in the agricultural policies of the rich nations of the world, including the United States. The U.S. government incessantly proclaims its desire to help the world’s poor. Empty words. Sure, the ...
The Deerslayer, the Bootmaker, and the Violin Player, Part 1 by Scott McPherson September 1, 2003 Part 1 | Part 2 Once there lived a man called “The Deerslayer.” The Deerslayer lived in the plush green valley of a rugged mountain range and survived through his cunning and skillful use of a rifle to hunt game. His mountain valley home was far to the north; he saw only a few short months of warm weather ...
A Rare Moment of Candor by Sheldon Richman November 9, 2002 President Bush says he’s got the economy under control. That’s supposed to comfort us. I’d feel better if he said he had the federal government under control. It’s spending wildly — and it can’t blame the “war on terrorism” for it all. That’s just the latest spending. ...
The Real Solution to Business Misconduct by Sheldon Richman August 20, 2002 The way people talk about the need for new regulation of business, you’d think it was 1930. Have we not already lived through the New Deal with its pervasive regulation of corporations? Have we not lived through the regulatory explosions of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s? Are not the transgressions ...
Leave Sam and Martha Alone by Sheldon Richman August 12, 2002 One of the latest “business scandals” involves alleged insider trading by people close to Samuel Waksal, the founder of the drug company ImClone Systems and its recently resigned CEO. The government says Waksal told family members and friend Martha Stewart that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was about to ...
The Solution to Poverty by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2002 I have great news for you! According to today’s Washington Post (March 22), world leaders meeting at a U.N. conference in Monterrey, Mexico, have come up with a new plan for ridding the world of poverty. The plan involves the U.S. government’s sending of foreign aid to the governments of Third ...
Farmers Should Oppose Socialism by Scott McPherson July 1, 2002 The Brownsville, Tennessee, offices of the Department of Agriculture were the scene of a recent five-day sit-in by black farmers who claim that government loan applications are being stalled by a racist system. Instead of complaining about racism, though, they should be complaining about socialism. Over the last 70 years, ...
When Will the Catastrophists Learn? by Sheldon Richman July 1, 2002 The doomsayers never give up. Whats more, they are an ever-moving target. Refute one of their claims of catastrophe, and they are back with another before you can say, “The future is bright.” Sometimes even the good news is bad. The global catastrophists, such a Paul Ehrlich, used to say, “The ...
The World’s Poor Lose a Friend by Sheldon Richman June 1, 2002 On May 2 the best friend of the world’s poor died at home in London. Peter Bauer was 86 and had just been named winner of the first Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, awarded by the Cato Institute. Never heard of Peter Bauer? That’s because his analysis of poverty ...
No Bailout for Amtrak by Bart Frazier June 1, 2002 Once again, Amtrak is in dire need of our tax dollars. Without a cash infusion, Amtrak president David Gunn said it will have to halt operations. Negotiations are now underway that will provide a guaranteed “loan” (read: subsidy) to the railroad. The question that no one seems to ...
“Economic Freedom” by Jacob G. Hornberger May 1, 2002 In a May 1 editorial, The Washington Post called on Cuban dictator Fidel Castro to honor a petition signed by 10,000 Cuban citizens demanding that a national referendum be called on freedom of expression, free elections, the right to private enterprise, and amnesty for political prisoners. The Post correctly praised those 10,000 ...
Classical Liberalism in the 21st Century: Freedom of Trade, Part 2 by Richard M. Ebeling May 1, 2002 Part 1 | Part 2 A FUNDAMENTAL REVOLUTION IN IDEAS began to emerge in the 18th century against the premises and policies of mercantilism. These ideas undermined the rationales for government regulation and control of the economic affairs of the people of European society. In its place there arose a conception and vision of a free society based on ...