Hornberger's Blog

The Failed Drug War Does Not Equate to “Open Borders”

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 4, 2023

NOTICE: Tomorrow, Thursday, October 5, at 7 p.m. Eastern. Benjamin Power is our first presenter in our upcoming online Austrian conference: "How Austrian Economics Impacted My Life." Register here to receive your Zoom link. ***** Yesterday, I pointed out that the thousands of immigrants who are illegally entering the United States along the U.S.-Mexico border ...

Blaming “Open Borders” for Immigration-Control Failure

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 3, 2023

NOTICE: Mark your calendar! Thursday, October 5, at 7 p.m. Eastern. Benjamin Power is our first presenter in our upcoming online Austrian conference: "How Austrian Economics Impacted My Life." Register here to receive your Zoom link. ***** During my entire life I have watched immigration-control advocates try valiantly to make their immigration-control system work. I’ve always been ...

General Milley and the Compartmentalized Military Mind

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 2, 2023

NOTICE: Mark your calendar! Thursday, October 5, at 7 p.m. Eastern. Benjamin Power is our first presenter in our upcoming online Austrian conference: "How Austrian Economics Impacted My Life." Register here to receive your Zoom link. ***** In a farewell talk, Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, emphasized one of the shibboleths ...

What’s So Great About Democracy?

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 29, 2023

U.S. officials and statists in the private sector incessantly sing the praises of democracy. They even invade and wage wars of aggression against countries that lack democracy.  But what really is so great about democracy? Actually, only one thing. And, no, it’s not freedom. After all, if democracy is so great, why does the Bill of Rights ...

Former Slaves Show We Don’t Need Social Security

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 28, 2023

One of the popular arguments for keeping Social Security in existence is that there would be people dying in the streets if it were to be repealed. That is pure nonsense. It implies that freedom does not work. But freedom does work. For the truly needy, there is no doubt that there would be those who would be ...

The Conservative Denial of Reality

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 27, 2023

One of the things that has long fascinated me about conservatives — and, well, has long bemused me as well — is their ability to deny reality. They are able to simply set aside what is real and ensconce themselves in their own little fantasy world.  One example involves socialism, an economic philosophy that conservatives have long ...

Reform Is Not Freedom

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 26, 2023

NOTICE: Mark your calendar! Thursday, October 5, at 7 p.m. Eastern. Benjamin Power is 0ur first presenter in our upcoming online Austrian conference: "How Austrian Economics Impacted My Life." Register here to receive your Zoom link. **** When I discovered libertarianism more than 40 years ago, the revelation that shocked me the most was that I wasn’t ...

Why Are Libertarians Squishy on Social Security?

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 25, 2023

It has long been an article of faith for some libertarians to be squishy when it comes to Social Security. Contrary to how they view other federal programs, departments, and agencies, they inevitably place Social Security in a sacred category, one in which this particular federal program, they say, needs to be saved, reformed, fixed, improved, or gradually ...

Libertarian Autobiographies

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 22, 2023

Palgrave Macmillan has just published a book entitled Libertarian Autobiographies. Edited by Jo Ann Cavallo and Walter Block, it consists of a huge collection of short autobiographies by libertarians.  I have the honor of having my autobiography included in this new book. Other contributors include James Bovard, ...

The Discomforting Solution to Homelessness

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 21, 2023

People are upset over the homelessness problem in American cities. Unfortunately, however, all too many of them are not interested in adopting the solution to the problem, which is twofold: (1) repeal zoning laws and (2) repeal minimum-wage laws. I grew up in Laredo, Texas, which is located on the U.S.-Mexico border. In the 1950s, Laredoans were told ...

Apple’s New iPhone and European Statism

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 20, 2023

Apple’s new iPhone 15 demonstrates one of the principle features of European society — the fact that European political regimes wield the power to regulate, control, and direct economic activity.  The new iPhone now carries a USB-C charging port, rather than the proprietary lightning charging port that Apple has long been using.  While Apple’s decision to ...

More on America’s Immigration Police State

by Jacob G. Hornberger September 19, 2023

Yesterday, in my article "Our Immigration Police State," I wrote about aspects of the immigration police state that comes with America’s socialist system of immigration controls. These police-state measures include warrantless searches of farms and ranches within 100 miles of the border and the criminalization of American citizens who hire, transport, or harbor illegal immigrants.  It ...