Finding Humor within the Coronavirus Crisis by Jacob G. Hornberger March 18, 2020 Even within the midst of the coronavirus crisis, it is possible to find humor, thanks to statists. A good example is an article entitled “The Era of Small Government is Over” by Jamelle Bouie, which appears in today’s New York Times. I am not kidding. That is really the title of Bouie's article. Well, ...
Libertarianism Can’t Make Socialism Work by Jacob G. Hornberger March 17, 2020 One of the fascinating phenomena of advancing libertarianism here at The Future of Freedom Foundation for the past 30 years has been seeing how frustrated statists become with the failure of libertarians to come up with solutions on how to make socialism work. Statists, of course, are people who look to government — and the ...
Liberty versus “Security” from the Coronavirus by Jacob G. Hornberger March 16, 2020 Crises and emergencies are the time-honored way that people end up losing their liberty at the hands of their own governments. That’s because people become so afraid that they are willing, even eager, to fall victim to the siren song that is always sung by government officials: “Just surrender your liberty to us and we will keep ...
More Dying for Nothing in Iraq by Jacob G. Hornberger March 13, 2020 Two more U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq. Yes, that Iraq — the Iraq that never attacked the United States or even threatened to do so — the Iraq that the U.S. government invaded and has occupied for umpteen years under the rubric of “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” What did those two soldiers die for? ...
FDR’s Tyrannical Gold Confiscation by Jacob G. Hornberger March 12, 2020 Sometimes people say, “I guess we’ll just have to have a major economic or monetary crisis to wake people up and cause them to want a sound monetary system.” There is one big problem with that refrain, however: A crisis or emergency oftentimes induces people to move in the opposite direction —in the direction of tyranny ...
Bionic Mosquito Is Back on Immigration by Jacob G. Hornberger March 11, 2020 The Bionic Mosquito, a libertarian who favors America’s system of immigration controls, is back on the subject of immigration. In a new article, he refers to an article of his back in 2015 entitled “Compared to What?” in which he references a point that I have often made about America’s system of immigration controls. As I have long pointed ...
Why Did Japan Bomb Pearl Harbor? by Jacob G. Hornberger March 10, 2020 We all know that Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, gave rise to U.S. involvement in World War II. But how many people ask an important question: Why did Japan bomb Pearl Harbor in the first place? After all, Japanese officials obviously knew that bombing Pearl Harbor would mean war with the United States, a country that had been instrumental ...
Get Rid of the Safety Net by Jacob G. Hornberger March 9, 2020 Central to the idea of a welfare state is the notion of the “safety net.” The idea is that a free society is much like walking the high wire. Highwire walkers sometimes fall, hit the ground, and die, but not if they have a safety net. If they fall, they fall into the safety net and live another day. The ...
Economic Liberty and Consumer Sovereignty by Jacob G. Hornberger March 6, 2020 In a genuinely free society, people have the right to engage in any occupation, profession, or vocation without having to seek a permit, license, or other government permission. The idea is that economic liberty is a fundamental, God-given right, one that government is prohibited from controlling or interfering with. As the Declaration of Independence points out, it is the ...
End the Fed by Jacob G. Hornberger March 5, 2020 In response to the potential economic downturn in the economy arising from the spread of the Coronavirus, the Federal Reserve dropped the federal funds rate by half a point — to a range of 1% to 1.25%. Ironically, after the Fed’s announcement, the stock market dropped 786 points or 2.9%. The Fed’s aim is to stimulate economic activity. By lowering ...
The Right of Trial by Jury by Jacob G. Hornberger March 4, 2020 One of the best things that our American ancestors did was to include the right of trial by jury in the Bill of Rights. The Fifth Amendment states in part: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have ...
Lift the U.S. Embargo on Cuba by Jacob G. Hornberger March 3, 2020 The U.S. embargo on Cuba has been in effect for 60 years. It’s time to end it. The embargo makes it a criminal offense for any American to spend money in Cuba or to do business in Cuba. If an American travels to Cuba and spends money there or does business there, he is subject ...
