Economic Liberty and the Constitution, Part 3 by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2002 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Table of Contents Throughout the ages, governments have regulated the economic affairs ...
Anything for War? George W. Bush and the Shadow of FDR by Richard M. Ebeling August 1, 2002 In 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt declared, “I am perfectly willing to mislead and tell lies if it will help win the war.” Now in wartime it certainly may be necessary for a general or a commander in chief to try to misinform or deceive the enemy about a planned attack or about the defense positions and strength of one’s ...
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 ...
The Mental Health Parity Scam by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2002 President Bush, in yet another slap at the free-enterprise system, wants to force health-insurance companies to cover mental illnesses in the way they cover bodily illnesses. This is known as “mental-health parity.” According to the Washington Post, the psychiatrists in the audience applauded when Bush made his announcement. No kidding. They stand to reap big ...
The Newest Medical Threat by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2002 How would you like it if every time you went to your doctor, for whatever reason, he asked: Over the past two weeks, have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless? Have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things? Get ready for a further medicalization of the common tribulations of life. The U.S. Preventative Services ...
Can We Call It an Empire Yet? by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2002 Once upon a time people who favored an aggressive global military policy for the United States avoided the word “empire.” They instinctively sensed the anti-American ring to it, so they found euphemisms and dismissed charges of U.S. imperialism as delusions from the fevered imaginations of unpatriotic agitators. Now that has begun to change. First the new imperialists approached the issue ...
The De Facto National ID by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2002 Back in 1996 some members of Congress got the bright idea that they could impose a national ID card on the American people through the backdoor by linking driver’s licenses to Social Security numbers. Fortunately, widespread concern about violations of privacy caused the law to be repealed in 1999 before it took effect. But Washington operates ...
Bush’s Farm Fiasco by James Bovard August 1, 2002 In May, President Bush signed one of the most wasteful farm bills that Congress has ever enacted. Though the estimated cost of the handouts continues rising ever closer to $200 billion over the next six years, Bush refused to squander any of his political capital protecting the American taxpayer. The hottest controversy ...
Speaking with Forked Tongue by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2002 The old Indian saying, “White man speaks with forked tongue” would have been more accurately expressed as, “U.S. government official speaks with forked tongue.” In April, Hong Kong immigration officials denied Chinese-born, naturalized American citizen Harry Wu entry into Hong Kong. Wu’s expulsion was unusual given that Hong Kong has ...
Conscription: Not Now; Not Ever, Part 2 by Doug Bandow August 1, 2002 Part 1 | Part 2 Dubious international commitments have exacerbated the military’s recruitment and retention problems. Focus-group interviews have found young men to be reluctant to support America’s increasing role as international policeman. Reported two researchers at the Defense Manpower Data Center, “Youth today generally view the military as less attractive than before the end of the Cold War. A ...
Teaching Obedience, Not Algebra by Crispin Sartwell August 1, 2002 There’s no such thing as public education. Education happens to exactly one person at a time. There are some things that you just have to do by yourself. Even if I’m your teacher, you can’t have my education; your education is a private task that is given to yourself. The education of someone or everyone else doesn’t add a single ...
Book Review: By Order of the President by George Leef August 1, 2002 By Order of the President by Greg Robinson (Harvard University Press, 2001); 322 pages; $27.95. If you go to the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C., you will see numerous statues, including one depicting men standing in a bread line. But you won’t see any statue showing Americans of Japanese ancestry staring out from behind barbed wire in one ...